Dog Training

I know I made a heap of mistakes when I tried to train my own dog “Gus”. But we can’t change the past – I know! I am really passionate about helping as many others avoid the mistakes I made, which is why I am here talking to you I guess! Save yourself the stress and frustration, and grab the book from here, www.dogtrainingmasters.com I say this; because I only wish there was something like this when “Gus” was around. Anyway, here are a few extra tips for you.

Begin training your pup early in life:

This is so since whatever is learnt early in life is easier to learn and teach. Besides, the older your untrained dog, the more difficult for you to make him “un-learn” all his bad habits.

Be gentle and humane while training:

Train your dog with gentleness and humaneness, and always use positive motivational methods. Make your obedience sessions upbeat so that he enjoys them, but if things begin to drag, try the play training approach by using games like Hide-n-Seek, Fetch, etc.

Does he demand or beg for your attention?

If your dog wants your food while you’re dining, that’s bad enough. And if he jumps on you while you’re lounging around, that doesn’t speak well of his training either. Does he demand your attention when you have visitors or does he ignore your commands? If he responds to you well at home, you can expect the same of him outdoors too, but if he doesn’t, he’s going to ignore you when he sees other dogs in the street or pigeons, passers-by or food scraps.

Give commands to him that you want enforced:

If you give your pet a command, see that he obeys it. But if it is not, then the message your dog picks up is that obeying you is really at his discretion.

One command must beg one response from him:

Make him learn that every time you shout out a command, it must be answered by one response from him. If you repeat your commands, your dog gets bored and doesn’t apply his mind to anything you say. It also teaches him that you’re calling his bluff. So, don’t say “Sit, sit, sit, sit!” if what you mean is “sit.” Once you’ve said the word, lure him into doing what you want him to, then reward him amply.

Don’t combine commands:

If you combine commands, it confuses your dog. So, either say “sit” or “down,” but never “sit down” as he knows that each of these words is for a separate action.

Speak in a calm and authoritative voice:

When issuing a command, neither should you speak in a loud nor harsh voice, but certainly speak in a calm and authoritative voice. Even if he is especially unresponsive, let your voice waft across to him calmly. Then, he will begin to respond. Sometimes, dogs don’t respond because they are confused as to what their owners really want and at other times they could be deterred by fear or nervousness.

Use your dog’s name positively:

Take your pet’s name positively rather than combining it with reprimands, warnings or punishment. Your dog should be confident that when his name is called, good things will happen to him. He should be able to respond to his name with enthusiasm rather than fear.

Correct his bad behavior, rather than punishing him:

Teach your pet what he should do, communicate this to him, but don’t beat him in order to teach him. This will not serve to teach him the lesson you want him to learn but instead will undermine your relationship, and keep all the fun out of your motivational training.

Time your training:

You need to catch your dog in time just as he is about to make a mistake in behavior and correct him in the act. For instance, just when he is poised to jump on the kitchen counter and grab some food, correct him then and there. In his mind, the action and your response combine to teach him the lesson you want him to learn. Now, he will never jump onto the kitchen counter for food.

Don’t give your dog attention when he misbehaves:

Don’t do this because this only reinforces this kind of behavior that you want out of his behavior pattern.

Be patient:

Your untrained dog may give you many occasions to lose your cool, but keep a handle on your anger. It doesn’t pay to be angry nor should you yell, hit or be harsh with your pet. This intimidates him and instills fear and stress in his mind where you are concerned.

So you have decided after considering all the pros and cons of owning two dogs, to bring home a second dog in your home. Once you have chosen your second puppy you will then need to carefully introduce each other. One of the best places to introduce your second dog to your older dog is in a local park or some other neutral environment. Your two dogs may not necessarily become best of friends simply after the first meeting.

Don’t worry about this! It may take time for them to get used to each other and adjust to the changes. If you are able to introduce both dogs prior to you bringing home the new dog, then this will only benefit their relationship once the new dog has come to your home. Keeping in mind that all dogs view the world in terms of packs and hierarchies with in the dog pack, when your new dog comes home you will notice that both dogs may battle for the right to be the top dog.

Although not always the case sometimes the Alpha dog is usually either the largest, oldest or the male dog. So be prepared for some fighting, which may be over food or some toys. If this does occur then simply separate their food as well as their toys. Determining who is the Alpha dog between the two is something that can only be decided between your two dogs.

It is no point trying to control or decide on your dogs behalf, who will become the Alpha dog. If you do here minor disputes or arguments between the two dogs, then simply ignore them. Also be wary of praising the top dog, as he or she may feel that that is their signal that it is okay to bully the other dog. Sometimes the fights between your two dogs may become quite serious.

This can occur especially if you had to equally dominant dogs. If you feel you are unable to control these disputes, then you may need to call a professional canine behaviorist. Training to dogs in one home can be quite a challenge. This being said, many of the dog training principles remain the same. The important thing to note is that you may need to train your dogs separately but incorporate their respective names to the commands. So this means if you were to ask your dog to “sit” for example, you would teach your dog that command “Rex sit”.

This is so if you needed to control one dog when both of your dogs are together, then your command will be heard by the appropriate dog. Another trick is training and managing two dogs in one home is to work with them separately. This means if you were going for a walk or you wanted to play with your dog, you should do this separately. Doing this will show your dogs that they individually are loved and appreciated by their owner.

Owning a dog is one of life’s pleasures that only a true dog lover will understand. But it is through the process of training your dog that begins the special bond that unites both you and your pet.

The time you invest in to training your dog is the foundation of the everlasting trust and love and not to mention loyalty between you and your dog. In order to successfully train your dog there are a few things that we as dog lovers need to understand. Your dog is an individual with his own particular quirks and personality.

