Excessive barking, growling, rowdy behavior, and other negative traits that a dog may have can all be trained out of a dog. Even if they don’t disappear completely these behaviors can be ameliorated by using the tips contained herein. With the right training, your dog can be transformed into the perfect pet.
It takes small steps to crate train your puppy; they must become accustomed to it. As soon as they start to feel comfortable in the crate when the door is open, try closing the gate and have them eat inside. Start small, like at 10 seconds per approach, and then gradually increase the times. If the dog becomes overwhelmed, it means that you are moving too quickly for them.
Try a phrase that you will stick with to train your puppy when you are house breaking him or her. Whenever the dog is taken out, use the term you have chosen to refer to the process of relieving him or herself, and the pet will make a mental link between going outside and doing just that.
Make sure that your dog stays awake and active. Dogs can get bored very easily. When a dog’s mind begins to wander, the training process loses its effectiveness. When your dog is exercised and is happy, training will be easier. Before every training session, prepare your dog by taking them for a walk.
Training should begin with the easier commands. Not only will you get the instant gratification of your success, but also your dog will gain the important foundation of what an acceptable trick or behavior is. You’ll have better results this way.
Use consistency when you are crate training your young puppy. When your puppy gets out of its crate he will need to relieve himself. When done with consistency, your dog will trust you and wait for the right time to relieve himself.
When training your dog, keep track of time during each session. It is possible that your dog will lose interest if it is made to do the same thing over and over. Ten minutes is about the length of time a dog can handle.
Training a dog to go outside to pee means remembering that they’ll have to go after ingesting food or water. To have your dog on a consistent bathroom schedule, have him or her eating quality food about two or three times every day, at the exact same time. If you know when the puppy eats, you will be able to better predict when to take him out. This means fewer accidents!
Primary Reinforcement
When approaching a strange or unfamiliar dog, approach slowly, while allowing the dog to sniff the back side of your hand. He’ll learn your scent and begin to have trust. As the dog begins to trust you, he will more likely follow your commands.
Primary reinforcement is good to use when training your dog. Primary reinforcement involves utilizing something that the dog loves to reward good behavior. This may mean giving food items as treats or scratching the dog’s tummy. This lets your dog know how to earn something it wants.
When you are training your dog, be mindful of the time spent in one session. Dog attention spans only go so far, so make sure not to go on too long. Early on, your training sessions should be limited to less than 10 minutes.
Avoid letting your dog have accidents when potty training. Sometimes, your dog will have triggers for when its that time. It’s common for them to snuffle, wise and pace when they have to go. If you see any of these signs, get him outdoors! Get his leash as you take him out. Whenever he relieves himself in an appropriate time and place, he should be praised immediately. Your dog will eventually learn how to alert you when it’s time for them to use the restroom.
Teach your dog a silent command to avoid barking. Choose words to use, such as “quiet”, and when they bark, use the word or words and give them a treat when they stop. Then, they can receive the treat. If you repeat this long enough, your dog will associate the treat and then the order with being quiet.
Try to find the triggers of your dogs barking to reduce this action. Maybe it’s a specific sound, or perhaps it’s being near other people or certain animals. Your dog will eventually learn not to react in these situations.
Be consistent when training your dog. If the whole family is involved in the training, everyone should be on the same page as far as commands, discipline and rewards are concerned. The dog is sure to have a simpler time learning, as long as he is asked to obey just one group of commands and is given consistent responses.
Consistently train your dog. If more than one family member is training your pet, make sure they all you the same commands, rewards and discipline. Use the same phrases and commands in every training session with your dog to avoid confusion.
Don’t get frustrated by accidents during the potty training phase. Make certain the accidents are cleaned up immediately, so your training efforts cans stay on course. The odors from these accidents will remain in the carpeting, which will attract your pet back to this same spot to use again and again for elimination purposes. There are a number of products available at pet stores that get rid of these odors.
Dogs need to be taught the right habits as soon as they are brought to your home. You will have much better success if you teach a dog properly early on, instead of attempting to break negative behaviors later in their life. Never feed your dog from the table, if you don’t want him to get the habit of begging for scraps.
Don’t ever reward destructive or bad behavior. The dog will only learn that it is the boss. When a dog barks, never reward it, for example.
