Sunday, August 23, 2009

Dog Training: Tame Your Pets at Ease

If you have a new puppy or dog, then you need to provide some sort of basic training for your pet. You can train your dog yourself or can get it trained through an obedience instructor. As dogs are like kids, they need proper training to mould them into obedient pets. With the required training, your dog can learn how to behave. You can be a happy owner if you have a trained dog. Dog training involves learning to communicate with a dog properly. You can train young pups within 2 to 3 weeks while for an older dog it can take about 7 to 8 weeks for training. Basic training can be started for pups when they are about 8 -12 weeks old for teaching commands and tricks. From about 3 to 6 months, formal classes can begin.With understanding and patience, the trainer can impart efficient training to resolve the behavioral problems of dogs. For adequate training of your dog, you do not require any strong language or physical discipline. There are a number of methods for making training enjoyable for both your dog and yourself. Certain specific trainings are also available for dogs for doing tasks such as rescue dogs, guiding for the blind, hunting dogs etc.When providing training for your dog, ensure that the place is open and quiet without any distractions. You can make the training experience an enjoyable one for both of you for ensuring that your dog stays happy, gains confidence and behaves well. The way and tone of speech is important in dog training. You need to use a friendly and happy tone for commands like 'come' and ‘heel’. Your voice can be firm and low for commands such as ' stay' and ‘Sit down'. You need to appreciate your puppy or dog by offering some toy or food when it obeys the command. After the training class, you can take a little time to play with your pup or dog and this can develop a bond between both of you during the training. You should have good endurance to train and always should avoid harsh punishment.Remember that food is important in dog training, as most dogs will love to eat. Some foods are tasty for dogs and it is also convenient for the trainer as bits of food can be kept in bag or pockets. Also note that giving food brings positive associations while training. You need to just know which food your dog likes. Never use food for behavior control; instead food should support a behavior. Never train the dog on a full stomach.Keep the leash a bit loose when you walk with your dog because a tight leash could teach the dog to pull. Do not punish the dog after calling to you. Only one command should be given at any one time. Dogs cannot differentiate the good and bad deeds, as they know specific behavior to certain situations; therefore name a behavior to reinforce some control. Behavior will increase with reward.You can also choose online dog training if a dog trainer or dog training school is not accessible. You can enroll for some online dog training classes and know all the secrets and techniques used by professional dog trainers for activity training, behavior training and obedience training.

