Dog Obedience Training – Why Is It Important?

Dogs play an interesting role in our society these days. Dog obedience training is now expected of our furry friends. They live in our houses, walk our sidewalks beside us, play with our children in the front yard and visit their doggie buddies at the dog park. They are expected to be on their best behavior at all times. This is a lot to ask of an animal!

Many years ago, dogs held a different role. Most likely, our parents grew up with dogs who didn’t know what a leash was! There was always the scary dog who lived in the neighborhood and children knew to petal quickly by that house on their bicycle! Dogs may have lived outside – all the time. Tell that to today’s dog who attends doggie daycare 3 times a week and wears designer collars!

Today, the role dogs play in our lives and societies has changed (that scary dog in the neighborhood is no longer accepted as “just being a dog”, now the owner would have to deal with neighbor complaints, city fines and legal issues if the dog ever bit someone). It is the dog owner’s responsibility to make sure their pup has the skills to be a good fit in our homes and communities.

Situations Where You Want Good Dog Behavior

There are some activities that you and your dog participate in where having a certain level of dog obedience training is not only convenient, but expected. Such situations are:

Daily life; walking a dog, having him or her in your house, interacting with family members and people who come over to your house.

Competition sports such as: agility, dog shows and flyball.

Volunteer programs such as visiting nursing homes, hospitals or schools.

Emergency situations, such as when outside and the dog’s collar comes off or their leash breaks or gets dropped.

Why Getting Obedience Is Sometimes Difficult

The primary reason dogs and people misunderstand each other or have trouble communicating is because we are two very different species and we do not speak the same language. The one thing we do have in our favor, however, is that we both seem to have an affinity for each other. Basing our relationship on the fact that we enjoy each other’s company means that we need to find an effective way to “talk” to each other. Because we are the people in the relationship (unless of course your dog can read and is the one reading this!) it is OUR responsibility to ensure we are being clear when we communicate with our dogs.

Before starting out dog obedience training, it is important that we recognize the difficulty involved in this for our dogs.

easons why training may be difficult for our dogs:

They are trying to read us and figure us out. As a human, we can make their job a little easier by being as consistent and clear in our instruction as possible. Reward good behavior, ignore or redirect incorrect behavior.

Dogs are under exercised and under stimulated. Asking a puppy, who has been in their kennel for a few hours while you were at work, to be calm once they are let out is an impossible task for them. It is not physically possible for the dog, therefore we can not expect it. If we want a calm dog, we need to give them exercise and energy outlets.

They may never have been taught training. Dogs become more savvy to training the more practice they get. Be patient with a dog who is a novice. If your training is clear, your dog will make progress.

Dogs do have minds of their own and we have to respect and understand that. If a dog is showing signs that training is difficult for them, analyze what may be the cause. Sometimes the dog is in physical discomfort; therefore the “sit” behavior may hurt them. Other times there are distractions such as kids, good smells, or other dogs. Imagine if you were trying to concentrate on your teacher, but someone kept waving a piece of chocolate cake or plane tickets to Hawaii in your face… it would be hard to remain focused on the teacher!

Every dog can learn. It is up to us, as the human who has specific expectations of our dog’s behavior, to help them understand what we want. We need to be patient, clear and understanding.

How to Achieve Good Behavior

If you are having trouble with dog obedience training, you will likely find that seeking the help of a professional dog trainer not only provides some great tips and suggestions, but provides a lot of fun for you and your dog! Dog training is actually a highly developed skill that involves deep understanding and the study of psychology. Just like bankers are good with numbers and plumbers are good with pipes, dog trainers are good with dogs. It is commendable that if you don’t have the knowledge to train your dog that you seek the help of someone who does. You certainly wouldn’t try to work on your water pipes if you knew nothing about plumbing! The same goes for our dogs and the way they learn.

A dog trainer who uses positive training techniques will encourage their clients to utilize treats and praise when teaching the dog good behavior. Because the behaviors being learned are brand new behaviors, it is important to give the dog rewards for doing them until the behaviors are very consistent. Once the desired behaviors are known very well by the dog, the use of treats can be used intermittently. Using positive training techniques is good for our dogs, good for us as people (the traditional ways of training where we used physical force to intimidate our dogs into acting a certain way doesn’t reflect very kindly on us!) and good for the bond we share.

