Sunday, July 15, 2012

Don't Let Your Dog Control Your Life!

If you have never tried to train an animal, the idea may be rather intimidating. There is a lot of information out there and sorting through it all can seem difficult. The tips below can help you start training your dog properly.

Use positive reinforcement rather than treats when training your dog. It does work to give dogs treats for good behavior. However, it's unlikely that you will carry treats around every single day for the rest of your dog's life. Replace treats with praise or physical attention, like petting your dog to reward desired behaviors.

Fear is the number one cause of a dog biting. When a dog feel threatened, scared or trapped, it may bite. Force should never be used when training your dog. This could have the unfortunate effect of causing your dog to bite you. Your dog will feel proud and want to please you as his leader.

Make sure you get a bed big enough for your dog. There are rectangular beds for pets, or you can get a crib mattress for your dog. The perks of these are that you can change out the sheets on crib mattresses as often as you like without too much effort. The crib mattresses are also waterproof which means they are highly durable.

You should always check credentials before hiring anyone to help you understand your animal's behavior better. Opinions and techniques can vary from animal specialist to animal specialist. Make sure that the trainer you hire has a mentality similar to yours when it comes to working with pets.

Your dog needs to stay active during all phases of his life. Dogs are designed to keep busy and active. Just like you, they need to work and run around to be happy and healthy. Train your dog for agility, jog with it or take it to the park. Stay active and keep your dog moving so they do not feel bored.

It's important your dog always has an understanding of right from wrong. This demands that everyone at your home applies strict boundaries. This will quickly undo all of your hard work and training.

Choose one phrase to use every time you want your dog to do his business. Use the same word or phrase each time you bring him out to go to the bathroom so that he understands what you want him to do and makes a memory link between the phrase and the act.

A harness is less bothersome to your dog, but also prevents you from exercising control when you need to do so. Keep your dog on his harness, but also use your cinching collar. Tug on his collar when it's absolutely necessary, and your dog will soon learn how to obey wearing the harness alone.

You should use positive motivation when you are training your dog. Give your dog frequent rewards for his obedience. Using negative reactions and punishment don't work and they will cause your dog to fear you.

Resist the tug of sympathy and avoid using a harness rather than the much more effective collars with cinching features. If you use a harness and a collar together, you can show your dog how to behave when he is only wearing the harness.

Consistency is the key to dog training. Make sure everyone knows the right commands to give the dog; keep a list if necessary. In addition, make sure that the behaviors of the dog are treated consistently. Good behaviors get rewarded; bad behaviors do not. Your dog will understand what is required if everyone involved uses the same approach.

Try training a dog to clench a plush toy in his mouth. Every time he successfully holds onto the toy with his mouth, hit the clicker and proceed by giving him a treat. After this is done a few times, watch and wait for your dog to put the toy inside his mouth. After has has done this, you should click and promptly give a reward. After this, you should only reward your dog after he holds the toy in his mouth.

This article should have given you some valuable information for training your dog. You will be more efficient if you establish a plan ahead of time.

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