While many dogs are dropped off at shelters because their behavior was not what the owners expected, it is often possible to avoid this situation. Properly trained dogs have the potential to be charming, happy and loving parts of any family. Making sure that your dog is well trained and pleasant to be around is possible. It simply takes time, knowledge, and effort.
A puppy should have chew toys to get him through the teething pains. Keep other things out of his reach. Give it one of his toys instead. If your puppy is in a lot of pain due to teething, a frozen wet washcloth is ideal for him to chew on.
If you have a focal point for your dog to pay attention to, he will ignore all other distractions he would normally be tempted to watch. If you keep up with his training, your dog will look to you more often for direction rather than looking to the environment.
Have frequent or as necessary mini-training sessions to reinforce and keep the rules fresh in your dog’s mind. Dog training must be practiced to maintain obedience behavior, and that is one thing that many owners neglect to remember. But dogs can become complacent just like their human counterparts. Make sure your dog has a regular routine.
Refrain from using higher end training gadgets, such as shock collar devices. Often times, they do not work and are over priced. Plus, using devices like shock collars can stifle your dog and discourage even good behavior. Using these techniques can have poor results.
Begin the dog training process with a simple task. This will act as a foundation for further training as well as help you see instant success. This will produce better results as you proceed with training.
One command that should be taught early to a puppy is “leave it.” This teaches them to drop something and step way from it. This is great if the dog chews on household furniture or other items, such as shoes, stuffed animals, or trash.
Make sure training periods are short in duration. Dogs don’t have long attention spans so keeping training short and concise keeps it from becoming something that they dread. You can choose to adopt a more intensive regimen, but only if you are willing to allow your dog a few moments of relaxation and play to break up the session.
Make sure your dog understand he does not need to respond to the word “no”. Use positive reinforcement to encourage good behavior. Just simply telling your dog ‘no’ doesn’t help him or her in understanding how to properly react. Each situation should be treated individually, and tailored to each dog.
Be firm with your dog when training, for its own sake. You should not be yelling at your dog all the time. Be strict only when your dog disobeys or adopts an attitude you do not approve of. This will strengthen the relationship between you and your dog.
One tip to keep in mind when training your dog is to not give up. Frequent reinforcement is the only way to help your pet maintain new behaviors and actions. Training is something you do with your dog all the time, just like feeding and grooming him.
Training should be seen as fun time to your dog. Keep training to a short 10-15 minute session; much longer and your dog’s attention will wander. Give plenty of rewards. Make sure you shower praise on your dog when they do well. The more enjoyable training is for your dog, the more he will look forward to it!
Even when he tries your patience, you must consistently show patience and care. Dogs cannot speak English, and they are not human. They can understand your tone and physical gestures, however they cannot understand why you are upset. Maintain a sense of calm, and take a break if your frustration level rises during training.
If you ever use your dog’s individual name in a warning mode or tone, make sure that you complement that with three or four positive uses too. Your dog must know that his name is something good so that he won’t be afraid to come when called.
Even when you are tired or tense, be conscious of how you speak to your dog. Dogs react to the tone of a human voice, so be careful not the be harsh to them without provocation.
Like people, different type of dogs may respond to different types of training. An example of this is the difference in positive and negative methods and their effects on different personalities. If you are not getting any results with your current strategies, take a different approach.
Hopefully, reading the information above is more than enough to make it clear that a rewarding dog-owner relationship is easy to achieve. Love, attention and training are the key components for a well-rounded dog. Follow the steps listed above and your dog will become, and remain, an important part of your family.