Inviting a dog into your life can be one of the most wonderful and fulfilling things you do with your life. You will help your dog by giving him the love and attention that he needs, while providing you with a great companion to share your life with. These training tips were written to help you build a happy life with your new friend.
Be sure that your canine is consuming a healthy diet. A poor diet will negatively affect your dog’s skin, eyes, muscles, bones and joints. If your dog isn’t getting what it needs to stay healthy, it could really struggle to find the energy for training or may act out in other ways. With the right healthy diet, your dog will be more energetic and eager to please during training sessions.
Exercise is an important part of any dog’s training program. Animals that are restless and cooped up are more likely to act out and have difficulty following instructions. Taking your dog out for a daily walk or bringing them to a local dog part will help them to be successful.
When crating your dog it is best to always remove their collar. Even the best designed dog crates offer the possibility of a collar becoming snagged. The result could be catastrophic. By removing your dog’s collar before you crate them you are acting to protect them from being strangled to death.
When you first bring your puppy home, those first few days are the most important. You should be patient, consistent, and persistent form day one with your new puppy. Be sure not to let your puppy get away with behaviors you are not going to allow and positively reinforce the behaviors you are wanting to see.
Physical punishment does not work, and can hinder training. Never ever hit your dog, especially when training. While it may appear to work because the dog stops the behavior, in reality they have only learned to fear you and not do that behavior in your presence. So toss out that rolled up newspaper and break out some tasty treats instead.
To keep your dog from barking, you need to stop rewarding this behavior by giving him what he wants. This means paying attention to your dog, letting him inside the house or comforting him. Your dog will associate your behavior with the barking and will think that you want him to bark.
It’s to be expected that your new puppy will likely have an accident now and then. Immediately clean up every accident for training purposes. The smell from the feces and urine can stay in the carpet, and cause your pet to want to relieve themselves on that spot more often. There are a number of products available at pet stores that get rid of these odors.
An easy way to stop a puppy from biting is to act hurt when he or she nibbles at you. By startling your puppy with a noise and leaving the room, your puppy begins to learn that biting has negative consequences in the form that you will stop playing with it.
One tip to keep in mind when training your dog is that there is a difference between discipline and anger. This is important because your dog only understands right or wrong commands. Your anger will only scare and confuse the dog if it isn’t directly related to a behavior you wish to modify.
A dog with hobbies is a happy dog. Make your dog work on walks. Many large breed dogs enjoy carrying items during walks such as tennis balls, sticks, or even dog-sized backpacks. This gives a dog a sense of purpose and gives him something to concentrate on. This way his attention span will be less likely to stray from your walk.
Puppy proof your house to prevent cherished possessions from becoming your puppy’s favorite chew toy. Remove items, such as shoes, from the area where you keep your puppy. Many pet stores sell a bitter tasting spray that you can use to keep your puppy from chewing on electrical cords. Remember that most puppies will grow out of this stage.
Do not issue a command to your dog that involves two words that do not go together. For example, telling your pet to “sit down” does not make sense; either tell him to “sit” or ask him to get “down.” Using contrary phrases delays the training process because your dog does not understand what to do.
Understand that a dog’s thinking is simple compared to human thinking. If you call your dog and he doesn’t come immediately because he’s distracted by a squirrel, don’t scold him when he does show up. He only knows that he is coming to you, and you are scolding him for doing so. He doesn’t understand you’re angry about the squirrel, or that he didn’t come to you quickly enough.
Before you begin training your dog, make sure that his diet is the best it can be. Just as humans can feel lazy after eating junk food, a poor diet for your dog will affect his behavior. A healthy moderate diet will give him energy and concentration to learn what you are teaching him in training.
Ask your family to help you train your dog by using the same commands you are teaching him. Avoid confusion when it comes to disciplining your dog; keep command words consistent throughout the household. The more consistency that your dog deals with, the better it’s chances of being properly trained.
Start out using a clicker for dog training rather than voice commands. Dogs do not understand human language easily. Using a clicker at the beginning of training allows the dog to easily associate simple clicks with positive behavior. Once your dog understands simple clicking actions, you can replace the clicks with very simple voice commands.
Take the tips and advice that were included in this article, to build a great relationship with your furry companion. You are sure to benefit from the tips, if you take the time to use them in your dog training. Help your new friend behave in a way that is going to make him a joy to live with.