Just remember, the saying that “an old dog can’t learn new tricks” simply isn’t true! Every dog can learn dog obedience training that will help them become better members of our homes and societies.

7 Important Dog Training Tips for You

Dog Training’s Most Important Step: Crate Training

A vital part of dog training is use of a crate, or kennel. It is most important to crate train puppies at a young age. Crate training satisfies a dogs need for a den-like enclosure. Dogs evolved from wolves, which have lived in packs and dens for hundreds of thousands of years. Having a crate taps into this desire that all dogs have inherited from their ancestors. On top of being good for the dog, it is also an effective housebreaking tool, and it helps to teach the dog that it is located at the bottom of the family pack hierarchy.

The best time to start crate training a dog is whenever they are puppies. A dog that is crated as a puppy is will be more comfortable in a crate later in life. This is useful when a dog has to travel in a confined space, such as a car.

When you first start crating a puppy, it is sometimes necessary to throw treats in the crate. Some puppies are naturally afraid of getting inside a crate. However, if they often find treats at the bottom, this fear will quickly go away. Be sure to praise and reward your puppy when it goes in the crate. You may also want to start crating for short periods of time until the puppy gets more used to being in such a small, confined space.

Along with treats, it is also important to have some type of toy or bone for a dog chew on. This will help to satisfy the dogs natural predatory instincts while it is in a crate. Bones and chew toys can also help to improve the dog’s dental hygiene.

There are a few other things to keep in mind when putting a dog and a crate. Make sure that the crate has a sufficient water dispenser. You’ll also want to make sure that a dog’s collar is removed. If there are any loose hanging loops around a dogs neck that can get caught on the crate, it can cause a choking hazard. If a dog’s collar gets caught on a crate, it can twist and turn and cause strangulation.

Crates are supposed to be a safe haven for a dog. They are there to help you keep control of your dog whenever you are unable to let him roam around the house, and they helkp to satisfy a dog’s natural den instinct. For these reasons it is important to never use the crate as punishment.

Following these crating guidelines will help you along in your dog training path. But you should consult a more complete and thorough dog training resource, like the ones found at http://www.dogtrainerpro.info before taking your dog training any further.

Important Dog Training Information

If you have a dog, you need to be aware of the different techniques that can be used to properly train your dog and teach him how to be very well behaved. All dogs are perfectly capable of becoming well behaved. There is some important dog training information that you should know if you want to train your dog properly. You can choose to send your dog to a dog training school. There are many options available when it comes to courses and schools. Some schools are more expensive than others, so do your research but expect to pay a decent amount to have your dog trained by professionals. Most schools have the same goal: to properly and efficiently train your dog.  Most schools also offer courses based on the level of training and age of your dog.  That being said, some schools specialize in particular areas of training. If you have particular needs for your dog, make sure to ask. Most dog training courses last up to ten weeks. Puppies normally attend puppy training school, which is similar to a dog preschool that lasts approximately six weeks. Most dog training courses include a test at the end of the course.  In order for your dog to successfully complete the course and graduate from the dog training school, he must past this test.  Your dog must be properly trained to pass as these tests can get quite complicated. After your dog finishes several weeks of hard training and passes the final tests, he will be able to show off his newly acquired skills to all your friends and family members. You should be delighted with the training results that training schools provide. After all, there is a reason why these schools are so confident and proud of their graduates! If you’re looking at significantly improving your dog’s training and persona, then dog training schools are definitely an option that you should consider. They will also make you really happy, proud and thankful to have such a wonderful dog that was trained by professionals. You will have to spend money to get that kind of training but it will be worth every penny you spent. Feel free to use the Internet and talk to professional dog trainers to find out more about training dogs and dog training schools. You can never have too much information about it…

