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Fluff LOVES to bark. She barks at EVERYONE. I now own a pair of shredded shoes, (tasty leather) and she just did her business on the latest National Geographic!
by ScottErickson
Fluff LOVES to bark. She barks at EVERYONE. I now own a pair of shredded shoes, (tasty leather) and she just did her business on the latest National Geographic!
It's maddening to try to deal with a dogs behavior headaches by yourself. In spite of this madness, fast advances DO happen when using a powerful system to train your dog daily. GIANT improvements can be made in only 7 days.
Using good info and a tolerant attitude, tutoring your pooch can be lots of fun for both of you. Not to mention the benefits of you having a well behaved dog, AND your dog will love you even more than before. You'll see how fast your dog is learning the new commands, which will make the lessons become fun, and something that you both are keen to take part in. Also, it's important to keep your dog out of harms way in dicey situations, such as around traffic, and strangers, by knowing a few basic commands, such as Come, Sit, Stay, and Heel.
One person should be in charge of training your dog. This will make it easier for you and the dog because of familiarity, and the consistency of the training method. Everyone who lives with the dog should help to train the dog by following the methods of the primary trainer. When children help, they should be supervised, preferably by the primary trainer.
Because dogs have limited attention spans, lessons should be 15 minutes long, or a little less. Lessons can be every day, or every second day. Feel free to skip a session occasionally if you don't feel up to it. It's important for it to be fun, and to be able to feel patient.
Merging training into the dogs life between lessons will help to reinforce the commands that are being learned. For example, occasionally throughout the day, give your dog the Sit command (if you've already mastered that in your lessons.)
If you use food rewards, have your training sessions before your dogs mealtimes to make sure that he is hungry and motivated.
Begin training in a quiet environment with few distractions, making it easier for her to focus on learning the new command. If you remove distractions, you will be the most interesting item in the room to your dog. Try to choose a quiet room, where you and your dog are alone. After she has learned the command, start adding distractions, such as having other people in the room.
After she's demonstrated proficiency with the new commands, reinforce them using your body in different positions, then in other rooms of your house, and finally in the park with a leash. Verbalize the new commands while she is on your left or right, and with you standing and sitting. She will soon realize that no matter where you both are, or what your body language is, you want her to do the same thing each time. It's crucial to reward her every time that she's successful with the command. Don't react when she is unsuccessful.
If your dog isn't a puppy, don't despair. Older dogs frequently have longer attention spans than puppies, letting him learn faster and easier. This will balance out the fact that he may have had previous training that was less than ideal, that will need to be unlearned.
Previous training could cause her to link a certain behaviour with the command word that you're using. Maybe your dog is having trouble grasping what response you want for the word Come, use the same training sequence using Here, instead.
When you start using the command in a new situation, your pet may act a bit confused. Be relaxed, and allow yourself to back up the training a step or two, or give extra reinforcement in the new situation. It's the way your dog learns to focus on your command, in spite of distractions that occur.
8 Essential Dog Training Tips:
* Only one person as the main teacher
* 15 minutes of lessons every day, or every second day
* Quiet area with few distractions to start teaching each new command, indoors is best
* If you're using food rewards (recommended), do the lesson before the dogs mealtime
* After success, alter your body language, change location, and use distractions
* Regress a step or two in the training regimen if she seems to have forgotten the command
* Be willing to substitute command words when teaching an older or previously trained dog
* Substitute command words for adult or previously trained dogs
Who's a good dog?
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How to train a dog for great behaviour in less than 30 days!
About the Author:
AVOID DISASTROUS Blunders with your pooch. NOW REVEALED: 3 POWERFUL, humane, and loving ways to train your friend: 3 Dog Training Plans reviewed, Amazing results from 1 method! Or browse excellent, helpful FREE pooch training articles. I'm Scott Erickson, and am an enthusiastic long time pooch fan, trainer, and author. |
