Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Best Puppy Training Secrets

By Miyagii Moto


History has shown that most people prefer owning a dog than any other animal as a pet. This is due to the fact that they have proven themselves to be efficient, intellectual and trainable. Dogs have the uncanny ability to be loyal to their masters but wary of strangers. These qualities make them a perfect buddy for those who are living alone as well as to couples who are just beginning to start their own families. No matter what is the age of the person, he can still benefit from the presence of a dog.

It has been said that a dog's behavior only reflect his breeding and training. Obviously, there is nothing that you can do anymore to change his breeding. However, there is still a lot you can do with his training. You can still teach new tricks. Now, if you are thinking of getting another puppy as a pet, here are some of the best-kept secrets of puppy training that you should bear in mind.

The first thing that you have to do is to make your pet feel secure in your company. Spend some quality time by playing with him after you have gotten home from your office. This process will ensure that you have established a good rapport. It's a no-no to start implementing difficult tricks that would boggle his mind because it will not lead to any learning. After making your pet comfortable, slowly impose discipline by taking away his comfortable lifestyle.

Chain him, put him in his kennel or place him inside a crate to show that you mean business. At first, they might get a little noisy and howl until the wee hours of the morning, especially if they have been previously used to a very free lifestyle. Try to be immune to this kind of suffering. Sooner or later, they will realize that all their whimpering will have no effect on you. This will inculcate the fact that you are the boss and your orders must be followed strictly down to the last letter. It won't be long before they get used to this set up and will look forward to your arrival.

Next, educate him a simple trick followed by a nice food. The reward could come in the form of a tiny chewable bone or a slice of chicken meat. Just like the classic conditioning technique by prominent psychologist Ivan Pavlov, he will learn to connect the new trick with the treat. This will stroke their attention and whet their appetite for more chow.

Third, you can go the opposite direction and make your dog realize the power of negative conditioning. This is done by imposing the words no, stop and don't in the training process. Use a powerful voice if possible. An example would be catching him rummaging through the garbage. So the moment you see him, say stop out loud and give him a slight slap on the tail area.

Fourth, you have to be unswerving in your reward or punishment. When you either of the two, make sure that it is appropriate to the excellent job or the awful deed. Variety should be avoided at all cost or else your dog will develop some kind of a crisis. The same premise applies to all the people in your household.

Lastly, give plenty of alternatives. If there are chores that your dog can't easily do as told, like not peeing on the plant, then provide another option like giving him a pee box. This will shift his attention and result to a more favorable attitude. Don't be such a strict disciplinarian all the time that you will take the fun out of this training exercise. Have fun with your pet dog.




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