First Coast Pet

Posts Tagged ‘dog obedience’

It would be hard to believe that the adorable puppy you welcomed into your house could become a dog that is a single problem away from being given up. Aggressive dogs do not just happen over night. Dogs are not born aggressive or menacing towards people. Dogs that are properly trained and well cared for rarely become aggressive. If you adopted your dog as an adult you will need to be particularly cautious and be sure that your dog has proper dog obedience training.

Showing your dog right away who is the boss and who is the pet is important to make sure that housebreaking is an easy job for the both of you. Dog and puppy training are important for more things than just making sure that your dog no longer chews on your shoes. You must ensure that you do not let your dog turn into one of the multitude of aggressive dogs loose in the world. Dog growling and dog biting can lead to very bad situations. These situations can arise without proper dog training.

The Terrible Aftermath Left From Aggressive Dogs

* May cause injuries to family, friends, or neighbors
* Emotional damage to youngsters
* Destroyed personal items
* Previous situations that create lawsuits
* The dog being one of the many that are euthanized every year

If you are truly a loving and caring pet owner, you must take responsibility and ensure that your beloved animal does not join the legions of aggressive dogs. You should seek outside help from a professional if you feel that you are unable to fix and control the problem on your own. There are numerous professionally-trained dog trainers out there who specialize in aggressive dogs.

It’s advisable to do as much reading and research as you can on aggressive dogs. Learn the correct ways to punish a dog besides striking it. Violence only leads to violence, so be sure you aren’t contributing to the creation of aggressive dogs. You may have luck with the books and videos out there but you will have a much better chance at solving the problem, or preventing one from ever happening, by bringing an expert into your home.

Bringing In The Extra Help

Whether it is a free trainer or one you pay for you have to realize that there is nothing more important than making sure that you are taking responsibility for your dog and its actions. The owners are always the ones that are accountable for the behavior of their aggressive dog, so be sure to avoid the potential legal or moral situations.

If your dog hasn’t exhibited signs of being or becoming one of those aggressive dogs, then there is still time to get it completely under control. It is best to start immediately, especially if your dog has aggressive or rough tendencies.

When you first set out to teach your pet dog or puppy to come, there are a few tips and tricks that Im going to share with you, to make it more successful!

I have adapted these free techniques from the outstanding ‘Secrets to Dog Training‘ by Daniel Stephens. You can jump straight to it here if you want to read more.

“Come dog”

Firstly, and possibly the most crucial, is that you should never call your dog over if you are going to do something that he might class as ‘negative’ to him.. Some common examples are things such as tying him up, wetting him (if he doesnt like that!), telling him off, smacking, hitting or generally disciplining him..

Never command your dog to come, then punish him for things like running away when he comes over. Your dog might think he is getting punished for obeying you.If the dog already knows bad associations when you call come, such as thinking it means 'run asap!' or if he has started to ignore it, you might have to try a new command that means 'come' but sounds different. 

Forget your old come command and teach this exercise using a new, clear word. ‘Here’ is a popular one, as is 'oi', but you can make up any command that suits you or that you think your dog might respond to.

In the ideal case, your dog should hear your command, cease what hes doing and sit in front of you! Best results are had when you treat this step as two different exercises.

The two processes can be taught seperate till the dog has them both mastered, when this happens you can bring them together.

“Come sit in front of me”

Start with putting your dog on a short ish leash. With a treat ready, get your pets attention and hold up the treat at nose neight while taking 4 steps backwards.

With your dog infront of you, now stop and hold the treat up so that your dog sits and waits.

Command your dog to sit and if and when he does, reward him with the treat, by lowering it to his mouth. Dont reward him if he jumps to get it!

Next time round try the process holding you place instead of moving backwards. Try to eliminate the treat part of the exercise, and change to a reinforcing command. This helps your dog to accept praise as a reward.

You can read part two of this article, for free, as my website (that has hundreds of other free dog training tips) here, at dog commands.

