People spend a lot of money on training their dog, when in fact the training is actually for the humans who own the dogs. Although the professional dog trainers can provide guidance and support, if you do not have the money, here are some simple tips for how to train your dog to listen to your commands.
Simple Commands for Your Dog
Train a dog to obey simple commands with a hand gesture and a verbal command. Treats can be helpful, but be sure to have the dog listen and respond to praise as well to ensure obedience when treats are unavailable. Cheerios make a cheap training treat.
Some simple commands to teach your dog include sit, down and stay. With these commands, you will be able to control your dog when visitors come to the door, when on walks, and other times when your dog gets excited. Using a hand gesture along with a verbal command will give you the ability to control your dog without your voice when necessary.
Appropriate Affection and Exercise
When training your dog, remember that first he needs to obey and have appropriate outlets for his energy. Excess affection without discipline can lead to problems down the road with obedience. By all means, love your pet every day, but also expect them to obey.
Different dogs have different exercise needs. Even so, every type of dog needs to be walked regularly. When walking a dog on a leash, you should never allow your dog to pull you down the street. This is the dog in control of you. Having your dog walk calmly on a loose leash should be a goal. To accomplish this, use the sit command when necessary, and check the leash by pulling quickly up (not back) in order to get the dog to focus on you again.
Solving Training Problems
Barking: call the dog to you, verbally correct the dog with whatever sound or word comes naturally to you in a corrective nature. Think about how you would warn a child to not do something, and use that same sound. A spray of water or sudden sound can also provide the distraction necessary.
Chewing: provide the dog plenty of appropriate chew toys. Keep a vigilant eye and correct the dog whenever he gets something he shouldn't have. Teach the dog the "leave it" command while the dog is on the leash by checking and using the command whenever you want him to leave something alone, and you will be able to get a dog to sit sadly watching you clean up a mess in the kitchen instead of him eating it as fast as he can. This can be a life saver too as will be able to prevent the dog from eating something dangerous. You can also use Bitter Apple spray to prevent chewing.
Aggression: If your dog is aggressive, you need to get professional help to prevent serious injury. Always go through door ways first, go up or down the stairs before your dog, and whenever possible, eat before your dog eats. Teach your dog through verbal commands and through height (standing up when correcting) that you are dominant, and that he is to listen to you.
Tips from Cesar Milan can also be helpful when dealing with problems that you may have while training your dog.
When training a dog, consistency is the key to success. It is very possible for you to train your dog without the assistance from a dog trainer, but you must be willing to put the time and effort into the training process.
Learn more information about dog training.
Information on the importance of walking your dog.
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