Eight Useful Dog Training Tips

Dog training can be a challenging task, especially for new pet owners. But if you don’t want to raise a problem dog, you should consider planning to train your dog as early as possible. How do you start doing that? Here are some important tips to get you started.

 Tip No. 1: Stay positive. Your dog training sessions can give you the best results if you remember to give your dog positive reinforcement. The key to teaching your dog to behave in a certain way is to give it dog treats and pats in the back every time it does the routine correctly. During the first phases of the training sessions, it is best to be generous with both dog treats and verbal and non-verbal praises. This can also be as much fun for the trainer as it is for the dog.

 Tip No. 2: Be both kind and firm. Make sure to give commands like come and heel with a friendly and cheerful voice. On the other hand, restricting commands like sit, stay or down are best given with a stronger voice.

 Tip No. 3: Start it early. The best time to begin your training sessions is when your dog is six to eight weeks young. You can also start earlier if your puppy looks pretty active and sharp. But it’s never too late to start either.

 Tip No. 4: Be gentle. It is pretty difficult to keep yourself from rubbing the dog’s nose on pee or poop or hit him with a towel or rolled up newspaper when it makes a mistake. But remember that corporal punishment such as these is not a good way to train a dog because the only thing it does is to make your dog fear your ire. If you do this repeatedly, your dog will learn to fear you enough to come to you when you call for fear of being whacked.

Tip No. 5: Patience is a virtue. So dog training is using up your last reserve of patience? Hang in there. You have heard a lot about dog training being very rewarding, but nobody said dog training is easy. If you are at your wit’s end and can’t go on, it is best to put off the training session for another day when you both can have fun.

 Tip No. 6: Make sessions quick and easy. An ideal dog training session should last for only fifteen minutes when you are teaching simple commands. Concentrate on making the dog obey the command, and then conclude the session by rewarding your dog. After the session proper, hang out with your dog for a few minutes of active play. This way, your dog will learn to associate training time with happiness.

Tip No. 7: Pick the right venue. The perfect place to do your training sessions is one where it is quiet and away from distractions. Pick a good spot in the backyard or a room that you are not using. If you have other pets in the house, make sure to keep them away during training sessions so your dog can concentrate.

Tip No. 8: Enjoy. Dog training should be a delightful experience for both you and your pet. Make use of your training time to bond with your pet.