Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Nipping And Biting The Hand That Feeds, How To Stop This Behavior.

By Kirk McGee


Training your dog is not a quick process, but it doesn't have to be a difficult one. Any dog can be trained, and any dog owner can learn to train their dog. Follow the advice in this article for some ways to make the process easier, faster, and more effective.

When you begin training a dog, never assume they will not bite you just because you are a human and you think you are the leader. And untrained dog may think you are part of his pack, but may think he is the leader. Understanding what alpha behavior you need to show your dog will help your dog understand you are the leader. When your dog doesn't understand your human behavior, even a calm dog can bite you.

While training your dog, observe his body language and general behavior closely. Look for signs of enthusiasm. Is his tail wagging? Does he follow you around? This shows he's ready to learn. If you see your dog is scared, bored or nervous, stop what you are doing and reevaluate.

If possible, begin training your dog when they are young. A skill that is taught early on is often learned faster and easier than a skill that is introduced at a later age. In addition, older dogs have often picked up quite a few negative behaviors over the course of their life; these behaviors must be undone before the training process can begin.

Never cave in to bad behavior. Your dog will always love you, but it needs to know that you're the boss. Don't encourage bad behavior and let your dog know that any such behavior will be met with punishment. At the same time, make sure you reward good behavior as well.

If your dog needs more stimulation (and most dogs do), but you have limited mobility or the weather is terrible, consider other ways of keeping your dog entertained by making him work for his meals. Use his kibble as rewards for performing tasks or commands. Alternatively, you can use a toy that the dog must get the food out of!

Dog training is most effective when it takes a dog's instinctive behavior into account. Dogs are pack animals, and in a human pack, the humans are the leaders. By being a leader to your dog, you keep him out of the stressful position of trying to make decisions, and end up with a happier, healthier pet.

When you are working on crate training with your new dog or puppy one should always take steps to let them know it's their home. At meal times always put their bowl of food inside the crate leaving the door open the whole time while they are eating. Thus they will associate a good thing like yummy food with the crate.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, it is very important to get your new dog to understand what should and should not be done inside your house. If you set a routine and be consistent in your training methods, this will lead to a greater understanding from your dog as to what is the proper way to behave.




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