Saturday, June 19, 2010
You may not believe this but...
You should NEVER use the recall word ("COME", or whatever word you choose) to call your dog to discipline him, correct him, tell him what a bad dog he is, or for any negative reason.
Bad deeds MUST be caught IN THE ACT in order to correct. If you still need your dog by you for a negative reason, give him a firm SIT command and go get him.
For example:
Imagine this, you see your dog "Major" outside digging up your newly planted daisies. You first quietly say "Major, Come here". Major, doesn’t respond. You then yell "MAJOR - COME HERE!". Major still doesn’t come, so you go over and grab him by the collar and yell "I told you to Come Here!" and give him a smack. Major, being a smart dog, makes a mental note "Come Here" means "You’re in trouble and about to get punished".
Next time when he is outside, and you want him to come inside for dinner you go out and say to him "Come here", he responds by running away. "Dumb dog" you think and go and grab him and drag him inside so he’ll eat his food. Then you say sternly "How come you don’t ever COME when I call you?!" Major makes another mental note (Hmmm: seems to me my memory of "COME HERE" is still accurate – don’t want to respond to that – after all, "COME HERE" means I am in BIG TROUBLE!) Remember, dogs know ONLY "dog language" when they come to live with us. WE must teach them our language.
In the above examples, Major did not learn OUR translation for the word "COME". He learned "COME" meant "angry owner – I’m in trouble now. Better scram out of here!" We want Major to learn that "COME" means "Get your buns to me in the fastest way possible – NO EXCEPTIONS!" Major needs to understand that COME means GOOD stuff – ALWAYS!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
How To Train Your Dog In 3 Hrs.
If you're striving to raise and train a happy, healthy and well adjusted dog yourself at home - this tips for you.
It is my goal to help you properly care for, socialize and train your dog in a positive, non-violent yet highly effective manner.
Training a dog whether it is a puppy or an older dog takes time. The first commands that a dog needs to know are sit, stay, no, lie down and come. Start with sit, then move onto stay, come and then lie down. The no command may need reinforcement, but most dog learn this command with housebreaking. It is important to be consistent and train the dog daily for about 30 minutes a day. After training, there should be a little playtime.
#
Step 1
Training a dog to sit, you will need a six-foot lead and some small dog treats. Gently pat the dog's rear as you are saying sit. As the dog sits, reward him or her with a treat. Walk the dog a few feet and repeat the command while gently pressing down on the rear. Then reward. This training should be done every day for about a week until the dog knows and performs the command
#
Step 2
After the dog has learned to sit, the next command to teach is stay. Using the lead, tell the dog to sit. After the dog sits, say good boy or girl and reward with a small treat. While putting your hand the stop position like a crossing guard does, tell the dog to stay and gradually walk back four feet while holding the lead. Wait two minutes, then walk back to the dog and praise with a reward. Repeat this step gradually walking a full six feet and returning. After a week, drop the lead and command the dog to stay while you walk thirty feet away. Then practice walking out of sight
#
Step 3
Training the dog to come is going to come right after they learn to stay. To teach a dog to come, use the lead, tell the dog to sit and stay. Walk the full six feet away and tell the dog to come while gently pulling on the lead. When the dog comes to your side, reward with a treat. Repeat this step and gradually work the distance until you reach forty feet. After this success, leave the dogs sight and when you reappear, ask the dog to come and reward.
#
Step 4
Teaching the dog the no command should be easy to do. When the dog is doing something wrong, say no and point your finger at the dog. The no command is probably already being learned since you had the dog, but some dogs do not understand what is meant by no. The understanding of no is usually understood with housebreaking.
#
Step 5
Training the dog to lie down is done by telling the dog to sit, then telling them to lie down while placing your hand down to the ground in front of them. Reward as the dog learns and does what is commanded. This command is usually learned quickly and can be used with the stay command.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Dog Training - Fun Ways to Train Your Dog
The thought of dog training can make most people cringe. The hours of work and the constant repetition may seem too much, yet dog training exercises can be enjoyable. Being able to have a well trained dog and have fun in the process is possible. Because dogs have different personalities, an owner may need to try a few methods in order to see how their dog responds best.
Reward training is a type of positive reinforcement training. Part of this type of instruction is giving your dog a command and then rewarding for the proper action. Clicker training is one popular example of this. When a dog performs the desired act, the clicker sound gives him the acknowledgment that he did right. When starting the clicker training, the click is followed by a treat. This gives the dog the knowledge that the click is what he wants to hear. After awhile, the treats can be taken out of the equation, and the sound of the clicker is enough reinforcement. Treats are great supports, but a pat on the head or excited voice can also be very important to you dog. This reward training is used for most types of training. If you are using the right kind of treat, for treat based training, your dog will want to spend the time learning.
Agility training is a fantastic way to enjoy your dogs education. Most dogs, except for large, heavy ones will enjoy this fun way of exercise, and you might be amazed at the amount of discipline that the dog must learn in order to accomplish this task. An agility course is set up to have the dog go from one obstacle to another in a timely manner. Some of the obstacles might include crawling through a tunnel, jumping over small fences, and climbing over walls, to name a few. The owner stays with the dog, but must only help the dog by giving a dog command, and at the beginning, leash guidance. Through this course, dogs learn to listen to their owner, get exercise, and helps build a teamwork bond between pet and owner. With the popularity of agility training there are more schools using this method, but if you cannot find it in your area, a simple search online to find the appropriate items can set up your backyard.
Almost any game can be used to teach your pet. When you are working on obedience training, it is a good idea to intersperse some tricks in the midst. This will help you enjoy the time more which will help your dog relax and learn more easily. Simple tricks like "shake" and "stay" are teaching valuable lessons. In order to "shake" a dog must learn to sit properly. "Stay" is a great command when you have children or elderly people visiting.
A well trained dog is the goal of most dog owners, yet many of us stop training after our dog gets beyond the bad manner behaviors. The guidance should not stop there; in finding exercises and games that both we and our dog enjoys will enable us to continue the education and the bonding time with our pet. Obedience classes as well as agility training are available in most areas for all ages of canine.
