Dog owners buy their pet expecting things to turn out well. Yet, all too often things don’t go as expected and the dog is given to an animal shelter. This doesn’t need to be the cause, though. Proper training will produce a good well-behaved family dog. It doesn’t have to be hard to train your dog, you will see that if you spend a little time it can be easy.
Timing is critical during dog training, and you must spend sufficient time on training without doing too much. Start with a short session and gradually add more time to it. Know when your dog does not pay attention when you are training it.
Products that don’t work
Don’t waste your money on expensive training products, such as shock collars. These devices are expensive and do not always work as well as you would expect them to. Also, using devices such as shock collars can restrain your dog while discouraging good behavior. Generally, techniques such as these actually produce negative results.
As the dog gets better at training, you can let it have more freedom. The balance between freedom and obedience can give dogs a great life. Just be cautious not to give too much freedom at once, as this may have a counter effect on your dog training.
Patience
When training your pet, you must be patient. Using patience helps prevent frustration for both you and the dog. Don’t forget that dogs aim to please, however they often don’t understand what you want.
Your dog requires at least one hour of exercise every day. By allowing your dog ample play time, he will be more willing to pay attention during training time. An exercised dog is a happy and responsive dog.
Teach your puppy his or her name before you start to train him or her, as this creates a bond. Use their name often, and then teach them how to come to you when called. These are the preliminary words that your dog need to know. Spend a lot of time with him or her so that trust can be established. The puppy will be more open to more training down the line.
Consistency
It is important that you are firm with your dog for effective training. However, this doesn’t mean constantly yelling at your dog. Instead, find some balance between being firm and being loving. This approach helps to reinforce your relationship with the animal.
Using different tones for different training purposes can be a useful tool in training a dog. Use different tones for orders, praises, warnings and reprimands so your dog can easily distinguish your different reactions. Be firm at all times, but vary your tone depending on what you are trying to get the dog to do.
Teach your puppy to wear a collar while playing before you train him to use a leash. Having the puppy get comfortable wearing the collar is important not only so that you can properly use a leash but also that your puppy has the proper identification tags in case he or she takes off.
Persistence
Challenging though it may be, you can have a dog who is obedient, loving and healthy. Proper training and showing your dog lots of affection and kindness are important to making this happen. By sticking with the guidelines from this article, you can help to assure your pet’s place in your family as a happy and healthy presence.
What next?
At Pawsitive Solutions, we specialise in helping you get the best possible relationship with your dog.
If your are thinking about how to choose the right puppy or how to train a puppy, why not enquire about our services using our enquiry page – Enquiries
Related articles:
Choosing a puppy from a litter – ASPCA