Dog
Training Tips
There are
a few real keys to dog training, whether you are trying to train your dog to
come when called, sit, stop barking or any other behavior. Understanding their
importance is critical to achieving rapid results that are long lasting and
help develop the bond between you and your dog.
The first
is simple; you must win your dogs mind. If you don’t achieve this first then
you will be struggling the all the way. When I talk about winning your dogs
mind what I really mean is that your dog looks to you for all the decisions.
Before you do anything else watch one of the amazing video sites that show you
the 5 Golden rules to establishing yourself as the pack leader. If you aren’t
putting these in place then you are setting yourself up to fail. Just at the
crucial point where you really want your dog to listen they will go and do
their own thing. For sure your dog may play ball occasionally or even most of
the time, you may even have a dog that is obedient 99% of the time, however if
you want a dog who always listens to you and does as you ask then you need to
win your dogs mind.
The
second key to success is to motivate your dog. It is really important that you
discover what it is that your dog enjoys both in terms of exercise and play but
also in terms of a reward. If you can make the experience enjoyable then you
will both achieve more and look forward to training.
Some dogs
love to fetch, others love agility, and other dogs simply love obedience
training, or swimming out into water and retrieve. At least to start with find
out what your dogs love is and help them develop this, what I am saying is work
with your dog. The other point to recognize is to make training enjoyable
reward your dog.
The three
main rewards are:
Food-
anything from a single dry biscuit to a whole piece of sausage!
Affection-
pats, cuddles, lots of high verbal praise
Toys-
games, throwing a stick or object, chasing your dog etc
Your dog
is always going to work harder if you are fair in your training. Even if you do
not want to use food you should make sure that you use affection accordingly
when your dog does well
If you
want to use food rewards then always follow these simple tips:
Always
vary food rewards
Do not
give food rewards every time
Never let
your dog know what the reward is
If your
dog doesn’t come first time then do not give them the reward
The third
key to achieving perfection is practice! Learning how to encourage behavior
that is closer to what you want than the last is the third key to success.
Again this is where rewards come in so handy! Motivate and then show your dog
what it is that you want and there is no need for any negative training!
One of
the best sites that shows you all of this and more is The Online Dog Trainer,
put together by top Dog Trainer, Doggy Dan.
