Having a well-trained dog can provide your home with a happy balance. By being trained, you and your dog can relate to each other and where the other one is coming from. You won’t have to worry much about doing public outings or letting him stay home alone after he is trained. It might take some effort, but teaching your dog tricks and manners is an important investment in everyone’s happiness.
Proper and generous rewards are critical to training your dog. Giving you pet treats in a timely manner is very important. Make sure to give your dog the treats at the proper time, to encourage good behavior.
Make sure that the only items your dog can reach are chew toys that are specifically made for dogs. Offer your puppy a variety of acceptable items to chew on. If teething is causing your dog a great of pain, give him a frozen washcloth to chew on and relieve the pain.
Pick a recognizable phrase to verbalize to your puppy during house training. By using a dedicated expression to handle training commands, you can make it easier for your pet to focus and make connections. Although it sounds silly to repeat something like “poopie time!” over and over, the consistency will help your dog make the right link between being taken outside and relieving himself.
To improve the efficiency of your training routine, make sure your dog eats and poops at around the same time every day. This makes it clear to your dog that he has to go outside and poop now, instead of stinking up your carpet. This helps your puppy learn to “hold it” for a bit, until he knows it’s time to go out and will help save you money on carpet cleaning.
Walking on a leash is a big step in your dog’s training. Not only is this safer for the dog and easier on your body, such a frequent activity mandates good self-control and reinforcement of the chain of command from training.
If your dog leaps on you, hold his paws and squeeze them a little so he will know this is not acceptable. This does not hurt the dog if you do it lightly, but it is an uncomfortable feeling for them. They will stop doing this behavior since it will be associated with a negative feeling.
Get your dog’s attention the same way every time. Begin commands by using his name. This will get his attention so he knows to follow the command. Dogs know their name and will be attentive when you speak it.
Before you train your puppy, teach him his name and bond with him. Repeat the name as much as possible, and reward your puppy when he responds. These are the first words your puppy should learn. Spend a lot of time with him or her so that trust can be established. This way he or she will be more open to some advanced training.
When housebreaking your puppy, accidents will happen. If your puppy has an accident, clean it up straight away. You pet will smell the urine and try to urinate there again. Check any local stores or pet shops for products that are specifically designed to remove the urine smell from a carpet.
Varying your vocal tones to suit different purposes can be helpful in dog training. Each type of command should use a different type of tone. Be firm at all times, but vary your tone depending on what you are trying to get the dog to do.
Do not give your dog too many treats; you could make him gain some weight when you offer an excessive number as rewards. It’s easy to overlook the treats, but the do add up, especially when you’re doing a lot of training.
If you are leash training a puppy, put the collar on him in advance of training. 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.
If you want to get rid of a behavior, stop rewarding this behavior. This makes the dog feel like he holds the control. An example of something to avoid is giving your dog a treat when it is barking.
When taking your dog on a trip, be sure to have collar and leash, food and water, your dog’s bed and plenty of plastic bags to clean up after your dog. Items like food and water bowls, bathroom bags and paper towels are important in having a very relaxing ride. You can purchase food, so this is not a high priority item.
Training is not a good time for punishing your dog. You should make every effort to prevent the behavior in the first place, but if your pet does misbehave, show him what he should have done instead. A very big part of training is establishing a good working relationship with your dog.
Older Dogs
Understand limitations of older dogs. Older dogs are harder to train because of developed quirks, so it is best to learn to live with those that are manageable. A dog in his senior years may not be as receptive to changes and new behaviors. It’s possible for them to learn new tricks, but it’s best to eliminate the negative behaviors that can be altered and get used to the other ones.
Training your dog is mostly about being consistent with your pooch and setting the rules of your relationship. Once those are set, you’ll find you both enjoy your time together even more! Continue to reinforce all learned behaviors. Provide refresher courses when needed and continue to correct bad behavior. Once your dog knows the basics, his ability to do anything is near limitless.