10-Week Basic Dog Obedience Training Formula

Learning new things can be stressful for your dog especially in the beginning when concepts and teaching methods are new. If your dog refused to eat during the early stages of training, stop the program and have a play session or calm your dog until it is relaxed and begins to accept treats again. This process may require 3 to 4 sessions but it is worth going through it to develop your dog’s positive attitude towards obedience.Conduct 3 training sessions a day, each session lasting approximately 20 minutes while allowing at least 1 hour rest in-between sessions. In a 2-week period, there should be a total of 30 sessions.Week 1 And Week 21) Teach your dog the “heel” command. Repeat a series of 3 to 5 circles and perform 5 series of 4-step “heels” per session.2) Teach the “sit” and “release” command. Command your dog to “sit”, let it stay in the sit position for a moment then give the “release” command to release your dog from the “sit”. Repeat this series 5 times per session.3) For each session, work on a series of 1 exercise and move to another exercise (i.e., work on one series of 4-step “heel”, then a series of “sit” and “break”, and finally a series of 4-step “heels”’).Although dogs need repetition to learn a skill, you need a variety of exercises to keep them interested as they bore easily.Week 3 And Week 41) Reinforce the “heel” command. Test the “heel” command from lessons learned from week 1 and week 2.2) Reinforcing the “sit” and “release” command. Begin training your dog to hold the “sit” position starting from 5 seconds and gradually stretching the time to 10 seconds.3) Begin teaching your dog the “down” command (use treats to lure your dog to teach it the command). Repeat the series 2 times per session in week 3 and 3 times per session in week 4.Week 5 And Week 61) Continue to reinforce and test the “heel”, “sit” and “release” commands. Begin to include distractions when training “heel” and “sit” to train your dog to continue focusing on you even there are distractions.2) Extend the concept of holding position to build patience by extending the “sit” from 5 – 10 seconds to 30 seconds – 1 minute before releasing the “sit” command.When you test your dog, you should repeat each test until it passes the test 3 consecutive times.3) Start to reinforce the “down” command in week 5 by removing the treat and shoulder help. During week 6, begin reinforcing without any bodily assistance. You can reintroduce treats as the reward but do not tempt your dog. Only reward your dog after it has successfully completed the “down” command.Training sessions may become more stressful for both you and your dog as you progress from the teaching phase and enter into the more difficult reinforcing phase. If you find a particular test too tough for both of you; stop the exercise and continue to practice the skills individually, you can repeat that particular test a few days later.While the length and regularity of the sessions remain unchanged since the first week, the sessions are becoming less predictable and require varieties to make them as interesting and effective as they can be.Week 7 And Week 81) While continuing to reinforce and test the “heel”, “sit” and “release” commands, don’t forget to reinforce the “down” command as well. In 1 of every 3 sessions, add distractions to your basic commands. Improve “down from a stand” exercise with the “down” command.2) Extend the time-span of the holding position and begin teaching the “stay” command.3) Begin combining the different commands when training. Teach “sit” and “down” from your front and testing motion “down” and motion “sit”.4) Start teaching the “come” command. Put your dog on “sit/stay” position, while walking backwards monitor the position holding skills. Body language plays an important role in teaching this command and sending the wrong signals sometimes causes your dog not to hold the position.Week 9, Week 10 And After1) Reinforce “stay” and “come” command. Always practice a short leash recall to reinforce the final finish position. Repeat at least 10 times per session. “Come” is the most important command but the least practiced of all the other commands.2) Conduct test and reinforce all obedience commands. Practice all commands equally, working on each command as little as 1 or as many as 5 repetitions per series though you should avoid creating patterns.Make exercises targeted towards your practical obedience application. Include distraction training in at least 1 out of every 3 obedience practice sessions.DogTrainster aims to educate dog owners and lovers to adopt positive training approaches in training their dogs. To learn more us, visit us at DogTrainster.com - Ultimate Resource and Tips for Dog Training

Choosing A Dog Obedience Training Course Online

Every dog owner wants a dog that is well trained, but sometimes your dog may be a little problematic or you simply may not have the time or be know how to train him correctly. Fortunately help is at hand. You can sign your dog up in a dog obedience training school.Or, you can learn about Dog Obedience Training.You may know people with disobedient dogs, or possibly even accepted that your dog will simply not do as he/she is told. You may have simply become accustomed to returning home to find chewed up shoes and trash scattered all over the house. You may have even taken to walking your dog at night because that’s when none of your neighbors are outside. For the reason that you just can’t manage your dog when people and/or other dogs are about.You don’t have to give yourself up to believing that your dog can’t be controlled.In reality you are accountable to yourself and your dog and you can get him/her trained appropriately. Obedience training your dog can reverse the difficulties for both yourself and your dog. If your dog howls or barks a lot and tries to get loose you may even find yourself with a legal problem as well. And, if your dog will not come up to you when called, he/she could be seriously injured or worse. Or, at the very least get into trouble.A dog obedience training school will give you an idea about you can establish a connection with your dog and teach you how to make him to pay attention to you. He/she will be trained how to act with people around and also with other dogs.You will also be able to teach your dog the fundamental instructions such as “sit”, “down”, “heel” and “stay”. Your dog will even take pleasure in this. Pleasing you, his master, is #1 on his list. And he will have your attention, which in fact is all that he wants in the first place.Selection of a dog obedience training school or course is sort of like deciding on a school for your kids. You would like no doubt, to send him to the proper one. Of course, given that you will, in all probability, be attending, or training yourself, you would like one that works for the both of you. So you have to do a bit of investigation before you decide on the dog obedience training school or online course.One thing to think about when considering a dog obedience training school/course is a recommendation from others who have used the school/course. Maybe you have a co-worker, a neighbor, or a friend you can inquire from. If not, feel free to request recommendations and/or call up somebody who has experienced the course. You ought to have a list of essential queries you can inquire about the school and the effect of dog obedience training. If you get encouraging replies then you have found your school/course. One more thing you have to do when sorting your selection of dog obedience training schools is to drop in at the “campus”. Be sure that the school/course is well structured and the instructors are qualified.Learn More About Dog Obedience Training