Training Your Dog
Purpose of Training Training is to modify your dog's behaviour to fit in with human society, while still keeping him (and you) happy.
The first and most important training is housetraining.
Basic Training Principles Be consistent.
Be very patient.
If you get angry or impatient the dog will sense this and become anxious and unable to learn anything until you calm down.
Get all members of the family to use the same command words for the same actions.
Keep training sessions short, especially when the puppy is young.
Rewards are much more effective for training than punishment.
The reward can be verbal, petting or a short game.
It does not have to be a food treat.
Initially you need to reward very slight steps towards the desired behaviour as at the start your dog won't know what he is expected to do.
Remember that dogs don't actually think like humans.
Sometimes you need to try to think like a dog, to see his point of view, in order to train him successfully.
House Training This should start as soon as the puppy arrives, even at 7 weeks old; otherwise it has to unlearn bad habits.
A very young puppy is anxious to please, as long as he understands what you want.
Obedience training - Basic commands The usual commands are: Sit, Down (i.
e.
lie down), Stay, Recall (Come).
A dog should also learn to walk to heel and to walk on the lead.
You may also need to teach him not to chase cats, cars, etc and not to bark excessively.
You can choose the word to use for each command but the whole family should be consistent.
'COME' Command This is a very important command.
Get your puppy used to a collar and leash first.
Then, with a training line at least 15 feet long, take him outside to a place without distractions.
Stand several feet from him and pull him gently towards you.
When he reaches you reward him by petting him for a few seconds.
At this stage in training you don't need to say anything.
Repeat this a few times.
Initial training sessions need to be short as his attention span is very limited.
Repeat these sessions until he comes to you as soon as you tug the line.
Giving treats may assist the training if your dog finds this difficult to learn.
Once he has mastered this say 'come' (or your chosen word) as you tug the line.
Repeat this until he comes to you on the command alone without a tug on the line.
Then try him out without the line.
If he doesn't obey go back to using the line for a short while.
Be realistic.
If he is playing with another puppy he probably won't even hear you call at first, so save your breath, otherwise he will just learn that he can get away with disobeying you.
The same principles apply to the other commands.
It may be slow at first until it dawns on him what he is expected to do for each command word.
(We had one dog that learned to sit on command almost by accident, by copying our older dog) Socialization & Training Classes Your puppy needs to be socialized with people when he is very young.
He needs to meet as many new people and places as possible.
Take him with you whenever you can, to the park, the school gates, shopping, even to work.
After the puppy has settled down in your home, encourage your children to bring their friends to meet the puppy.
Dogs that are not well socialized will be very nervous with strangers or new situations and this can be very difficult to put right once it develops.
Training classes are very useful even if you have trained dogs before, as different dogs have different personalities and need slightly different methods.
Also your dog gets a chance to socialize with lots of other dogs, and you can ensure that he will behave well when he meets other dogs in the street or park.
Collar and Lead training Your dog must learn to walk beside you without pulling.
He should not normally walk in front of you when on the lead and should follow after you through doors (you are the boss, not him).
A conventional collar and lead gives much better control than a harness.
With some dogs a 'halti' type collar will make training him much easier.
Having said this, if your dog pulls backwards and slips his collar off you may have to use a harness instead of a collar.
Using professional dog trainers Don't just pick one at random.
Ask the trainer if you can observe a class.
Then check:
There are many kinds of advanced training: agility, rescue dog, search dog, gun dog, helper dog for a disabled person etc.
Exercise Dogs vary hugely in the amount of exercise they need, depending mainly on the dog's type and age.
Toy dogs may get enough exercise playing in your apartment, but all other dogs need to be taken out regularly.
Many behaviour problems in dogs arise because the dog doesn't get enough exercise.
If you can't let your dog off the lead keep him on the lead but give him the exercise and stimulation he needs.
Don't use bad weather as an excuse! Get the right clothing for the weather, for yourself and, if necessary, for your dog.
If you have an energetic dog using his energy by playing games is fun.
The traditional dog ball is good.
A ball thrower allows you to send the ball much further and saves bending down.
Frisbees and balls designed not to bounce straight are also good fun.
The first and most important training is housetraining.
