If you have never tried to train an animal, the idea may be rather intimidating. There is a lot of information out there and sorting through it all can seem difficult. These are just some tips to help you start out with dog training the right way.
Your dog should enjoy being trained by you. Keep in mind that your dog does not have an attention span that goes beyond fifteen minutes. Keep your rewards coming and vary what you give them. Your dog should enjoy lots of praise for a job well-done. Your dog will be more receptive if you make training time fun!
When you can learn what will motivate your dog, you will have more success in your training. Spend some time to learn what all about your dog - what will work for him, what he likes, and which training techniques will be a waste of time. Offer your dog a lot of positive reinforcement and an array of training techniques. When the dog is happy, he will want to perform better.
If your dog has separation anxiety, its important that it learns to connect with more than one person. The dogs relationships to other people serve to dilute its unhealthy level of dependence and fixation on you that causes it so much grief.
Do not take out your other frustrations on your dog by speaking to it sternly for no reason. Keep in mind that unless your dog has misbehaved immediately before your interaction, your behavior toward the dog should be positive in nature.
Positively encourage your dog without using treats. Offering treats as rewards for learning new tricks or behavior can be effective. However, its unlikely that you will carry treats around every single day for the rest of your dogs life. Petting and hugging dogs as positive reinforcement while training is better than giving them treats.
Modify and update your dogs training as necessary, so he remains in compliance with the rules. A lot of owners will train their dogs once and not conduct any refreshers. Like their human owners, pets truly are creatures of habit. Therefore, it is vital that your dog follows an established rule system at all times.
Dogs can learn a multi-step behavior by stepwise refinement just like humans can. One example might be to teach him to fetch your daily newspaper. You will need to teach him or her how to hold something first. Next, your dog will need to learn the objects name. After that, he needs to learn how to lift up the object. Finally, he should learn to bring the object to you. If you break it down, your dog will understand the linear relationship of the behavior.
Limit the time of your training sessions with your dog so he doesnt lose focus. Dogs can only handle a short amount of training at a time, so dont overdo it. Try limiting training sessions to 10 minutes or less.
Dogs learn by repetitive technique and reward. Repetition and reward are the best ways to train a dog. However, you should limit your training sessions to a certain time frame otherwise you may both become frustrated. This is the most effective way to modify a dogs behavior or teach him a trick. You have to show them with plenty of repetition and rewards.
You wont get anywhere in your dog training routine if your dog feels unsafe. If they do not feel safe, they may show bad behavior. Make your dogs surroundings comfortable and safe in order for this not to happen.
Do not give your dog any punishments when you are in the process of training. Try to prevent bad behavior, but if it does happen, show your dog what he should have done. Training is about teaching your dog, and building a good relationship with him.
Never try to train a dog while youre short on patience. If youve had a bad day or are unusually short-tempered for some other reason today, its better to put off training until another day. Your patience is vital for encouraging the focused attention your dog needs to get the full benefits of training.
Your tone of voice is very important when you discipline your dog. Dogs tend to be well in tune with how their trainers are feeling. A firm but stern tone should be enough to reinforce discipline.
Do not wear out your new puppy with an excessive training regiment. A puppys attention span is short and their energy is limited, so your sessions should be short and positive. If you push too hard, your puppy will remember it as a negative experience, and the next time you work to train him, it will be far more difficult.
If you know that your dog will react negatively in response to certain triggers, distract him until the moment is over. If your dog is antisocial around other dogs, distract him with something interesting if you get near other neighborhood dogs. This will allow him to make the relation between the positive stimuli and positive things happening.
Mentally stimulate your dog if you want it to be healthy and happy. Among some of the best things for your dog are plenty of strolls in the neighborhood, chew toys and rawhide bones. If your dog gets bored, chances are he will find a way to stay busy, and you probably wont like what he chooses.
When you begin training your puppy, create a bond with him by first teaching him his name. Simply start by calling his name as often as possible. Once he learns his name, you can encourage him to come to you when called. Your dog should learn these items before any others as theyre the most important. Spend plenty of quality time with them, so that they know that they can trust you. In this way, he will be more receptive to advanced training later.
When looking at dog trainers, do a lot of research. Check user reviews on the Internet and learn their training methods. Make sure that the specialist has ideas in line with yours.
You can prevent your dog from destroying your home by keeping it outdoors when you are away from the house. When this isnt possible, you want to provide things that both appeal to your dog and that are okay for the dog to chew on. Establishing acceptable chews toys is also about keeping those things you do not want your dog to chew up behind closed doors or well out out of reach.
Utilizing the fore-mentioned tips can enable you to curb common training problems and misconceptions. If you keep these tips in the back of your mind when its time to train your dog, it will kick-start your training into an ultra-efficient routine..
