Dog Training Basics

Archive for May 22nd, 2009

You must first comprehend why your dog is digging in order to get this unwanted habit under control. There may be multiple motivations involved.

It’s a possibility that your dog is trying to bury something or has already buried something. Could the excessive digging possibly be due to the fact that they are a terrier and one of their natural instincts is to dig? It’s also possible that they are feeling too warm and they are seeking out a place to cool off and lie down. Once you have figured out why your dog is digging, you’ll get a better idea on how to solve the issue.

One of the main reasons that dogs dig are because they are bored. Is your dog primarily left outdoors? If this is the situation, boredom may be the reason for your dog digging. Imagine what might happen if a child were left outside by themselves. Most young kids would pass time and enjoy playing in the mud and throwing soil around.

A dog is really quite the same. Soil on a dog paws is a great feeling. It is a fun thing that keeps them occupied. In order to stop dog digging, it is necessary to provide them with something to occupy their time with.

Some breeds like to dig more than others, and if you have one of these breeds you may have a tougher time to change them. In order to stop dog digging in breeds that innately desire digging, you might need to consider offering a designated location where digging is permitted.

Section off an digging area can also help to control digging instead of trying to stop it. Allowing your dog to do this will help to keep your garden or yard from being destroyed.

In order to stop digging, what you need to do is give your dog many opportunities in which to get exercise. Provide your dogs with a specified area where they are allowed to dig, keep them busy, and make sure they are getting plenty of human interaction.

When you can not be at home spending time with them, fun toys can keep your dog occupied. It can require some time, however if you keep your patience and consistently adhere to the advice offered in this article, you can begin the process to stop dog digging.

Dog leash training, training your dog to obey your commands and knowing how to stop destructive dog behavior are all critical parts of learning to be a responsible dog owner.  For more stop dog from digging tips, go to StopDogFromDigging.com

When we first get our new puppy or a dog from rescue, we typically wish to know what kind of training, if any, the dog knows. Sit is about the very first thing a dog learns so many dogs know this one, even puppies. But as we move thru life with our dogs it is terribly helpful for humans to be able to direct the dogs from one place to another.

Having your dog pulling on lead is a bad habit that needs correcting instantly. This behavior makes for annoyed owners and possibly hurts the dog’s neck. There is a technique to change this behavior.

It sure would be convenient if our dogs could change direction or wait for a few minutes whilst we made our way to the automobile, round the block or in the house? Having a dog run across a busy street is frightening and deadly. That is something that occurs too often and can be curtailed.

My dog trainer, John Spieser, says that the first 2 commands he teaches a dog or a puppy are “wait” and “this way”. Using these two commands he can get a dog to go just about anywhere he wishes them to and keep the dog safe along the way. This is also used to get a dog to stop pulling on the leash.

The command “wait” is simple to coach your dog. For some reason, wait, feels temporary to a dog so he’s more prepared to wait there than to “stay” somewhere for ages. “Wait” is good for street corners. Tell your dog to “wait” at the corner while traffic passes. Or maybe your dog needs to stay calm whilst another dog, kids, bikes or whatever passes by. Perhaps you want him to wait for his food. Irrespective of the reason, the dog learns that it is only a temporary situation, soon to be followed by the release ( which is rewarding ) and doubtless more certainly stimulating for the dog.

The “this way” command is much better than come. The recall or “come” command tends to get over used and dogs may get resentful after hearing it often. Using “this way” allows the dog to keep moving but in a different direction. If your dog is running away from you and doesn’t respond to the typical recall command of “come”, then try implementing “this way” into your coaching routine. A dog hears this as a chance to please and still keeps moving. It’s much less restrictive to the dog and it is actually simple to coach this to a dog.

For more effective communication with your dog, try dog coaching commands that teach your dog how to move with you without being too restrictive. Consider making “wait” and “this way” a first part of your repertoire.

These two commands are successfully employed in changing the leash pulling behavior too. The two dog training commands that make the most sense are ones that give you a lot of versatility with your dog.

