Pet Care Tips Blog

If you are a dog owner, you have probably come across all sorts of information on training and containing dogs, from welcoming a new puppy to dealing with an annoying barking dog and anything else in between. This article will give you brief information on how to welcome and treat a new puppy in your home.

Housebreaking a puppy
There is a firm belief among many dog owners that the best way to housebreak a puppy by "rubbing their nose in". This method never works. As a matter of fact, it humiliates the dog and can worsen the relationship between it and the family.

Yesterday was the third puppy social Simon (Cockapoo pup, 18 weeks old) and I attended. We both gain from these events. He socializes and I learn from the class leader who's a Certified Professional Dog Trainer. She held an informal mini-class for the owners.

Here's the tips I picked up from the social:

Instant Down Command
You want your pup to lie down without a hand signal.

Say the word Down a second BEFORE you lure the dog into a down. Saying Down as you lure doesn't work because the pup won't pay attention to your voice command.

This command may require a lot of repetition before the desired result is achieved. And if you screw up and don't do it right, the pup will be confused and it'll take even longer to get it right.

Have you seen the movie “Marley and Me”? If you have, then you've seen how annoying Marley can be. He's the type of dog that any dog trainer will not be too happy to meet. He pees everywhere, chews on the living room set, and jumps on people. Actually, his owner, portrayed by Owen Wilson, even brought him to a dog training class to turn him into a well-trained dog. Unfortunately, the dog trainer easily gave up on him because he was the worst dog she had ever seen. He made a total chaos in the class, so he was not allowed to finish the course. That was kind of frustrating on the part of his owners. Now, if you have a dog like Marley, what will you do? Why not try these dog obedience training exercises to develop a well-trained dog?

Sometimes - especially if not trained right as a puppy - older dogs will have problems with house training and they may need to be taught or re-taught not to pee or poop inside. You can teach an old dog new tricks and to help you, here are the tips for potty training older dogs.

The Process Of Training
1. Instead of teaching your dog not to urinate inside, teach them to urinate outside. Many experts agree that it is far easier to teach a dog - especially an older one - to do something rather than teach them to not do something.

2. Provide an area of your lawn for the dog to go outside. Make sure you are very consistent about where they pee or poop because that will make it easier for the older dog to learn.

Dogs are wonderful companions and great company. They can bring untold joy to you and your family, and can give you hours of fun.

But sometimes things turn sour. You know the story. You come home from work, and find that your dog has made his own network of holes in your previously tidy yard.

Why has this happened? Well, there are several reasons for dogs to dig, such as:

Instinct - some dogs such as terriers, were bred to dig and find prey.

Boredom - if dog's have no company, they can easily become bored, and can try and relieve their boredom by digging.

Shelter - if your dog does not have adequate shelter, it may dig a hole to lay in to protect it from heat or cold.

It is now well know that when you use positive thoughts and approaches to dog obedience training, your dog will enjoy his training and reward you with good behavior. Treating your dog with kindness and respect will determine how he will learn and behave during training.

When you think positive thoughts to train your dog, your dog will respond. Dogs have a natural sense of what humans feel and think. So, when you use abusive action, your dog will get confused and not know what to do.

The fact is that positive reinforcement works with dogs. Your dog wants to make you happy, meaning that positive reinforcement works better with dogs and is better remembered.

Here are some ways to make dog obedience training with positive reinforcement an easier process for you and your best friend: Use these tips to train your dog and make good training progress.

1. Give your dog the reward it wants. When you integrate an excellent reward to give to your dog, you dog will definitely pay attention. Hes not going to miss getting some more of that good stuff after he follows your instructions. Use his favorite snack and see him perform.

2. Give rewards at the right time. Timing is everything when you are training your dog. Give a command, if he follows it, give him a reward immediately. Delayed rewards will get confused training results. You dog will not know what to do to get that reward. You will lose control of your dog obedience training session.

If you need a tool for training your dog, then consider a clicker. Its a small hand held metal device that snaps a click. For a clicker to be effective, you must click it immediately, when your dog performs what you want. Then give it a treat. You instill in your dog a change in behavior associated with a sound and taste. This is a definite good combination for successful dog training.

You can do the same thing with your own voice; saying Yes in a happy voice will send the same message. Just remember to give the treat right away after this and say the same thing every time. This will cause your dog to associate the action, the marker and the reward. Consistency is the key.

When trying to get your dog to learn a new command, during your dog obedience training, decide beforehand which verbal cue youll be using when training your dog. Use this cue consistently throughout your training. For instance, if you want to teach your dog to quit jumping on you when you get home, always use a specific command, such as no jump. Keep to this command and never change it other phrases like get off get down and so on.

So many times, you make think your dog is almost human by what it does and how it reacts. Dogs have survival instincts that can be activated immediately. But since it can only comprehend a few words, you need to be patient, when you train your dog. Over time with repetition, your dog will begin to understand what you mean and want.

With your patience, love, and care during your dog obedience training, you dog will start to see and understand what you are trying to teach him or her. Dont rush the training, since your dog has a mind of its own and knows what it want to do and does it instantly. But with repetition, you will be rewarded with new behavior from your dog.

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