Pay attention to other dogs while walking your canine companion. Some dogs may be aggressive regardless of how responsible the owner is. Take care to avoid coming into contact with any animal that appears overly aggressive or antisocial.
Don’t send mixed signals to your dog when he misbehaves. If you laugh or smile at cute but bad behavior, he will be more likely to continue it. Sending these mixed signals will undo some of the time that you have already invested in training, making things even harder on you. Consistency is the key to accomplishing your goals when training your dog.
Punishment is an ineffective tool for training your dog. Your training efforts should be to prevent bad behavior. Teach your dog what constitutes inappropriate behavior, and what is an acceptable behavior. A very big part of training is establishing a good working relationship with your dog.
If you want to teach your puppy how to sit on command, wait until he is not sitting and present a treat. Make a path with the treat over his head towards his hind end. This will shift their eyes up during the process. Naturally, the dog will sit in order to see upward.
One very good way to reinforce a desired behavior in a pet is by providing a treat after the behavior is successfully performed. Eventually, you can limit the number of treats you give for good behavior.
If you have a knock-down, drag-out fight with your kids or reprimand another pet, your voice could impact your dog’s training. Start the training session with good feelings and expectations. Only correct your dog after he has done something you don’t want him to.
Don’t send your dog mixed signals. Your dog picks up on your reactions to things so if you laugh at bad behavior they will take that as it is okay to continue what they are doing. Any amusement will shortly be diminished as you struggle to consistently grow together and learn new things. Regardless of how entertaining your dog’s misbehavior may be, you must correct it consistently.
Housebreaking pads normally do more harm than good when house training a puppy or dog. These pads leak causing enzymes from urine and feces to be absorbed into your flooring. These pads also make dogs think that anything that shape is a bathroom. The best way to housebreak a dog is not to allow them to use the bathroom in the house; there is really no alternative.
Keep a close eye on what environments cause your dog to bark more. Knowing the triggers will help you control the behavior. For example, if your dog only barks excessively when visitors enter your home, enlist a friend to come over to help you address the behavior, at the time of the trigger event.
Treats are great rewards, but you need to find other positive reinforcements for training. Using treats as a reward for learning a new behavior works. Unfortunately, you probably don’t have a treat in your pocket every single day, especially when you aren’t in training mode. Giving your dog physical attention and praise will reinforce his positive behavior, as well as save you money and him calories.
Pay attention to your dog’s behavior to help prevent potty accidents indoors. Sometimes, a pattern will develop that you will want to get rid of. If you can learn their habits, it is easier to know when to go outside. Learning these patterns are optimal towards understanding your dog’s tendencies.
Techniques used in dog training will have to be adjusted to each particular dog. If you see that something is not working with your dog, try another method of reinforcement. If treats are effective with your dog, use them in all situations.
Most often, dogs bite someone out of self-protective instincts due to fear. That occurs when dogs feel trapped, threatened, or frightened. You should not use force when training your dog. This could result in you being bitten. Your dog will be eager for your approval.
If you’re going to allow your dog to go to the bathroom indoors, make a special area that they’re comfortable with. Put down potty pads in this area and make it so they have just one pad to go on.
Bad Behavior
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. The dog responds a lot better if it has consistency when being trained. 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.
Always discourage any bad behavior you see. Say “no” in a strong voice. You should never yell at your dog, nor strike your canine with your hand or any physical object. Discourage bad behavior as soon as it happens. Dogs have a limited attention span. If you wait, the dog won’t know why he’s being scolded.
For instance, you may want your pup to hold something in his mouth. Every time he does it, give him a snack and use the clicker. Once he learns the association, hold off on the clicker until he has the toy in his mouth. When he does respond, click and provide a reward. Next, only give him a reward if he holds the toy using his mouth.
People should understand that training your dog does not have to be all that difficult. When you have the right mentality and knowledge, training your dog becomes simple. Some dogs may require a little more time or possibly a different training technique; however, successful canine training requires patience from the owner.
It is a good idea to get the whole family involved with the training of a new dog or puppy. While they may have a single person working with them regularly, getting everyone involved can enforce that they must always follow the rules and it will make it more consistent.