Now that you have brought your new dog home it is time to start the housebreaking. While some people like to give their new dog a little time to get to know the family and the house before laying down the law, this can only lead to confusion for the dog later down the road. Your dog will be confused if you have allowed it to run free with no discipline, then all of a sudden expect it to be well-behaved.

It Is Never Too Late

You are still able to fix the situation even if you have let your dog run free with no rules. It is never too late to start dog training your puppy, unlike the common belief out there. Whether your pet is a young pup or several years old, you can still incorporate housebreaking into their daily routine. Whether it is dog chewing, dog biting, or dog growling that you are dealing with, it is important to pick out the behavior that concerns you the most. After housebreaking them on the first behavior, then you can move on to the next.

You should start housebreaking your dog as soon as possible to ensure that your pet does not become aggressive. If your biggest problem at the moment, especially if you have a puppy, is where the dog is and is not allowed to go potty then you will need to start with that.

Housebreaking Tips

* Only give food and water at meal times
* If you are using pee pads then select one area and keep the pads there
* Praise the dog when good behavior is shown
* Don’t hit the dog if he misses the pee pad
* Take the puppy to the pee pad within fifteen to twenty minutes of drinking or eating

Many people will leave the food and water out all the time for their dog. While this is an okay routine for older dogs that can hold their bladder, it is not advisable for puppies. Young puppies do not have the ability to hold their bladder for long periods of time. This will result in a lot of accidents around the house for which you really cannot blame the puppy. So leaving food and water out all of the time is counterproductive to your goals in housebreaking.

If the puppy goes to the bathroom in some other place in the house, the pee pad should be put there. Housebreaking at this stage just simply means that you are getting the puppy adjusted to going to the bathroom on top of the pad. You can then proceed with housebreaking by slowing moving the pee pad every couple of days towards the spot where you eventually want the pads to be.

While this housebreaking process may seem like it takes forever, it is extremely important. You certainly do not want your puppy or dog going to the bathroom everywhere. Your puppy can get discouraged if the housebreaking process is not easy to learn. House puppy training is very important.  If you need help doing this, you should seek it. No matter who is in charge of doing it, just know that housebreaking takes time.

Dog training can without a doubt be something that can test a person’s patience. But keep in mind that the tough part does not last long. After a bit, your dog will be able to run about and play without you having to worry about accidents or misfortunes taking place. You will be able to relax and enjoy time with your dog after its obedience training is complete. It can be a bit stressful to complete the initial phase of dog training no matter how long it takes. This is why it is important to make sure that you get all of the help that you can.

Teaching your puppy housebreaking is just one thing that you absolutely need to do, although sometimes it may seem like a never ending process. If you give up on the training you will find that there could be a lot of serious consequences to face such as:

• Destroyed furniture
• Accidents all over the house
• Biting
• Aggressive behavior

Keep control of the situation by establishing yourself in the parent role, which will lead to a better adjusted dog. You have to teach the dog right from wrong with dog training. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe that dogs innately know how to tell right from wrong. The problem with that assumption is that dogs only know what their instincts are and this is why we as the owners have to take advantage of dog training. The human rules and the dogs insticts are not the same concerning being the furniture.

We, as the owners and the teachers of the pets, have to slowly and patiently walk our pets through dog training in order to teach them the way we live. Your dog lives to make you happy you need only to show him how as he will be pressed to figure it out for himself. Your dog will learn proper behavior through dog training. This will teach your dog the proper way to receive treats and affection.

Some sources for dog and puppy training advice include classes, DVDs, magazines, and books. Although there are many great dog training classes available that teach about dog biting and housebreaking, it is crucial to realize that these classes are for information. You will not get overnight success by attending any class. The real work will take place once you are at home with your dog. Whatever you may learn or pick up at dog training school always remember to enforce this at home because this is where it all begins.

When you are dog training it is best to get a hold of any book, DVD, etc. Make sure that you are taking in all of the advice and putting it to good use. Some breeds of dogs are easier to train than others so it is difficult to put a universal time frame for successful completion of dog training. It could take from a few weeks to several months depending on what breed you are dog training. Stick with it and never slack off and the dog training will pay off in no time at all.