Basics of Dog Training

Isn’t it nice to have a dog that you can easily order around and it will directly follow you? These kinds of dogs are one in a million, or two million. But, whatever kind of dog you have, you can have a follower of a dog if you can train it well.

Right timing. This pertains to the right age of the dog when you are going to train him. Also, this will refer to the right times of the day that you are going to train your dog and how long the trainings will be.

Usually, it is recommended that you start training your dog at ages of about five to eight weeks. But, do not get too excited and start very early and before those ages. You will only waste your time, and worse, exhaust your puppy.

If you have the time, you can train your dog every day. This can give you results in a faster rate. Also, take note of the amount of time that you will be allocating for the training.

Although it is your goal to make your dog learn as many tricks as soon as possible, you can only put in several minutes in a day for this training. This is so that you will not tire your pet.

Give treats. The most effective method used by dog trainers is with the use of dog treats whenever the dog reaches a certain milestone in your training.

Using positive reinforcement or giving rewards to dogs lets them understand that that action is rewarded because it is correct. So, they will tend to repeat that action as indicated in order to receive more rewards in the form of dog treats.

Even praising your dog is not futile. This will add more to the physical reward that you are providing it.

Consistency is key. Give commands with the same actions each and every time.

This is the only way that your dog will learn. So, you need to take note of the action that you are making when you are telling it to ‘sit’, ‘roll over’, etc.

Stay in line. This means that whenever you are training your dog, your attention should be towards your dog, 100%. This is to make sure that your dog is tuned in to what you will be ordering him to do. If you are doing something else, you will only distract your dog and it won’t know what it is supposed to do.

Be friendly. Use a tone of voice that is nonthreatening. However, it should be firm. It is just like using a voice that you use to command another person.

And make sure to keep your cool. Do not lose patience and end up hurting your dog. When you are set to train your dog by yourself, you should be ready to put in countless hours just to teach him one trick. If you are not prepared to do this, you should consider hiring a dog trainer to do this for you.