Training a dog can seem hard, confusing or overwhelming for a person that has never gone through it. There is so much information available on training dogs that it’s easy to become completely overloaded with no idea of where to begin. Here are some tips and advice to help you get started with effectively training your dog.
Set a schedule and routine for feeding your dog from the very beginning of your relationship. Feed your dog twice a day and only leave his food dish out for fifteen minutes. This will help your dog learn his feeding schedule. Before long, your dog will learn to eat more quickly and efficiently.
Keep your dog on a healthy diet. A dog with an unhealthy diet may manifest several symptoms, including sluggishness and poor behavior. Not only is it unhealthy, it can affect the way they behave. Something as simple as improving their diet can sometimes have a huge impact on how receptive they are to training.
Do your best to keep your dog active through the day. Dogs can get bored quite easily. When dogs feel bored, they are much more stubborn when it comes to training. If your dog is fit and content, he will be much more likely to heed your instructions. Make long walks or daily runs a part of your routine that you and your dog can look forward to.
When you are trying to house train your puppy, keep in mind that everything that you put in, will come out. To keep your pet regular, feed him quality food a couple of times daily at the same hour. You can then schedule your walks at the right times to prevent unwanted accidents.
Teaching a dog how to roll over isn’t too hard with a few treats in your hand. The first step is to teach your dog to lay. Afterward, bring the treat above the dogs head and follow over to their other side. Your dog is probably going to follow the treat in your hand with his nose, which means he will rollover his whole body. Whenever your dog does actually roll over, say “roll over” out loud. Repeating this over time forms a mental association in your dog’s mind that eventually causes him to roll over on command. Be patient if they don’t get it right away; they’ll get it soon enough!
If you encounter a dog with whom you are not acquainted, you should do so slowly and with the back of a hand outstretched. This gives the dog a chance to become accustomed to your personal scent and shows him you mean no harm. When the dog becomes familiar with your smell, he will not fear you and will respond to your commands easier.
Pay strict attention to your body language and tone of voice anytime you are training a pet. Dogs are great at understanding how their trainer feels. By adopting a stern tone to your voice, it will be easier to enforce discipline.
Make sure you’re praising your dog so that you enforce positive behavior. Positive reinforcements include treats, smiles and pats on the head. Do not reward unwanted behavior. This will cause your dog to think that he is doing something good.
Be consistent when dog training. Make a list of the commands that you are teaching your dog, and be sure that everyone in your household knows them. Behavior should be rewarded or not depending on the affect that is being sought. If different people are responding differently with the dog, it will make training difficult and confuse the dog.
Punishment is an ineffective tool for training your dog. While it’s best to prevent bad behavior to start with, if your pet is misbehaving, make sure he does it right the second time. Training a pet should allow you to teach your pet and connect with him; the process should focus on positive communication.
If you want your dog to be agile, find a breed that is naturally this way. While virtually any dog can do agility, some breeds – like German and Australian shepherds – truly excel at it.
If your dog is barking too much try to find out why they are doing it. If you are aware of what causes your dog to bark, you can more easily address the issues. For instance, if your dog barks when someone knocks at your door, have a friend help you with training by triggering your dog’s barking as you teach him the “quiet” command.
Training your dog can be much easier if you use a crate. Always take your dog out consistently if you want to be effective at crate training. A dog trained in a create will have less accidents with time.
Ball Directly
When teaching a dog to fetch, make sure to establish your role as the leader by having him/her bring the ball directly to you each time. If your pet drops the ball and you tell him to pick it up, you are telling him that you are his leader. Your dog will understand his expectations if he must always bring the ball directly to you.
These tips should have given you some great starting points. Keeping these tips in mind when you start training your dog can help you become a very happy dog owner.
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