Congratulations is in order for your decision to get a new dog. It will soon become an integral part of your family. What is your next step after bringing your dog home? Don’t let any bad habits get started. Begin the training that will make your dog fit in with your home life, and be a joy to have. The following tips provide you with the information you need in order to successfully train your dog.
When crate training an indoor dog or puppy, you may try some tricks. If your pet is nervous about the crate, consider putting a toy or treat inside to motivate them to go in. Your dog will want to get into the crate in order to eat the treat. Give your dog some praise when he gets inside, so that he further associates being in the crate with good behavior.
You should not tie up multiple dogs where they can reach each other, no matter how friendly they are. The restraints for each dog can become tangled and in an effort to free themselves, they can be injured. For example, a large dog could tangle the chain with a smaller dog, wrapping the chain around the neck of the small dog, causing it to die.
Crate training requires crates of the correct size. Puppies grow up quickly. Choose a crate that is sure to be the right proportions for the adult dog you will eventually have. Generally speaking, your pet should be able to circle, sit and sleep without discomfort.
When you are approaching an unfamiliar dog, be sure to approach slowly and offer the dog the back of your hand to sniff. This gives a dog a chance to become familiar with your personal scent, which engenders trust. When he knows who you are, he’ll do what you ask.
Make sure training has an element of fun incorporated into it. Taking some time to have fun with your dog makes your dog like you more, which means fewer problems when training him. In addition to your daily training sessions, take time out for simple play. Make this uncomplicated and fun for your dog.
Primary reinforcement is the method commonly used to train dogs. This method involves giving your dog something they enjoy when they are well behaved. You can use food or a nice belly rub as primary reinforcements. This lets your dog know how to earn something it wants.
It is important that you teach your dog proper behaviors from day one. It is much easier to get a dog to learn the right way rather than making it unlearn its bad habits. If an owner feels strongly that their pet should not beg for food off the table, it is important that he or she refrains from giving it to the dog in the first place.
If you want to keep your dog trim and healthy, keep an eye on how many reward snacks you give him while training him. Treats don’t spring to mind when thinking about a pet’s diet, but they have an impact – one that is magnified during the reward-heavy training process.
To keep your dog from biting at furniture or people, or scratching at doors, spray him or her with a bottle of water. This teaches them that these behaviors are unacceptable. In short order, the dog is sure to cease such behavior, and assume the role of fun, yet obedient animal.
Remember, each action you perform around your dog affects who he is. For this reason, you may be causing unwanted behaviors by playing rough with your dog or teasing. Focus more on encouraging desirable and appropriate behaviors at all times.
To keep your training sessions positive and effective, you should also keep them short. You should use at most 15 minutes for training. Any longer and the dog will become frustrated and will not respond correctly. Following every session, allocate some playtime and give the dog lots of praise.
Dogs often chew because they are dealing with anxiety. Using a dog gate to set aside his own space or a crate to confine his nervousness may provide him with the security he needs while you are away, and adding a chew toy may redirect some of his destructive tendencies.
Dogs generally bite because they are afraid of something. Fear biting occurs if a dog feels trapped, threatened, or frightened. Force should never be used when training your dog. Doing so may result in injury to you. A puppy is expecting you to be the leader of his pack and is anxious to please you.
When your dog reaches six months, make sure that your dog is spayed or neutered. As soon as you have had your dog neutered start him in obedience classes. You don’t want hormones to interfere with the learning process. You will have a lot more happy years with your dog, and your dog will have a happier, healthier life.
Positive Reinforcement
For best results, your pet should be trained with consistent application of positive reinforcement. While this doesn’t mean to punish bad dogs, it does mean you should not encourage bad behavior. Enforcing negatively may cause your dog to fear you. Positive reinforcement is the best way to get your dog behaving the way you want.
A well trained dog is a happy dog, and owners of well trained dogs are pretty happy too. With the tips in this article, you now have the information you need to get started with dog training.
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