Dog Training | Dog Training – Make Your Dog Listen To You

October 31, 2010 by jamesk  
Filed under Dog Training

How many times have you seen dog owners shouting at their dog while the dog blatantly ignores them? Often I presume!

However, if you consider what normally happens in situations like this it is quite easy to understand why. An owner starts shouting at their dog to come to them. The dog ignores them and the owner starts shouting louder and louder and more angrily (often not the same command). The dog continues to ignore them. Then the dog owner walks after the dog at which point the dog starts sulking towards the owner in full appreciation that its owner is annoyed. Upon reaching each other the dog is treated roughly (e.g. a rough pull of the collar or even a smack).

You can see two problems here. One, the dog starts associating whatever come command you are using with a form of punishment. Hardly surprising the dog does not want to come to you. Secondly, the owner has often used several commands, which mean absolutely nothing to a dog. In case you forget a dog can’t speak your language!

Long term the relationship between dog and owner is one of fear rather than respect.

Generally a dog will disobey for two reasons (I use the word disobey lightly for the two reasons below):

1. Your dog doesn’t understand the commands.
2. Your dog is simply ignoring you.

When training your dog you need to establish commands that your dog understands. In essence, this is teaching your dog to understand a bit of your language. These should be short, ideally one or two word commands. They should be different enough from each other that it is clear what each command is. Commands that sound the same will only make learning them harder for your dog. Once you select different commands, keep the same commands forever. Remember, your dog lives in a world where people are constantly talking in a full breadth of language that they will only ever realistically pick up 20 words of.

In teaching your dog the commands, you should also adopt hand signals specific to that command. As dogs can be trained very quickly by associating a command with an action, dogs often learn what the hand signal means before they really associate the voice command with it. As with the voice command, be consistent with the hand command and make it clear. Bad example, but you don’t want to associate the sit command with folding your arms – how often do you fold your arms and how many times would you do it solely to get your dog to sit?

The presentation of your commands is also crucially important. Your commands need to be short, sharp, clear and obvious that you mean what you say. A weak or playful voice command will not work and your dog will firstly think they have an option and secondly think you are not the alpha dog.

In the case of a dog simply ignoring you, the dog understands the command but just chooses to ignore you. It

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Dog Training | Dog Training Advice For Successful Canine Disciplining

May 17, 2010 by jamesk  
Filed under Dog Training

There are several ways by which you can train your dog using proven dog training advice. You can resort to either positive or negative methods of disciplining your little canine friend. When we say negative, we refer to methods that take notice of a dog’s misconduct and try punishing it. Positive methods, on the other hand, mean that what’s being done right is what is emphasized. When seeking dog training advice, this would probably be one of the first that you’ll come across – always utilize positive reinforcement rather than punishment.

Regardless of what your dog did, never ignore his actions or behavior. It might just confuse him. If he misbehaves, use proper and non-violent corrective measures like using a stern “no” or “stop.” If he has been really obedient, reward his good behavior with treats or praises. As basic dog training advice, you want him to learn not out of fear and stress, but from affirmation and reinforcement. Not to mention that fear may lead to behavioral problems like aggression, while affirmation builds your dog’s self-confidence. Furthermore, do watch your commands. Never correct him if he hasn’t done anything wrong. It will just confuse the dog and halt its progression.

Time, frequency and duration play important roles in successful canine disciplining. Reliable and guaranteed advice will explain why you should always observe proper timing when trying to reinforce your dog’s attitude. If you leave a big margin of delay between the act and the confirmation of good behavior, your dog might not understand what he’s being praised or rewarded for.

The use of repetition will help him establish proper learning because he is continually exposed to what he’s supposed to be doing and that it gets embedded into his mind. Try making it a daily habit, even with simple commands such as “sit” and “heel.” The more your dog is exposed, the more he gets used to it. However, always remember to keep training sessions short. This prevents your dog from getting too stressed out or beginning to become restless.

Another good dog training advice is to observe gradual progression. Training sessions should first be simple before slowly moving on to more advanced and complex commands. Make sure though, that he has instilled them and constantly exhibits response before taking on more challenging tasks. If progress seems to have stopped, investigate whether you’re doing things correctly or if your dog has grown tired or unresponsive to the training sessions. Never push commands; the more it will make your dog disobey, if not make him agitated.

Consistency is a key player in each session’s success. If, for example, you observe his every move for this session, and then ignore some of his behavior and acts on the next, your dog will most likely misunderstand what you’re trying to get across.

As a final dog training advice, keep lessons enjoyable and fun. You do want your dog associating these sessions with pleasure rather than unwillingness. When he sees its perks, you’ll notice how enthusiastic he’ll be about trying out new commands and actions with you.

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