A happy dog is a well trained dog and just choosing to make this happen is a step in the right direction! Too many dogs are left untrained and jump on everyone, chew end tables and bark all night! Your dog will be better off once trained and of course, so will you. So read on for some fabulous ideas on how to make the job of training your dog a little less hectic!
In order to properly train your dog it is a good habit to always use your pet's name to get his attention. This will reinforce your control over your pet and it will be beneficial in the long run. This can be done when calling your pet for food or even when playing simple games.
Anxious dogs might benefit from having music played when you leave. Classical music is proven to be soothing for a variety of species, and dogs are no exception. Calm, soothing classical music played at a mellow volume might be a benefit to your dog and keep the house from being silent while you're gone.
Never try to train your dog when you are mad, do not take your frustrations out on the animal. Just wait until another day to do your dog training, where you can work with the dog in a more positive manner. It is never good to act out your emotions on the dog, just put the training off for another time.
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.
One tip to keep in mind when training your dog, is to always reward good behavior, and discipline bad behavior. This is important because your dog needs this stiff structure. Otherwise, it may get confused. Your dog can not comprehend many human emotions and needs a strictly on/off type of response from you.
When you are training your dog, never use a command he knows as a punishment. For example, if your dog needs a time out, do not put him in his crate. It may create a negative association for him. Another example is when you call your dog to you to be punished. This hurts his chances of completing successful recalls in the future.
Only give commands you are prepared to follow through with, or the dog will learn that it is all right to ignore you. If you give the command to sit, the dog must sit immediately or you will enforce the command with a finger pushing down on the lower back. Never give a command and allow the dog to choose whether to obey you or not unless you want to let the dog be the one in charge.
Consider the advice you have read in this article very thoroughly and write it down if necessary. A training manual would be a good aid to working with your dog, and this article would make a great beginning for it. Hopefully you have learned a lot and are now prepared to produce a smarter, well behaved dog you will not only be very proud of, but have a lot more fun with!
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