3 Important Tips to Remember on Puppy Training

There are as many ways to raise a puppy as there are to raising a child. In fact, one way per family in general! But most of us agree that when it comes to children, certain things are universal and undisputed. Here are three things that a lot of people just do not think of when it comes to raising their dogs, however. How many times have we heard, “My dog just won’t listen to me”, or “He just won’t behave!”
1. Dogs do not understand English until we teach them.
The thing we all love about puppies the most is the way they live for us, the way they focus all they have on us, the way our lives become theirs. in the beginning, they study us to learn our body language, our facial expressions and our language. Until we teach them the English language, it’s all they have. If we say, “Wanna go out?” one day, “Have to go potty?” the next day, and, “Hafta pee?” the third day, if they DO figure out what we want, it is because we have picked up the leash and moved toward the door with a happy face! If you want to speed up his training by three-fold, teach him YOUR language. Pick a command for EACH behavior and stick with it. Tell all in your family to use the same words and commands, and your puppy will amaze you at how much faster he learns.
2. A young puppy’s metabolism is racing along faster than we think.
The younger your puppy is, the faster he is growing, the more food and water he needs to fuel his metabolism, and the more often he has to go potty. Do not punish your puppy when he makes a house-breaking mistake. These are YOUR fault. Your puppy’s age in weeks and his breed size determine how often he must go out. Once an hour is not too often for a large 6-week old puppy, especially if it is summertime. Dogs love the exciting smells outdoors, so there is no excuse to not have him housebroken by 7-8 weeks of age. Right after a nap, after he eats and after grooming are the key times, and he will signal you. If he is happily chewing a toy and gets up suddenly with his nose to the floor, move quickly! And every time he goes potty outside
, praise him to high heaven! “What a good BOYY!”, “GOOD go potty!” and the like. Dogs love our happy faces, and they will do anything to get it.
3. Dogs live for our facial expressions and body language.
Because of this, the worst punishment you ever need to give your dog is a scowl and to turn away from him. You can see his tail fall down and his face get so sad. He will learn the lesson, I guarantee it. But his attention span is only 3-5 minutes, so do not scorn him any longer. Love him up and give him your happy face again. Physical punishment is never necessary. Use consistent commands and loving praise and he will know what you want of him before you know. He will become a master of your body language and facial expressions in no time at all.
Naturally there are many aspects of training your puppy well. Loving kindness works just as well for puppies as it does with children, creating a happy, well-adjusted and obedient dog for life. These three important tips, used consistently with confidence, will start him well on his way.

What do you think is the most important misunderstanding in dog training?

There are so many questions asked here every day about training that just make me want to bang my head against a wall, and I know I’m not alone in this.

What do you think is the most fundamental misunderstanding people hold about dog training?
Ok, I am assuming that these people think they are trying to train, not that the puppy came fully loaded with excellent behavior. Although those people do drive me batty.

Potty Training Puppy – 4 Important Tips For Effective Training!

