Archive for January, 2010

In case you are thinking about purchasing a puppy and taking it home to become your new best friend, don’t expect your dog to obey all your instructions from day one. You will need to teach it slowly and avoid any form of physical punishment when doing so.

Being abusive with your puppy will do nothing but have an adverse effect in the relationship as time goes on between you and your pet.

Because puppies are not any different to human babies, smacking your dog will not help much because it is still in its infancy and does not understand the difference between right and wrong. All you are really doing is scaring the poor animal and causing it to distance itself from you.

The psychology behind this is that dog when young, do not make the distinction between the pain it receives when you hit it, and the reason that you are having it punished. If it was biting on your shoe and you gave it a smack, all you did was to instill fear and confusion into the poor puppy, without it knowing what it had done wrong. It might be a different case for adult dogs.

You might think that punishing your dog with a light smack is fine. It might not hurt so much but it will terrify the life out of the infant dog and if you continue to do this, it will eventually learn to steer clear of you when it sees you, and you’ll never form a close bond with it.

Shouting can also be terrifying for a puppy. While you think that shouting will cause no harm, the consequences are the same as hitting, and your dog will not trust you as much.

Besides being vocally loud, a more effective training method you should employ would be to speak to your dog in a very firm tone to get it to cease doing what it was doing. Then pick up your pup and give it a huge to give it reassurance and some love.

In conclusion, treat a your little one just as you would with a human being. Be gentle and show it kindness, and never display anger in any way, either vocally or physically. Follow these rules of conduct and you’ll surely end up with a loving dog who will always serve and protect you.

If you found this article useful, you might find it useful to view the other dog-related articles by the same writer. The latest pages covers outfits especially for canines such as a neoprene dog parka and also the dog bandana.

categories: puppies,dog training,dogs,pet care,pets,family,hobbies,advise

Positive reinforcement is a fancy phrase for what’s essentially a very simple theory: using positive reinforcement entails rewarding the behavior that you wish to see repeated, and ignoring the behavior that you don’t. It has long been recognized as a way to change children’s negative behavior into positive behavior. Now it has been proven to have the same effect on non-humans.

Watching a Killer Whale doing a routine directed by two young women, I realized that they had trained the large animal to perform in that manner using positive reinforcement tactics. The same method will enable you to train your new puppy. Positive reinforcement is the choice method for most of the experts in the dog training field today. No other training method is considered as humane or effective.

Some of the popular dog training techniques of the past are completely opposite from today’s preferred method. Some of these outdated methods are now considered abusive and are avoided by all who wish to treat their dogs in a humane manner. Using the more humane positive reinforcement method you can have a puppy that is a well-trained and a loved member of the family.

Puppies are easily confused when given commands. The thing you have in your favor as you train your puppy is that there is a strong desire on her part to please you. Just be sure that she knows each time what you want her to do. To accomplish this you must use the same words each time for the same command. If you want her to sit don’t say “sit here” one time and “sit down” another. Always use the same word or phrase. Your puppy will soon know exactly what is expected and behave accordingly.

Use meaningful rewards to facilitate the training process. Dogs get bored pretty quickly with a routine pat on the head and a “good girl”. Most dogs don’t even like being patted on the head; watch their expressions and notice how most will balk or shy away when a hand descends towards their head. If you want to use touching your puppy as a reward we have found that most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.

Using tempting rewards will help maintain the quality of your puppy’s training. Most dogs will respond in a positive way on a consistent basis to physical attention and food treats. Just be sure you give your puppy something for a food treat that you already know she likes. The same goes for physical attention

Use the right timing. When your dog obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you’re going to reward so that, when she gets that treat in her mouth, she understands exactly what behavior it was that earned her the reward.

Using your voice as a marker will also help your puppy in her training. However, you must be sure that even though your voice helps, she must receive a treat immediately. Do not give her verbal praise unless you are going to be consistent with it.

For puppy training to be totally successful you and your puppy must both find it pleasant. Do not schedule training time when you are exhausted; be sure that your rewards are something she is willing to work for.

Want to find out more about The Absolute Best Puppy Training for your new pal.

