So many people end up with unruly pets because of a fear of dog training that has stricken so many people. Why? Well, being uneducated in dog training is an easy way to remain ineffective in your attempts. You should be more proactive in learning more so you can help your dog to learn more. Try these tips and move forward in learning new tricks. Dog owners can find great value in being affectionate toward their pets. Positive reinforcement has been proven to work better in a training situation than negativity. Dogs are social beings and love praise. Your efforts will go a long way toward improving future training sessions as well. K9 Magazine's Ryan O'Meara says that focussing on timing can pay huge dividends. Your timing and the expected timing of your dog's actions are essential. This is important because this is one learning aspect that is common to all dogs. While different dogs require different teaching methods, timing is a communication method that will help you find success no matter what you try. Participating in a group class can be a very effective way to train your dog. Group classes are almost always less expensive than individual training sessions. They also offer your dog the opportunity to socialize with other pets. Look for a smaller group though, so that you still have plenty of one on one interaction with the trainer. Does your dog jump up on you? Simply turn your back to your dog for a few seconds when she jumps up. Most dogs will quickly learn that jumping up makes you ignore them, but when they have all four feet on the floor, then you pay attention to them. If you are trying to prevent your dog from begging, the best thing to do is ignore the begging completely. Don't respond either positively, with a treat or petting, or negatively, by shouting. Your dog will learn quickly and remember for a long time that the begging ended up with you paying attention to the dog. Using a different tone of voice for different purposes, is a great teaching tool in training your dog. Commands, corrections and praise should all have their own tone in order to help your dog distinguish cause and effect with his and your behavior. Be firm and sharp with commands, use a louder tone for corrections, and your natural voice for praise. Your rewards should suit your dog's personality. You wouldn't work for free, so why would your dog? Make rewards match the difficulty of the task. Regular treats are great for behaviors your dog already knows, but don't be afraid to pull out something truly stinky and tempting to teach new challenges. Although a well trained dog can be taught to put up with just about anything, there will be times and situations where they are truly uncomfortable with a person, another animal, or a place. Don't force your dog to suffer through more of this discomfort than is absolutely necessary. There is a reason that they are uncomfortable and you need to determine that reason. Never punish a dog for a house-training accident unless you actually witness it happening. Nobody likes coming home to a smelly surprise, but one of the biggest mistakes you can make when house training a dog is punishing or scolding a dog for an earlier mistake. Dogs do not have a good concept of cause and effect, so scolding a dog for a mess will only serve to make them fear the actual mess or you, and not the act of making the mess. They do not understand why they are being punished and in some cases it can cause the dog to start eating their waste, because they know its presence makes you angry. If you catch them in the act, simply firmly tell them "no" and immediately take them outside. Remember, if you have a male dog who likes to cock their leg against fire hydrants or bollards, this is normal dog behaviour but those things are someone else's property and have to be cleaned. It's better to take the dog somewhere where they won't do this or at least teach them not to. If you want to tackle dog training head on, the best way to go is through the best learning possible. Get the research that you need to learn the strategies that are highly effective even for professionals. You should begin with the tips in this article and get smarter about teaching your dog better.
