Dog Training | Essential Home Dog Training Tips

Getting a dog is a big commitment. Whilst emotionally you are adding a family member in reality you are bringing an animal into the home – an animal that needs to be taught it’s place in the pecking order and what is and isn’t allowed.

This might sound a bit draconian but remember that dogs tend to be pack animals. In that pack they take a lot of comfort in knowing their place in the hierarchy. In terms of home dog training that means showing them that you are boss – and what is expected of them.

Home Dog Training

Home dog training can take a lot of effort. Consider how much training you need to do:

· Toilet training them
· Teaching them not to jump on furniture
· Training them not to go for food you have prepared
· Stopping them escaping
· Stopping them barking at anyone that walks past
· Stopping them attacking visitors

And much more besides.

Because dogs like to know their place it is important that you teach them it, and teach them what that place entails.

Your Feelings

For many people home dog training can be hard emotionally. Many people aren’t well suited to bossing around a dog, making sure it knows they are master. What is important to remember is that dogs like this sort of treatment.

In the wild dog packs have a strict hierarchy. Every dog knows where it stands and what it can and can’t get away with. This is because the dogs naturally like this sort of behaviour – and so it is in your home.

By providing them with rules, training and a ‘place in the pack’, aka your family, they feel included, part of the family. So whilst it might be you think that training a dog is unfair, get over it – you are doing them a favour!

Dog Training | Home Dog Training – Can You Do It On Your Own?

In the past, nearly every dog owner relied on home dog training to get their dog to obey and perform tricks. This was in the days before obedience classes were popular, or even available. Pet owners who wanted a well behaved dog really had no choice but to spend time teaching Fido at home, and had to have the patience, willpower, and desire to do so. Many people learned how to train their dogs from their parents who had owned dogs, while others used instructions found in dog training books.

While there is a ready availability of dog obedience classes today, you can still accomplish home dog training just as your ancestors did. This is an especially useful option if you just don’t have the available funds to go to obedience classes with your dog. Fortunately, dogs are simple creatures, and can be trained pretty easily with a mixture of consistency, praise, and treats. Give them enough of those, and they’ll be doing whatever you want in no time. You can teach them not only to obey, but also to perform some cute tricks that your friends will find amusing.

The most successful way to train your dog at home is to model the behavior you want from him. For example, if you want him to sit on command, then gently place him in a sitting position and say “sit” very firmly, while looking him in the eyes. Do this over and over, until finally, just say “sit” to him and see what he does. If he sits on his own, give him a treat and lots of praise for a job well done. If he doesn’t sit, then go back to modeling the sitting and the command until he learns it. Some dogs catch on more quickly than others, so have some patience if it takes a while with yours. He will get it eventually.

With home dog training, just be sure to keep praising and giving treats for the first several times your dog does the right thing on command. After a while, you can forego the treats, but be sure to always praise, at least a little. Your dog wants to know he is making you happy.

Ray L. Jackson has been a successful dog trainer for many years and now shares his secrets in his book, “Dog Training Unleashed.”

For more tips on home dog training visit his dog training success website at http://www.dogtrainingevolution.com

« Previous Page