A puppy in your home is a great joy and delight. However, as most
precious things in life, it comes with a price. The price Im talking
about is not about buying the puppy, feeding him and such like financial
costs, although thats a part of the price, but by owning a dog, you
also assume a great responsibility. Like having a child, your puppy will
look up to you to educate him.
Unless you educate your puppy well, your experience might be a nightmare. You can find the garbage all over the floor. Your brand new shoes might be you puppys favorite chew toy. And when you could not sleep with the puppy whining all night, when you wake up, you may step on dog poo, right in middle of the precious carpet in the middle of the room.
All of these things can be avoided and you can enjoy you puppys companionship for the life of your relationship by using obedience training.
Some people think obedience training is about applying harsh punishments, and making the dog fear from you but thats not true. You need to learn about their nature as dogs, and make the education a series of funny games that the dog enjoys. Just like children, they learn best while playing games and having fun.
#1 Key: Let him know you are the boss.
Having said that, your dog needs to know that you are the boss. You tell him what to do, and he does it, not the other way around. In nature, dogs live in packs. And in all the packs, there is one alpha couple within the pack, and they call all the shots. The others in the pack all obey them. You need to show your dog that youre the alpha dog in the pack. Look him in the eyes without breaking contact. Talk to him in a quiet, steady, clear voice. Do not scream, this will make him scared. Give short,clear, concise commands instead.
Be sure your dog understands that you are the boss. He is to do what you tell him, not the other way around. A dogs nature is to live in a pack. Within that pack is the Alpha-dog. You need to show him you are the Alpha-dog. One way to do this is to keep eye contact with him. Do not raise your voice. Screaming at your dog will not help him understand what you are saying. This will only scare him. With a slow, quiet voice give short, concise commands.
#2 Key: Praise Consistently
Your dog learns from your reactions. If he is pleased from your reaction, action he just took is reinforced. If he is displeased with the reaction, he is discouraged to take the action again.
You can praise him in a number of different ways. You can give him a small tasty treat. You can pet his head. You can say good boy! with a smiling face.
You need to use punishments scarcely, only when you are sure that your dog completely understands your command, but knowingly disobeying you. If he does not know what he has done wrong when you punish him, it does not work to make an obedient puppy.
The most important thing is you need to be very consistent with your praises. Not only while training him new commands and tricks, but also every time he obeys them and does them correctly. If you become inconsistent with your praises, because youre preoccupied with something else, you think he learned it throughly, or for whatever reason, it confuses him. You can only train a happy obedient puppy by being completely consistent.
If he does anything annoying, like begging and whining, jumping on you, eat from your plate, anything like that, ignore it, give him an order that he understands, like sit, and only praise him after he obeys your command. Never praise him when he does something wrong.
#3 Key: Discipline Training
Discipline is the key to successfully train your dog. It should be the first training you should give to your dog, along with basic commands. Learn to look him in the eyes, without breaking eye contact. Learn to say no without any doubt in your voice.
After he does something wrong and you punished him, give him time to adjust. Leave him alone for at least half an hour. He should show signs of submitting by looking away from you or dazing at the floor. Do not go to him before he reflects and adjusts. If you do, he will whine, make you feel guilty, and will not learn from his mistakes.
Of course, these are just the basics of dog obedience training, theres a lot more to it. However, by adhering to these basics, youll go a long way.
Unless you educate your puppy well, your experience might be a nightmare. You can find the garbage all over the floor. Your brand new shoes might be you puppys favorite chew toy. And when you could not sleep with the puppy whining all night, when you wake up, you may step on dog poo, right in middle of the precious carpet in the middle of the room.
All of these things can be avoided and you can enjoy you puppys companionship for the life of your relationship by using obedience training.
Some people think obedience training is about applying harsh punishments, and making the dog fear from you but thats not true. You need to learn about their nature as dogs, and make the education a series of funny games that the dog enjoys. Just like children, they learn best while playing games and having fun.
#1 Key: Let him know you are the boss.
Having said that, your dog needs to know that you are the boss. You tell him what to do, and he does it, not the other way around. In nature, dogs live in packs. And in all the packs, there is one alpha couple within the pack, and they call all the shots. The others in the pack all obey them. You need to show your dog that youre the alpha dog in the pack. Look him in the eyes without breaking contact. Talk to him in a quiet, steady, clear voice. Do not scream, this will make him scared. Give short,clear, concise commands instead.
Be sure your dog understands that you are the boss. He is to do what you tell him, not the other way around. A dogs nature is to live in a pack. Within that pack is the Alpha-dog. You need to show him you are the Alpha-dog. One way to do this is to keep eye contact with him. Do not raise your voice. Screaming at your dog will not help him understand what you are saying. This will only scare him. With a slow, quiet voice give short, concise commands.
#2 Key: Praise Consistently
Your dog learns from your reactions. If he is pleased from your reaction, action he just took is reinforced. If he is displeased with the reaction, he is discouraged to take the action again.
You can praise him in a number of different ways. You can give him a small tasty treat. You can pet his head. You can say good boy! with a smiling face.
You need to use punishments scarcely, only when you are sure that your dog completely understands your command, but knowingly disobeying you. If he does not know what he has done wrong when you punish him, it does not work to make an obedient puppy.
The most important thing is you need to be very consistent with your praises. Not only while training him new commands and tricks, but also every time he obeys them and does them correctly. If you become inconsistent with your praises, because youre preoccupied with something else, you think he learned it throughly, or for whatever reason, it confuses him. You can only train a happy obedient puppy by being completely consistent.
If he does anything annoying, like begging and whining, jumping on you, eat from your plate, anything like that, ignore it, give him an order that he understands, like sit, and only praise him after he obeys your command. Never praise him when he does something wrong.
#3 Key: Discipline Training
Discipline is the key to successfully train your dog. It should be the first training you should give to your dog, along with basic commands. Learn to look him in the eyes, without breaking eye contact. Learn to say no without any doubt in your voice.
After he does something wrong and you punished him, give him time to adjust. Leave him alone for at least half an hour. He should show signs of submitting by looking away from you or dazing at the floor. Do not go to him before he reflects and adjusts. If you do, he will whine, make you feel guilty, and will not learn from his mistakes.
Of course, these are just the basics of dog obedience training, theres a lot more to it. However, by adhering to these basics, youll go a long way.