Get your dog or puppy moving where you need him using these 2 dog training instructions. Stop your dog pulling. Listen in the free audio from my dog trainer John Spieser.

Basic puppy training

One should never attempt to train a dog if they have no knowledge about basic puppy training.

Anyone could learn how to train a dog, there are so many sources of information, but the fear of information overload is very likely to deter one. Learn how to train a dog, before to attempt to train one.

Dogs by nature, love to please and love to be rewarded. This basic nature of a puppy makes dog training quite an easy task. The difficult part of dog training is the communication between man and beast.

Three fourth of the dog training battle is won if you can get the dog to understand your intentions, actions and commands

The cardinal rule in dog training is ‘TRUST’ ‘RESPECT’ and ‘LOVE’ and definitely NOT FEAR. You can never train a dog properly if he fears you. Fear breeds mistrust. Dogs never trust a person it fears.

Avoid striking the dog al all costs, whether it is with your bare hand or with an object like a leash, cane or anything.

Avoid loud repetitive and harsh scolding al all costs.

To convey your disapproval a single stern verbal NO is more than enough, anything else would be over doing it.

Use the positive approach of praise and rewards instead. If the dog realizes that it will get no praise or reward if it does the wrong thing, it will soon try and remember the things HE SHOULD NOT DO

Rewards are a very important part of basic puppy training.

Remember that any praise or reward will reinforce correct behaviour. Hugging and petting or lovingly stroking the dog when it does the right thing is OK, BUT a reward with a small treat goes a longer way in reinforcing correct behaviour.

Food is the prime motivator with all animals, and the dog is no different.

The next best thing in dog training is your body language. Develop the art of communicating with your actions instead with your words. Right from the very start try and establish body movements that mean YES and movements that mean NO. Establish a relationship with a verbal command and each particular movement of your hand or head.

Puppies are very alert, attentive and sensitive. Body language can go a long way and achieve just as good response as verbal commands.

The best way to perfect your body language is to start with accompanying each basic verbal command with a particular action of the head and hand. Co-ordinate the movement with the verbal command.

After some time only resort to the movement and reward immediately when there is a positive response from the dog. Reward the dog on a positive response and establish in its mind what that body movement meant.

To succeed at dog training you must be persistent. You must persevere if you want results. Teaching or training can be very frustrating. Everyone will get frustrated with the lack of results. Keep at it.

Everything takes time. Do not expect results overnight. Do not have unrealistic time frames. Place no time frame. Work at achieving results instead. Train yourself to be patient.

Keep at it and you will be rewarded with a well behaved, well adjusted happy and healthy dog.

For more tips please visit on www.basicpuppytraining.net.

Does your dog or even worse, your neighbor’s dog bark all the stinkin time?
If so it’s pretty easy to reach your whit’s end rather quickly.

After a while you really couldn’t care less why the little nimrod’s doing it, you just want to make the barking stop. Does that sound about right to you?

Trust me, I know what you’re going through all too well.
How would I know these feelings of frustration so intimately?

Simple, my wife got a small Poodle and the little begger absolutely would not stay quiet for 10 minutes. I swear, if an ant walked across the driveway he would carry on for 20 minutes strait. I was just about to lose my marbles with the little loudspeaker.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I love animals and I especially love dogs (cat’s I could live without). I don’t know about you personally, but I like well behaved dogs. 
So, not really wanting to incur my wife’s wrath for suggesting Fido be relocated several States away just to make the barking stop, I started researching to really find a solution or at least find some other options and find them fast.

Here are a couple of the things to stop the dog barking that I discovered:

All the books said “You need to find out why in the world is the dog is barking in the first place”. And I’m thinking yeah, right! I don’t care why the little dim bulb’s carrying on like a broken record, just make him stop.

But I do have to agree, there is proper barking and bad barking. So when training your dog it is important to teach your dog the difference between nuisance barking and good barking (like if it’s 2 am and I’m snoring keep quiet, but if you see a guy with a mask a gun and a sack, Bark!).

