Dog training is among those skills that seems really easy, but never seems to go right when amateurs try it in their own home. The most frequent problem dog owners make when it comes to dog training is that they forget that each and every animal has its own personality and its own likes and dislikes – much like people. You can’t train a dog by working from a book and then become demoralized when these dog training methods don’t appear to work.
Use the following tried and tested dog training methods; many will give good results with one dog but not with another. Methods involving treats will need to be tailored to involve something your pet actually likes. And the most vital point to bear in mind when training any pet is to have patience. They don’t understand why you are yelling at them when they do something wrong and in precisely the same way that yelling at children is usually counterproductive, shouting is only likely to get your dog over-excited and unwilling to respond to commands.
Among the most commonly used techniques is to use positive physical contact whenever your dog follows an instruction correctly. Regardless of how smart an owner believes their dog is, a dog doesn’t fully understand the words “good dog.” He does, on the other hand, realize that a lot of attention and patting is a pleasurable experience, and he will ultimately begin to connect that with the positive language commands trainers employ.
Sometimes this love of attention could cause problems for people who have not employed dog training methods correctly. A vicious loop can begin to form, in which the person only seems to take note of their dog when they do something wrong, like run off with the newspaper. And so the dog will probably carry on with that behavior because it’s the only way they gain the attention they need, almost like a mischievous child playing up to gain mom and dad’s attention. Consistently ensure you only reinforce good behavior with contact and attention, and pay no attention to the animal when he is doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
Dog toys are often an excellent aid in training, however ensure the animal doesn’t have access to his toys all of the time, or their effectiveness with regards to training will be reduced. Certain owners invest a lot of money on fancy toys for their pooches, only to find that their pet is much more amused by a length of rope or an empty box. Make sure your pet’s collection is a good mixture of toys that he can have fun with by himself and those that you play with together.
Finally, all dog training needs to be fun for you and your pet. If either owner or pet is starting to become upset in the course of training periods then something is completely wrong, and it is perhaps time to consider another strategy. Even if the pet needs to be disciplined in the course of a training session or while out working, always be sure it is followed with positive praise and maybe a treat; there is no point in having a properly behaved pet if he’s afraid to be around his owner.
Are you looking for tips to more effectively train your dog? Be sure to visit Dog Training Answers for tips on stopping puppy biting and aggressive dog behavior.