If you have just purchased or adopted your puppy, one of the most basic puppies training tips you need to know is how to potty train your puppy. Forget about training your new puppy to obey your commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘fetch’ at this point in time. Why? Because if you do not want to return home everyday to clean up your puppy’s mess, then you better ensure that you apply whatever potty training puppy tips you have learnt from day one!Before your puppy is effective potty trained, make sure you keep it away from your carpet and other wooden furniture. Only when it is able to eliminate its waste in the designated area do you allow it more freedom to roam your house. If you are wondering how long it will take for your puppy to be effective potty trained, it depends on the breed of your puppy. I have personally heard of puppies which take up to 3 months to be well trained but my own puppies took less than 1 month, so it all depends. Using the potty training puppy tips below will also help you to train your puppy more effectively and quickly. They are the exact tips I used when I trained my puppies.1. Suitable venueWhen you first bring your new puppy home, it will not know where it is supposed to dispose its waste. It is important that you decide on the puppy toilet right from the start for the simple reason that you cannot re-train it to use a different toilet after some time! Preferably, the toilet should be somewhere outdoors. If that cannot be done, train your puppy to use the same toilet that you use. However, if you decide to train your puppy to potty on newspapers, then you run the risk of it eliminating its waste on any newspapers that you might have accidentally left lying around in your house! 2. Consistent trainingBy consistent training, I’m referring to not changing the ‘toilet’ and also to check on your puppy every time it needs to potty. At the beginning, you need to check your puppy each time it dispose its waste. If it make a mistake, do not get angry with it or hit it. You can give it a light tap on its bottom and bring it to the correct potty immediately. Only then will it realize that it has made a mistake and learn the correct potty place. Thus, for faster effect in potty training your puppy, you should be at home at all times during the first few months. A puppy is like a very young child; you cannot correct its mistake if you only find out about it a few hours later. Only by correcting it immediately can you see better results. 3. Best timing for the training The best time to carry out potty training for your puppy is right after its meals. Thus if you are home, you can take your potty outdoors or to the toilet after its meals in the morning and at night. It is vital to leave a bowl of water for it all day long but you should remove the dish of food after your puppy had its fill during its meal times. You should make it a point to feed your puppy at the same time every day so that it has a proper routine. It will also learn to anticipate potty times as after meal times. 4. Positive re-enforcement I should say that this is the most important potty training puppy tip of all because your puppy will grow up to be a happy and healthy dog only if it has lots of positive re-enforcements. Shower your puppy with lots of love and be very patient with it. Be prepared that there will be accidents but do not get angry or spank it. Instead, reward it with lots of praises when it manages to potty at the correct place. Do not expect to get results overnight or even for the first few months. If you apply the above potty training puppy tips, you will be able to get your desired results over time but you need to be very patient and loving. Once your puppy is well-trained, you will have a very clean pet whose company you can get to enjoy for life so it is well worth the time and patience you put in now. Have fun!

Potty Training Puppy – 4 Important Tips For Effective Training!

If you have just purchased or adopted your puppy, one of the most basic puppies training tips you need to know is how to potty train your puppy. Forget about training your new puppy to obey your commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘fetch’ at this point in time. Why? Because if you do not want to return home everyday to clean up your puppy’s mess, then you better ensure that you apply whatever potty training puppy tips you have learnt from day one!
Before your puppy is effective potty trained, make sure you keep it away from your carpet and other wooden furniture. Only when it is able to eliminate its waste in the designated area do you allow it more freedom to roam your house. If you are wondering how long it will take for your puppy to be effective potty trained, it depends on the breed of your puppy. I have personally heard of puppies which take up to 3 months to be well trained but my own puppies took less than 1 month, so it all depends. Using the potty training puppy tips below will also help you to train your puppy more effectively and quickly. They are the exact tips I used when I trained my puppies.
1. Suitable venue
When you first bring your new puppy home, it will not know where it is supposed to dispose its waste. It is important that you decide on the puppy toilet right from the start for the simple reason that you cannot re-train it to use a different toilet after some time! Preferably, the toilet should be somewhere outdoors. If that cannot be done, train your puppy to use the same toilet that you use. However, if you decide to train your puppy to potty on newspapers, then you run the risk of it eliminating its waste on any newspapers that you might have accidentally left lying around in your house!
2. Consistent training
By consistent training, I’m referring to not changing the ‘toilet’ and also to check on your puppy every time it needs to potty. At the beginning, you need to check your puppy each time it dispose its waste. If it make a mistake, do not get angry with it or hit it. You can give it a light tap on its bottom and bring it to the correct potty immediately. Only then will it realize that it has made a mistake and learn the correct potty place.
Thus, for faster effect in potty training your puppy, you should be at home at all times during the first few months. A puppy is like a very young child; you cannot correct its mistake if you only find out about it a few hours later. Only by correcting it immediately can you see better results.
3. Best timing for the training
The best time to carry out potty training for your puppy is right after its meals. Thus if you are home, you can take your potty outdoors or to the toilet after its meals in the morning and at night. It is vital to leave a bowl of water for it all day long but you should remove the dish of food after your puppy had its fill during its meal times. You should make it a point to feed your puppy at the same time every day so that it has a proper routine. It will also learn to anticipate potty times as after meal times.
4. Positive re-enforcement
I should say that this is the most important potty training puppy tip of all because your puppy will grow up to be a happy and healthy dog only if it has lots of positive re-enforcements. Shower your puppy with lots of love and be very patient with it. Be prepared that there will be accidents but do not get angry or spank it. Instead, reward it with lots of praises when it manages to potty at the correct place. Do not expect to get results overnight or even for the first few months.
If you apply the above potty training puppy tips, you will be able to get your desired results over time but you need to be very patient and loving. Once your puppy is well-trained, you will have a very clean pet whose company you can get to enjoy for life so it is well worth the time and patience you put in now. Have fun!

