Training a dog can seem hard, confusing or overwhelming for a person that has never gone through it. You can easily be lead to information overload because of all of the resources available to new trainers. The tips below can help you start training your dog properly.
It takes small steps to crate train your puppy; they must become accustomed to it. Once your puppy feels comfortable in the open crate, close the door and offer the dog a treat. Start off only putting them inside for 10 seconds, and when they seem okay with that, slowly increase the time they are inside. If your dog becomes restless, you may be ramping up too quickly.
Pet Needs
Always maintain a calm environment as you enter any room your dog occupies. Your pet needs play time (and you might too), but your pet needs to be calm when you step into rooms most of the time. When you ignore the dog on entry, they shouldn’t bother you about playing.
Dogs have great focus and can focus on one thing, ignoring everything else, until something breaks their attention. Once your dog knows his attention command, you will be able to coerce him to ignore almost anything.
Keep your dog up to date with training your dog, in order to keep him or her compliant with an established set of rules. Some dog owners make the mistake of thinking that once training has ended, no further action is required. However, pets are ruled by habits, structure and routine in much that same way that humans are. Dogs, much like kids, do best when they have limits and rules.
Be patient when training a dog. You will not get frustrated or mad and neither will your pet. Your dog wants to make you happy, but sometimes it just does not understand you.
You need to make certain your dog is having fun each day during training sessions. When you engage in play with your pet, your relationship becomes stronger; your dog will often respond better to you while training because of this enhanced bond. Training is fun for your dog, but it doesn’t always have to be about learning something new. Play for the sake of playing.
You cannot rush through the training process. Puppies have short attention spans, therefore keep your sessions short and provide ample amounts of praise. He’ll likely forget everything you taught him if you do too much at once. He will also look at training as a negative experience and it will be harder next time.
When housebreaking your puppy, accidents will happen. Make certain the accidents are cleaned up immediately, so your training efforts cans stay on course. If your carpet begins to smell like urine and feces, your puppy will believe that it is the right place to potty and return to it again and again. Your local animal store may have numerous products to help eliminate this.
During leash training, it is necessary to ensure that the leash stays loose. When a dog gets the chance to explore new sights, sounds and smells on a walk, he often becomes very excitable. Many dogs will strain against the leash due to their eagerness. Great dog owners don’t allow this behavior. Instead, they encourage their dogs to walk with some slack in their leash.
Leashes can be a new concept for puppies, so have them begin preparing for it by wearing a collar during playtime. Helping your dog feel comfortable with a collar on is critical because it helps ease the adjustment to a leash, and it also facilitates identification of the dog should he become lost.
You can ensure that your dog stays up-to-date with what you’ve taught him by providing a challenge at regular intervals. Give him a quiz where he has to perform all of his tricks, even if you know for a fact he does.
Maintain consistency when training your dog. Have a set list of commands that everyone in the household knows. In addition, make sure that the behaviors of the dog are treated consistently. Good behaviors get rewarded; bad behaviors do not. Having different people respond differently can confuse the dog and make training more difficult.
The advice in this article has given you some needed guidance and insight. Properly training your pooch can result in a happier, reduced stress life for the both of you.