If you’ve never trained a dog before, it may seem like a daunting task. While there are some things you need to know, there are plenty of resources for a beginner at dog training. Get started gradually by reviewing the following tips and seeing how well they work with your dog.
Make the dog know that the crate is it’s home when you are doing crate training. To help your puppy feel at home, place your puppy’s food dish inside the crate. This creates a positive association between good food and their new crate.
There are many ways to make crate training more comfortable and successful for your new puppy or dog. A dog is naturally hesitant about a crate at first. A way to get them interested is to put their favorite toy in the crate, then shut the door. They will see and smell the bone and will want you to let them in there to get it. After your dog goes into the crate, give positive reinforcement to increase the chance that he will go into the crate again.
Rewards are essential to effective training. It is important that you provide the right amount of treats at the correct times. Dogs won’t know why they’re being rewarded if you’re not consistent.
Trying to understand how your dog is feeling. It is easy to get frustrated with your dog if they are not learning very basic things quickly or at all. Instead of being frustrated, try to think like your dog. This could help you overcome training hurdles.
Make sure that the only items your dog can reach are chew toys that are specifically made for dogs. Instead of allowing it to continue chewing on your important furniture or toys, provide a well-loved chew toy. If painful teething is the problem, let the puppy chew on a wet washcloth that has been frozen.
Dogs have a short attention span and you will have to attract his attention. When a command is reinforced properly and often enough, your dog will begin to shift his focus from the distractions around to you in order to wait for your signal.
Do not tie up several dogs in close proximity to each other. It is just too easy for dogs in such a situation to tangle their leads together, and this can lead to serious injuries for both of them. If the dogs are different sizes, it could be even worse. A small dog could easily choke to death if it were to get too tangled up with a larger breed.
Try to mistakenly avoid reinforcing any behaviors that are unwanted when doing puppy training. Don’t give praise or treats to your dog if it does something wrong. For instance, it will be difficult or impossible to train your dog not to jump on people if you give your pet a friendly neck-scratch when he or she jumps on you.
Make training for your dog a regular, repeated part of your time together to keep them familiar with the rules they’ve learned. Some dog owners make the mistake of thinking that once training has ended, no further action is required. Dogs forget things just like humans do; however, and the dog will lose discipline without practice. This is why you must make sure that you have a rule system that is strict for your dog.
Give your dog more freedom as he or she gets further along in the training program. Your dog will flourish with a good balance between control and respect. However, don’t allow your dog to have too much freedom because this could negatively impact your training.
We hope these suggestions will be helpful to you. Use them when you plan a regimen for training your dog. They can make your training successful, so that both you and your dog are happy.