Puppies Training Tips – 3 Important Tips To Get You Started Right Away

There are many puppy owners who find themselves losing the novelty for their new pet after a while when they end up spending lots of time clearing up the mess it created. This is very unfortunate and it does not have to be that way if the owners had taken some time to learn some puppies training tips at the beginning. It will save you a lot of time and problem later on if you start training your new puppy right from the first day you brought it home. So how do you train your new puppy and what are the basic things you need to train your puppy in?You do not have to worry too much about how to train your puppy because there are professional sites around where you can easily get free step-by-step puppies training tips which you can easily apply at home. These tips will apply to whatever breed of puppies you have purchased but you do have to note that some puppies might just take a little longer time than others to get trained. You just have to be more patient and consistent in your puppy training. Below are three tips which you can start applying right away. The first thing you need to train your new puppy in is to potty train it. Yes, puppies are like little children, they need to be potty trained too! It is important to teach it from young so that you do not have to continue cleaning after it when it has grown into an adult. However, you cannot expect it to become potty trained overnight. You need to be persistent and consistent in your training and over time, your puppy will be able to remember its correct potty area. When you are training your puppy, it is vital that you do not allow it to get rid of its waste on your tiles, carpets and any wooden furniture you might have in your house. Another of the puppies training tips that you need to teach is how to show respect for you. This is essential in order for your puppy to learn about self control. When you are training your puppy, you must never give in no matter how its whimpers, otherwise it will never follow your instructions. You need to show your puppy that you are the dominant one so that it will follow what you say. On the other hand, you must also not frighten your pet into listening to you. That will only turn your puppy into an unhappy, fearful and aggressive pet. Start applying the above two puppies training tips given above, you are on a good start to having a lovable and happy pet. However, one other tip to puppy training is to create opportunities for your puppy to socialize. One way is to invite friends to your house. This will show your puppy that these strangers are not posing any threat to you so it will not grow up to be an aggressive adult dog. You do not want your pet to pounce on your guests whenever they visit you!

The Most Important Aspect to Potty Train a Puppy

What is the most important aspect when you are trying to potty train a puppy? When it comes to potty training puppies, many people get it wrong… myself included! But the most important aspect is the way that you respond to your dog’s behaviour. Dogs have been considered for many years to be mans best friend and this is true. They respect us, love us and are there for us when we need them to be, but a lot of people forget that our dog needs just as much love and respect as we do and if you implement these factors into your training, then you will be much more successful.

RESPECT: Yes, even puppies need a little of this. When it comes to the point when you want to potty train a puppy, respect is a massive factor in the process. If you don’t show your puppy that you respect him, then why should he respect your rules and what you are trying to do? Treat him like a member of the family, make him feel like he matters and that he is important and your puppy will be always willing to please you.

TEMPER: Most people tend to get angry with their animals when they foul the living room or any room in the house and this is natural. However, when it comes to potty train a puppy, you must keep your temper in check however hard it might be! Puppies respond better to calm commands, shouting and screaming at your dog will only confuse him and in the long run, it might make him quite scared of you.

PRAISE: One of the most important things you need to remember when it comes to puppy potty training is to praise your pet constantly. This involves petting, fussing, using a soothing and happy voice as well as treats each time your puppy does what he is being asked. This will not only build a stronger bond between you and your puppy, but it will also encourage him to want to do what you have asked.

SMACKING: Never, ever hit your dog. It is not necessary and it will only hamper the potty training process. Raising your hand to your dog is not something that you can take back, and just like shouting at your puppy, it will make him nervous and frightened. If you feel yourself getting angry with your pet, walk away and try again when you have calmed down.