As it turns out there is actually a lot of different kinds of barking, there’s reactive, territorial, separation anxiety, fear and warning barking. And without becoming a Sigmund Freud for Animal Planet tm I really couldn’t tell you which was which.

I did find a few things that actually worked really well. What the heck it only took 5 hours of reading & video’s and it cost more than the dog did to buy all the books to find one that worked.

But here’s one of the tips that it said that worked really good. Every time the dog barks give it a piece of bacon with 1/2 a Prozac stuck into it (ok, ok, so that was my solution and not exactly what the book said, but the dog liked it!) Just kidding!

No really, what the book said was give the dog another outlet. And because it might truly take me an hour and a half to watch the Television show 60 Minutes, I’m thinking, alternate outlet, WHAT! they want me to plug the little bugger into a wall socket?

Well, turns out I was wrong, they meant every time it starts yapping give him a soft toy and toss it around for a second so he gets the idea to play with it. This way when the dog starts feeling anxiety, nervousness or separation it will look for the toy and find comfort in it.

There are a ton more tips that I got at => http://stopdogbark.tripleyourinfo.com/

But I sure hope this one helps, it worked for me even better than the Prozac and at over a buck a pill that stuff gets kinda pricey after a bit.

It’s easy to spend money on our dogs for items they don’t truly need. After all, a little pampering never hurt. Unfortunately, while millions of owners purchase trinkets and luxuries for their canines, they often fail to invest the same attention into their dogs’ health. That can lead to large veterinarian bills later. Even worse, the thought of an expensive trip to the vet causes many owners to delay necessary treatment for their pooches.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the things you can do to maintain your canine companion’s health. By spending a little time and money upfront, you can avoid costly emergency bills in the future.

Throughly Inspect Your Pet Weekly

Canines deal with plenty of problems, including ear and eye infections, odd discharges, gum disease, and more. Making matters worse, being outside can result in fleas, scratches, and other issues. Take the time to give your dog a self inspection once a week. That includes brushing his teeth, checking his eyes and ears, and even smelling his breath. Otherwise, that small issue can develop into a larger problem extremely fast.

Enroll In Training Classes

Obedience training will result in a more friendly experience with your pets, but could also save you money on otherwise accidental emergency bills. A trained canine is less likely to dart from you into traffic while you’re walking him. Also, training will prevent his snapping or biting a stranger or another pet.

Don’t Neglect Spaying Or Neutering

You should spay or neuter your dog unless you’re planning to professionally breed her or him. Beside the Birth Control options, spaying and neutering has substantial health benefits for your dogs. In female canines, there is a much lower chance of developing breast cancer. And the likelihood of developing cancer in the ovaries or uterus is eliminated. For males, the procedure significantly lowers the likelihood of developing testicular cancer.

Set Aside An Emergency Fund

Sometimes, emergencies are unavoidable. You can provide the best care possible for your dog and still end up worried in the veterinarian’s waiting room. Start saving money so that a large medical emergency bill can be paid off. That way, you’ll have the funds to make sure your pooch receives the treatment he needs.

Too often, owners make the tragic decision of sacrificing their canines’ health because they are unable to afford the required treatment. Avoid that situation entirely by creating an emergency fund for your dog.

One last note: make an appointment with the veterinarian to give your pooch a routine check-up every six months. Even if you’re inspecting his coat, eyes, ears, and teeth once a week at home, problems can escape your notice. Plus, your canine may be coping with an internal issue. The veterinarian can perform an examination that uncovers medical problems before they become serious. Treating them early can prevent emergencies later.

A little preventative care – and a lot of love – can keep your dog healthy and happy while preserving your bank account.

If you are unhappy with the behavior of your Bedlington terrier, the best way to deal with it is via Bedlington Terrier training. Of course, it need not be difficult to train your dog, though it is a process that requires patience and determination and so it is worthwhile understanding the steps involved in training a Bedlington Terrier.

