Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Teaching Dog Obedience The Easy Way

The easy way to teach dog obedience using kind, positive dog training methods.

Training a new puppy can be overwhelming. However, dog obedience training is crucial for the safety of your pet, your home, your property and other people. It is essential to you and your puppy that you use positive dog training methods. Consistency and patience are key elements in dog training. Set aside time each day to spend training your pet, usually 20 to 30 minutes in length is best, because that is the amount of time that they are most receptive. Any longer and they become bored.

When training your dog, you should always give your dog only one order at a time. If you give your dog more than one command at the same time, your dog will be confused about what order it should follow. This will frustrate both of you. By giving your dog only one order at a time, it will better understand your commands which will lead to a higher success rate.

As you begin working with your dog on their training program, make sure to pay close attention to their diet (dog nutrition guide). Much like humans, a dog gets their fuel from what they eat each day. Having a diet that is not nutritionally sound can affect a dog's behavior and make training more difficult.

When your canine has misbehaved, do not give it too much attention. In doing so continually, your dog will equate bad behavior with receiving attention from its owner(it does not matter to your pet that it is negative attention) and this will only reinforce bad habits which are difficult to break in the long term.

Make sure you and your family are consistent with your commands. If one person uses "down" to tell the dog to get off the couch while another says "off" and a third is letting him lay there, the dog is going to get mixed signals. It makes it much more difficult for him to learn the commands.

Train your dog by reinforcing positive behavior. This does not mean to punish your pet when he does something bad; instead, simply do not reinforce negative behavior. Negative enforcement might just make your dog scared of you. Positive reinforcement will ensure that your dog will want to do good things more often in order to receive treats and praise.

Give your dog plenty of positive reinforcement. Discipline isn't only about punishment for bad behavior. You should make sure to reward good behavior with lots of affection and praise. It will ensure that your dog understands when it is doing the right thing, and it will help it develop trust in its trainers.

When doing early leash training, select a nylon leash about six feet longer. A leash made of leather or other heavy material will drag on the dog's collar even when you aren't attempting to give a reinforcement, and can be extremely distracting for the dog. Once your dog is fully leash trained, however, leather leashes may look better and last longer than nylon ones.

If you are travelling with dogs, make sure to pack everything that your dog needs to eat, sleep and use the bathroom. Items like water and food bowls, paper towels and bathroom bags are essential to having a relaxing ride. Do not worry about taking a bag of their dog food with you; it is much easier to pick some up when you get to your destination.

When training a dog it is important to reward good behavior while redirecting bad behavior. Careful effort to maintain a clear distinction between good and bad behavior will go a long way towards overall training of the dog. This will guarantee that the dog knows why it is being rewarded or why it is being punished.

When you are training your dog, do not repeat commands over and over to get the dog to obey. Rather than teaching your dog to do what you say, repeating the same command when your dog doesn't listen gives them an attitude of indifference. Give your commands firmly, once, and insist the dog do what you say.

If your dog seems depressed or gets anxious when you are about to leave the house, your dog might suffer from separation anxiety. To help your dog go through the day, leave something that has your smell on it, such as an old piece of clothing. This could mean that your dog will not miss you so much.

Never yell at a barking dog. While a barking dog is sure to raise your frustration level, resist the urge to yell at them. Dogs do not understand that you are yelling at them, and often associate your raised voice as you joining in the fun of barking. If your dog is barking, calmly distract them with a toy or treat, and when the barking stops, give them their prize.

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