If Spot is acting up and not listening to a word you say, he needs dog training. It can be incredibly frustrating to deal with a disobedient dog, and it can be difficult to know how to stop your canine’s bad behavior. This article will answer a lot of the questions you have about dog training.
Swatting or hitting your dog is not a good training method. If you attempt to train your dog in this manner, all you are teaching them is to be scared of you. Eventually, the dog will stop listening to voice commands, and will only respond to you raising your hand. Getting a dog’s loyalty through fear is a mistake on the owner’s part.
With aggressive dogs it is best to begin slowly. Aggressive dogs see themselves as the dominant role in the pack and trying to take that role from them too quickly can result in a negative response from the animal. To avoid bites or difficulty, take small steps in establishing yourself as the pack leader.
The diet you are feeding your dog needs to match their needs and activity level. The diet that is right for a working dog is a lot different from that of a dog that lounges around the house all day. Talk with your vet regarding what is right for your pup and don’t forget their needs will change as they age.
When you first bring your puppy home, those first few days are the most important. You should be patient, consistent, and persistent form day one with your new puppy. Be sure not to let your puppy get away with behaviors you are not going to allow and positively reinforce the behaviors you are wanting to see.
If you are trying to train a dog that seems unresponsive and even aggressive, check to see that the dog’s basic needs have been met. A dog that doesn’t get enough attention, for example, will be grumpy and not respond well to training. And of course a hungry dog will be unlikely to respond as well.
Make sure you and your family are consistent with your commands. If one person uses “down” to tell the dog to get off the couch while another says “off” and a third is letting him lay there, the dog is going to get mixed signals. It makes it much more difficult for him to learn the commands.
If your dog wants to jump you should squeeze their paws when they do so, they will know that they shouldn’t do that. This will not hurt your dog if done lightly, but it will impart the information that jumping up is not appropriate. It won’t take much time for your dog to associate the unpleasant squeeze with jumping on a person, and he will quickly refrain from doing so.
To make your dog understand what you are expecting from it, you should reward it when it behaves well. Pet it when it obeys you, and use a soothing voice. You can even feed your dog a treat if it did something remarkably well. Make sure your dog understands why you are pleased.
Yelling at your dog to stop him from barking can be very ineffective. Instead, try talking calmly to him, and teach him a word that he will associate with quiet. Yelling, to your dog, sounds like you are barking right along with him and so, it can further encourage him to bark.
Varying your vocal tones to suit different purposes can be helpful in dog training. Your dog should be able to distinguish between varying tones you use for praise, commands and corrections. Commands call for firmness; corrections need a louder volume and praise should be in your natural tone.
A great dog training tip is to assume the role of the pack leader. All dogs have a pack mentality. There is typically a pack leader that influences the behavior of the rest of the pack. By acting as the pack leader, your dog will become more obedient.
Sometimes a dog trainer must punish their dog. Punishment does not eliminate the behavior the trainer wants to discourage, though; it merely suppresses it. Canny trainers know that punishing a dog only encourages them to hide the behavior for which they are being punished. It is better to entirely replace an undesirable behavior than to punish a pet for engaging in it.
Build your dog’s attention span by increasing challenges. If your dog knows a command well at home try it outside on a quiet sidewalk. If he succeeds at these tasks consistently bring him to a more noisy area like the park. This builds up his attention span and increases his likelihood of listening to you around chaos.
When you train your dog, you don’t have to train him to do exactly what your training book or video says he should do; however, you must train him to behave in a way that will fit in well with your family. You must train him in such a way that you can take him for a walk or to the vet without a lot of drama. By determining exactly what sort of behavior you need from your dog and then working consistently to attain that behavior, you will support your dog in having a happier and more successful life.
It is important to understand your dog’s temperament, and what type of training fits for your dog. Not all dogs are alike, just like not all humans are alike either. One training trick that may work for one dog, may not work effectively when training a completely different dog.
Now that you know what you need to do to get Spot under control, you will enjoy spending time with him that much more. Take him to the neighborhood park or let him tag along on your daily walk, and enjoy a well-behaved dog that actually listens to your commands.
