August 8th, 2008
There is virtually nothing as embarrassing as when your holiday guests arrive and your dog Fido is jumping all over them. You start tugging and ordering him to get down and stop, but as usual he doesn’t acknowledge a single word coming out of your mouth. You have tried everything and he refuses to listen to you. Is there any hope for a good puppy?
There is no need for an expensive trainer to teach your puppy. You can do this on your own, without an expensive trainer. With training your dog will no longer cause you any unnecessary embarrassment. For you to successfully train your dog to obey your every command, you will need to do a few things.
It is vital that you do not give up on your puppy or yourself. You need to be clear, consistent and persistent at all times. Believe that you can succeed in training your dog to do exactly what you want him to do. Keep in mind, even after you have ended a training session, you can continue to teach your dog. Just like you would your child. You wouldn’t only teach your child right from wrong during a specific time, you do this all the time.
When you are teaching your dog to obey, you will need to make it interesting for him. A dog will easily lose his drive to please you if you do not keep things fun and hold his attention. Similar to teaching a child to clean up their toys after play time, you need to make it seem like fun, not work.
Positive reinforcement is very important in training your dog. Reward your dog for the behavior that you are asking for. You can reward him or her in a way you feel is appropriate. Some people find it best to reward the dog with a treat. Others find it best to not use food rewards, instead a quick rib or pat on the head.
Once you begin to work on a specific task with your puppy, you should continue with it until he has mastered it. Avoid throwing in too many new things because you can confuse your dog. Try to have a consistent tone of voice s well. This will let your dog know you mean business. Keep the commands you are trying to teach as simple as possible. One to two word commands are best when teaching now things.
Continue training once you have gone in the house. For example, if you are working on sitting during your lessons, implement it in the house. Try to have your puppy sit and wait for you to give him his food or a treat. Or you can have him sit while you put his leash on to bring him for a walk.
About the Author
For more information on Puppy and Dog Care, visit My Puppy Care Site
Posted in Dogs, General, Training | No Comments »
October 17th, 2007
You’ve brought your adorable puppy home and you’re wondering how difficult it’s going to be to housebreak him. If you follow these three easy steps, you should be able to housebreak your puppy in no time at all.
Step 1 — for the first two or three days, take your puppy outside to the same spot every hour and wait for him to relieve himself. Don’t move from that spot and don’t walk him. Let him have the length of his four-to-six foot leash. Praise him profusely as soon as he goes, and give him a few pieces of his puppy food. Make sure to pet, kiss, and hug him too, and reward him with a walk around the block. After his walk, allow him a supervised free run of the house for 20 minutes. Then put him into his housetraining crate for 35 minutes. (You should discard the crate once your puppy is housetrained.)
If you’ve waited outside for more than 20 minutes, and your puppy hasn’t relieved himself, bring him home and put him into his crate for 20 minutes (just to assure that he doesn’t relieve himself in your house), then take him outside again. Repeat this process until he relieves himself outside.
Make sure to take him out just before you go to bed. You’ll also want to take him out once or twice during the night without taking him for a walk or letting him run around the house. You may lose some sleep now, but it will save you many sleepless nights in the future.
Step 2 — during the next week, take your puppy out once every 90 minutes during the day and as needed in the middle of the night. He’ll let you know when he needs to go. During the day, if he relieves himself outside, give him 30 minutes of supervised free run and play time. If he doesn’t relieve himself, again put him back into his crate for 35 minutes. Always supervise his indoor activities, and don’t give him an opportunity to fail.
Gradually add time to his supervised free run and crate time until he’s successfully holding it for three hours during free run time, and four daytime hours in the crate. Don’t forget to take your puppy outside immediately after he leaves his crate to avoid accidents inside your house.
Step 3 — within about 10 days, your puppy should have a good understanding of what’s expected of him. But you shouldn’t stop your training efforts. If you catch your puppy sniffing around the house and squatting, shout “outside!” and take him outside immediately. Praise him outside as he finishes up. It is vital that you continue to watch him closely during his indoor free run time, so that you can catch him in the act if he has a bit more to eliminate.
It will take a little bit of work at the beginning to housebreak your puppy, but you’ll find it’s worth it in the long run.
Article Source: ABC Article Directory
The Author: Joan Yankowitz
Posted in General | No Comments »
