Aggressive behaviors, excessive barking and general disobedience are annoying to a dog owner. These bad habits can be changed. While it might not be possible to completely eliminate these behaviors, applying the advice in this article will still train the dog to a large degree. With dedicated effort, it is possible to transform any dog into a perfect pet.
To have success in dog training, you need to be able to control it with commands. Put yourself in an authoritative position, so that your dog knows to obey you. For example, when you walk your dog you must be in front and you should insist your dog follows behind you.
Ideally, training should begin during a dogs puppy years. This isnt always true, but the younger the animal, the more responsive to training he is. If you train your dog when he is young, then he will grow up behaving well.
Do not let the pressures of your day or life influence how you speak to your dog when you are training. Start the training session with good feelings and expectations. Only correct your dog after he has done something you dont want him to.
When training your dog, always remember to have fun. Playing with your dog helps build a stronger bond between dog and human, which encourages the dog to respond positively during training. Although dog training can be fun, you dont really want to spend all your time in training mode.
Always give your dog the tools for success. If you are training it to stop chewing things it shouldnt be chewing on, give it things that it can chew on. Even more so, an inappropriately-chewing dog needs to be protected. Some household items can be harmful to your dog if they are chewed upon.
Whenever you are teaching a dog a multi-step task, reduce it to a series of smaller tasks. For instance, maybe you are training your dog to fetch the morning paper. You first need to teach him exactly what a newspaper is and then how to hold it. He needs to associate the object with a name. From there, proceed to teach him how to pick the paper up without damaging it. Finally, he should learn to bring the object to you. Splitting a complex task into individual tasks is a good strategy, because the smaller tasks are easier to learn. Afterwards, the dog simply needs to learn to do them in the correct order.
Dogs can concentrate on one thing intensely and you will have to learn to break his attention. If you keep up with his training, your dog will look to you more often for direction rather than looking to the environment.
Using a crate is an effective way to house train your dog. Let the dog out on a regular schedule to make the crate training most effective. A dog trained in a create will have less accidents with time.
Consistency is key during your training sessions. Pick a single word or gesture for each command, action or behavior and use it exclusively. Dogs are able to associate repeated words or actions with the requested response. Consistency is essential to training. Establish a short list of vocabulary associated with communicating with your dog.
Any behavioral issues that suddenly occur should be checked by a vet to make sure there are no health conditions causing it. Certain health conditions, or even pain, can completely change an animals demeanor. It could even be to the point that the dog may become more aggressive and lash out at people. This behavior is an indicator to humans that there is something wrong.
Consistency is very important when training your dog. Have a set list of commands that everyone in the household knows. Also, make sure to be on the same page regarding rewarding good behavior and never rewarding bad behavior. Different training methods will only confuse your dog and delay training.
Although a harness is more comfortable for dogs, it does not offer as much control as a cinch-type collar. Using a collar and harness combo and only tugging on his collar when needed can teach your canine that he has to listen while harnessed, too.
Make sure that your dog has enough sleeping space, especially when the dog is a big one that likes to sprawl. Think about getting your dog an actual dog bed that fits its larger size; crib mattresses work great, too. There are several advantages to doing this since you are able to change the cover with frequency and ease when using fitted sheets. This is also good because mattresses for cribs are waterproof.
It is vitally important that your dog is treated in the same manner, given the same commands and rewarded similarly by every member of your family. This is the only way to ensure the training sticks. Consistency is the best method for training a dog. If you train your dog in a certain way while another family member encourages a different behavior, your dog will not know what to do.
There are many different approaches that can be used to crate train a new puppy. Many dogs are intimidated by the crate. To cure this, place something they enjoy in it and shut the door. If a dog sees something in the crate that they want, they will desire to enter it. Praise your dog once he gets into the crate.
If you want to train your dog, avoid playing any sort of control games like tug of war. Aggressive games promote aggressive behaviors, such as biting. Tug-of-war can be played once you have trained your puppy; however, it should not be played before the dog is completely trained.
Continuously maintain all training that you have done with your dog, and consider adding new behaviors as you go. Do not believe that just because you dog has graduated from obedience school that training is complete. However, pets are ruled by habits, structure and routine in much that same way that humans are. Its important to be consistent with the rules for your dog.
Just as a human likes to stretch out and lay on their backs, so do dogs. Therefore, it is essential to have a dog bed big enough for your furry friend. There are big, long dog beds around for larger dogs, or you could look for a mattress taken from a crib. This is a convenient and fun alternative because you have the opportunity to change the appearance of the bed and keep it clean by simply putting a new crib sheet on it every few days. The crib mattresses are also waterproof which means they are highly durable.
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.
Dog owners should now realize how easy the battle to train a dog can be when approached correctly. If the owner has the right mindset and good knowledge, they should be able to train a dog with no problem. It is possible for any dog to fulfill its potential and flourish under the tutelage of its master..