Wednesday, August 15, 2012

How To Effectively Train Your Dog

By Kirk McGee


Your dog might be hyperactive, shy or even a bit rebellious. Whatever his personality, your furry friend needs guidance to be the best dog he can be. A training routine will establish your roles and make him more likely to obey essential commands. These small steps can help carve the path to a happier, more well-behaved dog in little time.

If you have a dog that is driving you crazy with barking, the first step in stopping the barking is to determine the cause. For example, a territorial bark at 2 PM every day, might be related to the mailman's arrival. If you know the cause of the barking, you can intercept it and help deal with the problem.

When house training your new puppy, try hanging a string of bells on the front door. Every time you take the puppy outside to go potty, nudge the bells with the puppy's foot. Eventually, the puppy will ring the bells on his own to go outside, saving you the frustration of missed signals.

Spend plenty of time with your dog to make obedience training easier. When your dog associates your voice and presence with his or her normal environment, training becomes easier because your pet is more inclined to pay attention to you. Spending time playing or in other unstructured activities makes time spent in training exercises more effective.

Train your dog in a distraction free setting, and then gradually add distractions. Dogs need a quiet place to focus until they have a particular action (sit, lay, stay, etc.) down well. Once they have a new action down, having a child run past, or rolling a ball past the dog, will help you to then teach the "leave it" or "stay" command.

When you start training your dog, make sure that you aren't so focused on making them a good dog that you just ignore their basic needs in the process. They still require basic care like food, water, a place to sleep, and a place to go to the bathroom. They are still your responsibility.

If you give a new dog the freedom to roam your home as he pleases, you are likely going to have some problems. You need to introduce the freedom gradually. It will help to avoid accidents on the carpeting, destructive chewing and getting into the things that they are not supposed to. Crate training is the best way to keep your dog behaved.

If you want to have a well behaved dog, make sure that you are filling their most basic needs. They need to have water, food, shelter and love. These are essential to a happy and healthy pet, and only then will they want to or have the energy to let you tell them what to do.

Your dog will benefit from a training routine he can rely on. Dogs benefit from clear guidance, and like children, do not come with the rules programmed into them. The above steps are a great way to begin establishing a new relationship with your dog. His confidence will grow, and you'll feel accomplished for reaching your little friend's goals with him.




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