Basic Training Principles Be consistent.
Be very patient.
If you get angry or impatient the dog will sense this and become anxious and unable to learn anything until you calm down.
Get all members of the family to use the same command words for the same actions.
Keep training sessions short, especially when the puppy is young.
Rewards are much more effective for training than punishment.
The reward can be verbal, petting or a short game.
It does not have to be a food treat.
Initially you need to reward very slight steps towards the desired behaviour as at the start your dog won't know what he is expected to do.
Remember that dogs don't actually think like humans.
Sometimes you need to try to think like a dog, to see his point of view, in order to train him successfully.
House Training This should start as soon as the puppy arrives, even at 7 weeks old; otherwise it has to unlearn bad habits.
A very young puppy is anxious to please, as long as he understands what you want.
Obedience training - Basic commands The usual commands are: Sit, Down (i.
e.
lie down), Stay, Recall (Come).
A dog should also learn to walk to heel and to walk on the lead.
You may also need to teach him not to chase cats, cars, etc and not to bark excessively.
You can choose the word to use for each command but the whole family should be consistent.
'COME' Command This is a very important command.
Get your puppy used to a collar and leash first.
Then, with a training line at least 15 feet long, take him outside to a place without distractions.
Stand several feet from him and pull him gently towards you.
When he reaches you reward him by petting him for a few seconds.
At this stage in training you don't need to say anything.
Repeat this a few times.
Initial training sessions need to be short as his attention span is very limited.
Repeat these sessions until he comes to you as soon as you tug the line.
Giving treats may assist the training if your dog finds this difficult to learn.
Once he has mastered this say 'come' (or your chosen word) as you tug the line.
Repeat this until he comes to you on the command alone without a tug on the line.
Then try him out without the line.
If he doesn't obey go back to using the line for a short while.
Be realistic.
If he is playing with another puppy he probably won't even hear you call at first, so save your breath, otherwise he will just learn that he can get away with disobeying you.
The same principles apply to the other commands.
It may be slow at first until it dawns on him what he is expected to do for each command word.
(We had one dog that learned to sit on command almost by accident, by copying our older dog) Socialization & Training Classes Your puppy needs to be socialized with people when he is very young.
He needs to meet as many new people and places as possible.
Take him with you whenever you can, to the park, the school gates, shopping, even to work.
After the puppy has settled down in your home, encourage your children to bring their friends to meet the puppy.
Dogs that are not well socialized will be very nervous with strangers or new situations and this can be very difficult to put right once it develops.
Training classes are very useful even if you have trained dogs before, as different dogs have different personalities and need slightly different methods.
Also your dog gets a chance to socialize with lots of other dogs, and you can ensure that he will behave well when he meets other dogs in the street or park.
Collar and Lead training Your dog must learn to walk beside you without pulling.
He should not normally walk in front of you when on the lead and should follow after you through doors (you are the boss, not him).
A conventional collar and lead gives much better control than a harness.
With some dogs a 'halti' type collar will make training him much easier.
Having said this, if your dog pulls backwards and slips his collar off you may have to use a harness instead of a collar.
Using professional dog trainers Don't just pick one at random.
Ask the trainer if you can observe a class.
Then check:
- Are the dogs happy?
- Are the people enjoying themselves?
- How many dogs per trainer? Ideally there should be no more than six.
- Is the location secure and clean?
- Ask the trainer what educational organizations he or she belongs to.
There are many kinds of advanced training: agility, rescue dog, search dog, gun dog, helper dog for a disabled person etc.
Exercise Dogs vary hugely in the amount of exercise they need, depending mainly on the dog's type and age.
Toy dogs may get enough exercise playing in your apartment, but all other dogs need to be taken out regularly.
Many behaviour problems in dogs arise because the dog doesn't get enough exercise.
If you can't let your dog off the lead keep him on the lead but give him the exercise and stimulation he needs.
Don't use bad weather as an excuse! Get the right clothing for the weather, for yourself and, if necessary, for your dog.
If you have an energetic dog using his energy by playing games is fun.
The traditional dog ball is good.
A ball thrower allows you to send the ball much further and saves bending down.
Frisbees and balls designed not to bounce straight are also good fun.
Source...