Realize Your Bedlington Terrier’s Needs

When your dog participates in Bedlington terrier training, the dog will fulfill some of its basic needs including exercising, socializing with other dogs and feeling secure in the knowledge of what is expected of it. After your Bedlington terrier has taken part in a dog obedience course, your dog will be able to respond in an appropriate manner to your commands while avoiding separation anxiety.

The main aim of starting out to train a Bedlington terrier is to teach it to behave in the desired manner around people and other dogs, and it should also teach him to become a well-behaved companion. In addition, your Bedlington terrier will have learnt how to perform specific tasks, though of course he should not be punished when he fails to do what is asked off him.

There are many that believe that Training A Bedlington terrier implies punishing the dog when it disobeys commands or doesn’t respond as he should. However, providing the dog with a treat when he obeys your commands is a more appropriate and better option for training.

Basically, you should realize that your Bedlington terrier is a social animal that will respond well to obedience training, and that if he remains untrained the dog may behave erratically rather than in a manner appropriate for a housebroken dog. Training and caring for a Bedlington terrier is an ongoing process that may continue for some time and it requires the active participation of the owner as well as the trainer, and it is more than giving your dog commands and expecting it to work hard. Training a Bedlington terrier is designed to improve its quality of life and sociability and it should help in making it a content, happy and obedient companion that will enjoy spending time with you and other members of the family.

Patience and dedication are a must when training a dog. To achieve the desired results in rescued dog will take double the dedication and patience. However, the rewards will be worth the effort.

Unplanned litters continue to be common even though the practice of spaying and neutering has been around for decades. Because of this it is hard to find loving homes for all of these newborn pups.. And if you combine this with dogs that are lost or have runaway, the animal shelters are spilling over. For many of these dogs being euthanized will be the sad reality.

For a some lucky dogs, there is a second chance. Some will be adopted into the care of a loving family or rescued from the street. But to the inexperienced dog owner it can be a mystery as to how best to proceed.

Dogs that are brought to shelters are generally not in the best condition. Horrible living conditions, abuse and neglect are often a part of their history. Sometimes these dogs can even be let go into the wild and they will have to fend for themselves.

Dogs are pack animals. Because of this dogs that are in the wild usually do not do well in isolation. Domesticated dogs are used to human and animal interaction so do poorly when released to the wild. However, with some training, these ‘wild’ dogs can learn to tolerate human touch and stop barking at the smallest noise.

A rescued dog will need a full examination by a vet as the first step in the rehabilitation process. If the animal is sick or in pain your training efforts will be wasted. Take the time to restore the dog’s health and bring it back to a healthy weight.

It can be difficult to find out the history of the dog but any information can be of use. Your training efforts will be helped if you have information on the dog’s past abuse or medical history.

Take your time when trying to gain the dog’s trust. Do not force yourself on the dog. The dog needs to learn to trust you and will then seek you out. The use of treats is a good way to build trust. Place a treat on the floor and back away a few steps. Do not stare directly at the dog. Once the dog takes the food make sure they get enthusiastic praise.

A few dogs that are rescued look for physical interaction from the beginning. Many others will take longer. But once you have established it, try to roll the dog over onto his back and place your hand on their chest. You will have two possible reaction, either resistance from an aggressive dog or fearful acceptance from a passive dog. Neither behavior is good. Forcing an aggressive dog into a submissive position is done under normal training. This technique typically does not work for rescued dogs. Take your time and establish trust. By speaking in a soft and calm tone of voice and gently rubbing the belly a fearful dog will know that being on its back is a positive experience and not a punishment.

Be patient as it is often difficult and slow to train a rescued dog. They are often older dogs, mixed, and with difficult temperaments which makes training more challenging. Hang in there. Your perseverance will pay off.

Don’t feel sorry for the dog. Training can be hindered by doing this. You will want to be loving and caring when appropriate but still be in control. Be a pack leader and let the dog know that you are in charge.

It’s a lot of sweet and hard work but you will have a companion for life.

Stefan Hyross writes for the site All About Dogs ‘N Puppies. Correct common dog behavior problems and other issues. Also visit the site for tips on puppy
potty training and other lessons for dogs.