Dog Training Basics

Archive for May 2nd, 2009

Puppy obedience is something that starts suprisingly early in their development. The amount of respect and puppy obedience in training is determined by the actual owner you purchased from.

Puppies, according to studies, are not ready for any training until at least three weeks of age. Their entire world revolves around their mother, eating and sleeping. By the 21st to 28th day of a puppies life they begin to leave the blanket and search for somewhere to do their business. Now, dogs begin to gain an awareness of the environment surrounding them, and to respond more directly to external stimuli. Lessons that an animal learns at an early age will have a greater impact on their obedience training as a whole.

Getting Puppies Started with Encouragement

When you want your pet to do the right thing, the best thing to do is to not use punishment as a form of readiness. A great solution is to use positive treats and reinforcements. When you are needing to use negative stimuli for your puppy it should be limited to no and block any bad actions from your puppy with using your hands. You should not hit or otherwise hurt a puppy as it is counterproductive.

Puppies should receive positive affection and praises each and every time they correctly respond to a command. If not praised, puppies will lose enthusiasm and interest in obeying you. After your pet does a command correctly and you praise and caress them, they will then learn that following these things are fun and rewarding. Puppy obedience will also be developed as he learns that repeating proper actions will reap rewards. Using a positive reinforcement and a treat will strengthen the dog’s understanding and increase’s the dog’s willingness to follow commands.

Persistence Mixed with Great Timing

Timing is everything when it comes to puppy training. Details such as actions, movements, and corrections will affect the puppy’s ability to follow commands. Younger dogs may be confused by discipline, so it is critically important that puppies understand the link between their disobedience and the resulting disciplinary correction.

For instance, a puppy who’s chewing on a bone or toy in another room is unlikely to act in response to the command “come,” and if no one brings him to the trainer, he will learn that the command is the same as “ignore.He will find out that “come” means that he should head for the trainer and that it will also bring in the goodies if the puppy is told to “come” under controlled situations, like when he’s on a leash and is gently pulled toward the trainer then praised.

Puppy obedience training is best taught in easy exercises, one by one. It’s a whole lot easier to enlist in a training programs that is separated into phases rather than trying to teach your dog everything at once. Bring your patience with you when you are training and use positive reinforcement.  Slowly your puppy will learn to obey.

The two main reasons for dog digging are that your dog may be too hot or too cold. Your dog is able to adjust his body temperature by digging and lying in a hole. Different from people, dogs have no way to add or remove layers so they have to get relief from weather conditions in other ways.

In addition, dogs dig due to boredom. A dog that is apart from his master all day can easily become bored. A dog that is left alone will find ways to entertain himself. Unfortunately, this may be digging!

In order to stop dogs digging, it will be necessary to channel their behavior in other directions. Usually all you will need to so is provide your dog with a digging patch where he will not be punished. Particular breeds are given to digging. These breeds will require extra patience from you in order to stop their digging behavior.

For more information on how to stop your dog from digging, I recommend that you check out: Stop Dogs from Digging

The following tips should help to stop dogs from digging up your yard:

1. Put an unpleasant “present” in the hole dug by your dog. Dogs often start to dig, leave the hole for a while, then return later to resume the digging. While your dog is taking his break from digging, you should put the surprise in the hole. One suggestion is water sprayed with bitter apple, which is available in pet stores.

    

2. Another way to stop dogs from digging is by filling the holes with waste found in your garden. Dogs prefer to dig in “clean” dirt. Add dead leaves, sticks, rocks, and mulch to the hole and cover it with a thin layer of soil. When your dog returns to his digging activities and finds these unwanted items in his hole, he will probably stop digging. If this isn’t successful, fill the hole and spray with bitter apple. As the majority of dogs do not like the odor, they will stop digging in the hole.

    

3. Provide your dog with a special area where he can safely dig without repercussions. Digging is instinctive for dogs. It may take some time to train your dog to restrict his digging to that spot but it can be done. One way to stop dogs from digging up your flowers is to provide them with an area in the garden where they can dig as much as they like.

   A sandbox is one option or an area of your garden that has not been landscaped could be cordoned off. If you bury a few dog treats that your dog can find, this will teach him that he is free to dig in that spot. If you have previously scolded him for digging, you may need to give him extra encouragement. As soon as he understands that digging in that area is permitted, he will be an overjoyed dog.

    

4. When your dog has been provided with his own designated spot for digging, you will still need to keep things interesting for him. Every so often, you should bury a toy or treat for him to find. As dogs get bored with digging in the same area, he may decide that another part of your backyard looks more interesting.

   Every so often, the sand or dirt in your dog’s digging patch should be changed. Fresh dirt rather than hard earth is preferred by most dogs. As well, your dog will sometimes like to dig under the fence rather than in his own digging patch. Spread animal essence, which hunters use to draw out animals, over your flower beds. The odor from other animals may discourage your dog’s digging.

These tips will help to stop dogs from digging in areas other than the designated spots you have assigned to them. Dogs are not being mean when they dig under your fence as this is instinctive behavior for them.

To stop your dog’s annoying digging behavior, make sure you check out: Stop Dogs from Digging

Most children would love to have a dog and they plead with their parents to get one. A lot of kids parents can only think of all the trouble a dog could cause them. In the end the kids may win the argument but it takes a while for them to convince their parents.

Having decided on getting a new dog you need to think about the type or breed of dog you would like to get. Having chosen the type of dog you would like you need to find somewhere to get it from and a lot of people feel the right choice is from the local dog rescue pound.

Often you will get your new puppy home and it will straight away make a mess. There are times when you wonder if it was a good idea but for now you need to ,a href=”http://www.housetraindog.com/index.php”>house train your dog. Dogs are clean animals so they don’t want to mess near their bed so you must choose the right area for your dog potty training.

Your new dog does not yet know what is right or wrong and it is probably nervous as well. Take your puppy to the potty area if it looks uncomfortable but give it lots of reassurance. If it does it’s business congratulate it and tell it what a good dog it is.

Your dog will need a lot of reminding and practice but they are usually pretty quick to learn things. It can be difficult but accept that your puppy will have little accidents and don’t get angry or annoyed.

Make sure your puppy can easily get to the potty are you have chosen so he can go if he wants to. When he does give him lots of affection and congratulate him to show what a good dog he is. They learn the right thing to do and like getting congratulated so there are less accidents after a while.

More training can follow once you have a house trained dog. Your kids will have a great time teaching your new puppy how to sit. Your kids will enjoy teaching your dog and can play together for hours.

When your dog is trained to sit and stay on command you can develop the training to include other, more complicated, lessons. Walking to heel on a leash is an important lesson to teach your dog.

You don’t want a dog that suddenly runs off so teach it to ignore things it sees or smells.All the smells around will attract your dogs attention but he must stay with you unless you tell him otherwise.

Don’t go thinking everyone loves dogs so you should train your dog to behave when visitors arrive. You may love the way your dog licks your face but not everyone will appreciate it.

Becoming a dog owner has rewards but also responsibilities and you take on the duty of care when you get a dog. You must prevent it being a nuisance to other people and make sure it is obedient to you. Trained dogs behave well around other animals and people will see your dog is a credit to you.