You need to remember this while you’re training him so that you can specifically handle and meet his specific needs. And when you do this you will be rewarded for a lifelong loving relationship with your dog. Your dog is very intelligent and just like us humans, he will learn many things through his day-to-day observations.

Imitating is a key principle of all canine learning. When your dog was a puppy he would watch and imitate his mother and as a result learn basic skills of survival. It is important to take a note of this learning method, and because it will apply also in your home. If you were to try and teach your dog to sit, and you gave the command to sit and then gently pushed his bottom down into the sitting position, your dog will soon learn and relate the command to the action.

Then with constant repetition your dog will soon automatically respond with the appropriate action of the command. To strengthen the learning process, it is important to provide immediate and consistent rewards for successful completion of the training command. By giving a dog a special treat, or rewarded with praise and attention after he completed a command, then he will associate the command and action with a positive reward.

Dog training is a means where you can establish a special bond and relationship with your dog. Your dog will learn how to behave and how to respond appropriately to your commands. This no doubt will give you a sense of pride and enjoyment that you are able to successfully communicate with your best friend. And let’s not forget your dog! Nothing will please your dog more than to be able to make you happy. So not only will dog training make your life easier and happier, but your dog will also enjoy your positive feedback.

When a prospective pet owner searches for the puppy of their dreams, it is quite common to consider bringing home to puppies rather than just the one. It is understandable why one may choose to bring home two puppies. Of course one could think that a single puppy would be lonely and that it was a great if they had a companion. However this can come with its own set of problems and potentially pitfalls even though on the surface the idea seems to be a good one. If your lifestyle permitted bringing home two puppies, then it will be kind of cute to see both of them grow up together.

This can definitely reduce the chances of either puppy experiencing separation anxiety. But it will be nice to see them grow close together and develop their special bond with each other by being together and doing everything together just as they would being best of friends. However the other thing to consider having two puppies, is that their dependence on each other may also cause some problems.

They could develop what is called littermate syndrome. With the syndrome, there is a potential that the two puppies may become socially isolated with each other. This means that they may become scared of other dogs and other people and fear the possibility of being separated from each other. This may result in a lot of stress and anxiety causing aggression against each other which can lead to fighting and in some cases even serious injury or death. He may have heard this being called “sibling rivalry”.

Interestingly some of the most serious fights occur between bitches. Some canine experts have noticed that if two dogs come together that are very similar in terms of their age, size, sex, as well as temperaments and breed that it can spark off a fight. It is believed that because these dogs are so similar, that they find it difficult to decide which of them is the alpha dog, and is therefore fight to establish dominance. If this is occurring in your home, and one of the solutions to correcting this is by re-homeing one of them.

Although this will be a difficult decision, but if both dogs remained together they will only continue to fight and hurt each other due to their complete self-reliance on each other. It has been noted that after these two dogs have been separated, both dogs will dramatically improve both in personality and temperament almost immediately.

If re-homing one of your parts is too difficult a decision for you to make, then there may be something you could do to help your situation with the two puppies. The idea is to create a distinct identity for each of your puppies. Now doing this isn’t going to be easy and you will need to work doubly hard to achieve it.

Here is what you can do:

• Feed them separately

• Walk them separately

• Train them separately

• Crate them separately

• Play with them separately

You will probably need to do this for at least 12 to 14 months, because by this time their personalities and temperaments will have been formed and they will become more confident in their abilities as individuals. By being treated separately and in some regard being apart from each other, then they will learn and grow to become well rounded and adjusted dogs.

It is a fact in the canine world that puppies chew. This is often a dog’s choice method during playtime and is an important way for them to handle teething. It is perfectly natural for a dog to bite during these circumstances, but it is absolutely not acceptable for a pup to ever bite a person. This is why it is so important to learn the basics of training a dog not to bite as soon as you bring your new pet home from the shelter or the breeder. A dog that instinctively bites can be dangerous – not only to those living within your home, but visitors and those who pass by your yard while your dog is outside. It is very important to train your dog not to bite as a part of the responsibility of dog ownership. The good news is that there are some basic steps that you can take as soon as your dog enters your home that will lessen the odds that your pet will ever bite someone.

Socialization is Key

Most dogs learn in the first four months of life that aggressive biting is not appropriate behavior. They will find this out through their social interactions with other dogs. For example, if a puppy chews too hard on a littermate during a play session, the other pup will let him know that his behavior is not acceptable by growling or barking. If a dog is taken from his litter prior to this four-month mark (and most are), you will need to provide socialization with your puppy to help him to learn this important lesson. It is easiest to train your dog not to bite through interactions with other dogs, but it is equally important to socialize your pet with the human members of your household as well. The more used to people that your dog becomes, the less likely he will be to exhibit behaviors of fear or intimidation that lead to biting. When you bring your puppy home, incorporate him into your family, and let him get used to being around all of the family members.

Discipline is Important

It is a good idea to stay away from playtime activities that include nipping or chewing of any kind, such as wrestling or playing tug-of-war with your pet. Never allow your puppy to bite or chew on your hand, even if it is in a playful way. Teach your children how to properly handle your dog, by instructing them to leave the pet alone when eating, sleeping or chewing on a toy. If your dog is exhibiting behavior that you think might be a biting danger, consult your veterinarian or animal shelter for resources in training classes and guidance. Obedience courses are a great first step in training your dog in all aspects of appropriate behavior, including training your dog not to bite. Community centers, pet shops and veterinarian offices are all good places to find out about the obedience training courses in your area.

A dog can be a welcome addition and an enjoyable companion for any family. Proper training of your dog is paramount in developing a positive relationship with your pet. One of the first goals in teaching your dog proper behavior should be in training your dog not to bite.