Are you a dog owner? If so, then you will undoubtedly agree that sharing your life with a dog has it’s shares of ups and downs. There are wonderful moments, and then there are others that are extremely challenging for all kinds of reasons. The fact remains however, that through it all, dogs are still “man’s best friend” in my opinion…it is just harder to make friends with some dogs than with others.

With our current dog, an eight year old miniature schnauzer, we have definitely faced a few challenges. Within a short time of him coming into our lives, we discovered that, while a smart and loving little guy, he also:

1. Jumped and/or growled at every visitor to our house and barked at everything.

2. Was completely and totally terrified of visiting the groomers for his monthly clipping.

What could we do? We spoke with our veterinarian and did some additional research to discover some strategies and techniques to help train him…and us as well. This article will share some of the things we learned.

1. The barking/growling/jumping issue took some time because schnauzers, like all good little terriers are territorial, and are adamant about protecting that territory. Still, we could not scare away everyone who came to visit. So we tried all kinds of reward systems, squirting water, coins in a can, newspaper, just about everything. Nothing really worked. Finally our vet suggested a remote training collar, and after a lot more research, we tried the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer. One of the first things that we liked about it was that it has 9 stimulation levels so that we could start with the very lowest one first until we found the lowest one that was effective. It also has a tone-only training option providing more versatility. And we actually got the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, 300 yds., which has a 300 yard range, allowing us to train from a distance. The best thing about the Innotek Ultrasmart? It worked. Within a short period of time our little guy learned good manners and our friends were no longer afraid to come visit us.

2. Achieving a stress-free grooming experience each month has involved training as well…but it was training us, not our dog. We determined that by clipping him at home each month, he would be happier and more comfortable, so we decided to purchase a good set of dog clippers. We ended up choosing the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper due to the Oster reputation for lasting years, and because of the many positive product reviews stating that they worked smoothly, quickly, and quietly, all important qualities for us. And I have to say that we could not be more pleased with how well the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper has worked out for us and for our dog. Other than it getting warm at times, which we easily solved by cleaning and changing the blades, and using Oster Kool Lube, it has worked out great. It is amazing that such a simple product that is so easy to use has made such a difference in our little dog’s life, and once we learned how to get the cut right, it has been smooth sailing for us all.

Having a dog can, and should be a joy, but it often takes a little work to get to that point. In our case, we had a little help from the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper. But the investment and time we took to use these tools to help make life with our dog better for us and for him have been so worthwhile. The reward has been a merry, little schnauzer whose intelligence, loving nature, and desire to please truly make him our best friend!

Discover how your dog can learn to become a well-behaved and joyful best friend. Learn more about the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper, read the reviews of the product from other satisfied pet owners, and determine if they are right for you and your dog.

Before obedience classes were popular, or even available, nearly every dog owner in the past relied on home dog training to get their dog to obey and perform tricks.

If you desired to have a well behaved dog, you have really had no choice but have the patience, willpower, and desire to do spend time teaching Fido at home. Many people learned how to train their dogs from their parents who had owned dogs. Others refers to books to train their dogs.

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.

To train a dog, you can use a mixture of consistency, praise, and treats as dogs are quite a simple creature. Give them enough of those, and they’ll be doing whatever you want in no time. You can teach them to obey you and to amuse your friends by performing some cute tricks.

One of the best method to train your dog 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 while saying ’sit’ in a firm tone.Remember to look into your dog’s eyes too while conducting this training.

Keep repeating this. Soon, you only need to say ’sit’ and you will see him do that. When he does it correctly, give him a treat and praise your dog. If your dog did not do it correct, continue to model the sitting position and the command. Your dog will get it eventually.

Some dogs catch on more quickly than others, so have some patience if it takes a while with yours. He will get it eventually.

Be sure to keep praising and giving treats for the first several times your dog does the right thing on command. This is important. After a while, you can forego the treats but continue to praise your dog. Your dog need to know whether are you happy with him.

Do you want your dog to be well behaved around people and other dogs? AND have them obey all of your house rules even when you’re not around! Click here to discover powerful insider information at Secrets to Dog Training.