Thursday, April 18, 2013

Dog Training Techniques - The Ones That Actually Work

By Joe Peters


Dog training results that you can actually be proud of can be achieved using proven techniques that really work. Training your dog begins with investing some time into your animal in regard to proper training. Dog training is not easy. That is why we wrote this article to help you understand how to begin to train your dog in a simple but effective manner.

Training your dog should begin with leash training as this is a fundamental thing they need to know. If nothing else, all dogs should be able to walk well on a leash. Specifically, the dog should not pull you. They should walk next to you. Any dog that has a problem with pulling you should be trained with a Martingale collar which has an extra loop for neck tightening if necessary. You need to set the pace, not the dog! When he pulls, you should stop. Don't resume walking until there's some slack in the leash. Sometimes this is confused with the "heel" command which is not the same. The focus of what you're doing pertains only to not allowing the dog to pull the leash in any way.

One mistake that people sometimes make is to make dog training sessions too long. Puppies, and even older dogs don't have long attentions spans, so shorter sessions are preferable. Another factor is that the longer the session lasts, the more likely it is that you'll become frustrated or impatient. You also want to have as many sessions as possible so your dog doesn't forget what he's learned. Your dog learns from every session, even if it's not obvious; so don't feel you nave to keep the lesson going until your dog gets it perfectly. It may not seem obvious at first, but shorter sessions will be more effective in the long run.

The canine species can be trained very effectively as long as you use the proper timing. Many dogs will miss the mark completely if the timing is also off. The trainer is usually to blame because a wrong elements are at play. Most dogs have very short memories so punishing them far after an incident has occurred may be too late.

Not too long ago, it was considered a very good training strategy to use a rolled up newspaper to smack your dog on the nose with. This is not the case anymore. You don't want your dog to be afraid of you. Even when you have to discipline your dog in some way, it's important to maintain self control and not yell out of anger. The best dog trainers are in control of their own emotions, and are therefore able to get the best response out of their dogs. A frightened dog may obey, but he's also more likely to turn aggressive at some later time. Whenever possible, stick to positive reinforcement, and when discipline is necessary, restrict it to verbal rebukes or confinement.

Although there is a great deal to learn about dog training, anyone can master the basics. Sit, stay, and rollover are things that you can teach your dog to do. A well behaved dog is the ultimate goal. And once they understand a few basic commands, you can also teach them several tricks that will keep both you and your dog happy.




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