Dog Obedience Training
Obedience training is the process by which your dog is taught to behave properly
at home and outside of it. It is the way you teach your dog to know how to
properly behave, what not to do, and what to do and how to do it. By obedience
training your dog, you will seek to redirect his behavior, allowing him to
grow confident in his actions. The process of training your dog should always
be consistent with lots of practice and rewards when progress is made. The
entire process should be fun and attractive to your dog. Make the training
part of your daily routine and praise and reward your dog enthusiastically
to encourage him to keep making progress. This last concept is extremely
important as it will help reinforce your dog's actions and will make the
training develop in a smoother way.
Obedience training helps you to establish an effective line of communication
with your puppy or dog. In this way, you can communicate your wishes through
a set of commands or orders to your dog. Once this communication line is
established, it gives way to the development and establishment of a social
hierarchy between the two of you. This hierarchy is established when your
dog shows submission to you by obeying your commands. However, this respect
must not be gained through the use of force. If so, your dog will only be
responding to your commands out of fear, not because of will and desire.
Dogs are sympathetic and friendly animals who, for the most part, love obeying
their owners. Therefore, he will respond to you out of respect, thus acknowledging
your higher status and his submissive role.
Dog Training Problems
There is no exact age for a dog to be properly trained. It is always recommended
that you teach your dog how to be obedient as early as possible. It can often
be difficult to change bad habits in older dogs. If your puppy grows up accustomed
to obeying you, he will not give you any trouble in the future. Obedience
training works best if you start by placing your dog in an obedience class.
This is also a nice way to socialize your puppy or dog with other people
and dogs, while also allowing him to observe how other dogs behave in relation
to their owners. You should always keep in mind that you need to take obedience
classes to learn how to train your dog, but you must continue this training
on your own as well.
As your training sessions develop and progress is made, you should practice
with your dog in different areas. Slowly add distractions to see how your
dog reacts to them. Bring back your dog’s attention if he gets distracted
and keep practicing until your dog learns to respond properly at home, but
also when he is out in the public. Additionally, if your dog lives out in
the yard, take him around the neighborhood so that he can observe his surroundings
and better understand what goes on outside while he is at home. Exercise
your dog frequently and make sure that he gets enough play time as well.
Bear in mind that, during your dog’s training process, praising and rewarding
him constantly for good behavior will speed up the process. On the other
hand, reprimanding you dog constantly will have just the opposite effect.
It will inhibit and confuse your dog, consequently slowing the learning process.
To find the perfect balance between reprimands and rewards, you should always
praise your dog for all good behavior, for every good deed that he makes,
at all times. However, if you observe your dog acting in an incorrect way,
immediately reprimand him in the act. Make the reprimand short but meaningful.
Immediately after, teach your dog the correct way of behaving and then praise
him effusively for getting it right. For example, if you catch your dog chewing
on your shoes, reprimand him and direct him to where his toys are, correctly
praising him when he begins to chew on them.
Recalling Your Dog
The concept of recalling your dog is basically teaching your dog to come
when called. Contrary to what many dog owners might believe, getting their
dogs to stop doing whatever it is that they are doing and to come to them
promptly as soon as they are called is a process that takes time and many
weeks or months of practice. First of all, the process should begin by having
your dog associate the “come” command with good things. If your dog is playing
in the park and you call him to confine him, your dog will associate the
command with the event of being confined or with any other activity that
is just not as attractive as what he was doing. As a result, your dog will
be more reluctant to obey you the next time he is called. Likewise, another
common mistake dog owners make is to call their dog to them to reprimand
them when they've done something wrong. This teaches your dog that coming
to you is bad.
Once you understand these concepts, you will need to find the perfect time
to begin training your dog. Since you will be using treats to keep your dog
interested in training and to maintain his eagerness to make progress, look
for the right time for practice, such as when your dog is hungry and the
smell of the treat will get his entire attention. Start the training by giving
your dog small pieces of a treat to entice him to get more by behaving correctly.
Place yourself a short distance away from your dog, wave a treat in your
hand and command your dog to come. When he comes, reward him with the treat
and praise him for coming. Keep practicing this exercise over and over, but
stop once your dog begins to show signs of disinterest. Resume training during
your dog's next mealtime and do not allow your dog to eat anything until
that time. As the training progresses, begin to reduce the amount of the
rewards given and also reward your dog only on the occasions that he responds
better.
Once your dog masters the recall command you can add more fun and games to
the training. Ask another friend to help you achieve this. Stand some feet
apart from your friend and take turns each calling your dog. Every time your
dog reaches either one of you, command him to sit stay. However, just one
person should be giving your dog a small reward. This is also great exercise
for your dog as he will be running back and forth between you. Another great
game you can play with your dog to enhance the “come” command is ‘hide and
seek'. Ask another person or two to separate between the different rooms
at home. Have one of the people call your dog. Your dog not only will respond
to the command, but will also use his natural skills to hunt for the person
calling. Your dog will have a good time responding to the command and searching
for the caller. Praise him and reward him appropriately.
You should also reinforce the “come” command in your normal daily activities.
The main point is to make your dog associate the command with something good
for him. Command your dog to come just before taking him for a walk, before
giving him a treat, before feeding him or before playing with him. Once he
makes the desired association, your dog will not hesitate upon your command
since he will know that something exciting will happen when he reaches you.
Dogs and Chasing
Your dog's natural instincts may drive him to chase whatever moving object
he sees. This can include birds, cats, squirrels, people playing or running,
tennis balls, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and so on. While this is a natural
behavior for your dog, it must controlled in order to avoid accidents from
happening. When teaching your dog to control his chasing instinct, you must
practice it many times before your dog is ready to be let off leash.
Stand with your dog on a leash next to you in a sit-stay position in a room
at home. A tennis balls will come in handy for this training session. Show
your dog the ball, but do not allow him to touch it. You will be using a
command such as ‘off' to teach your dog to stay away from the ball. Once
you have your dog's attention and his willingness to chase the ball, toss
the ball across the room. As soon as your dog breaks the stay position to
chase the ball, pull the leash and repeat the ‘off' command to make sure
that your dog will remember the word, then put him back in his original position.
Repeat this exercise as many times as needed until your dog gets the command
right. Once he does, praise and reward your dog to encourage his correct
behavior. Gradually, as your dog makes more progress, repeat the exercise
without holding the leash. At the end, once your dog gets the command right,
the leash will not be necessary at all.
Practice in other rooms within your home and backyard. Once your dog is ready,
take the training elsewhere. Keep the same structure of the practice, just
replace the tennis ball for another object that your dog might chase. Request
the help of a friend to pose as a jogger and practice the ‘off' command until
your dog gets it right. Then switch the object and try practicing with a
bicycle. Once your dog stays and does not chase the object when the ‘off'
command is given, praise and reward him for his good effort. Keep the practice
going for a few more days or weeks as needed, always holding onto the leash,
until you have been absolutely convinced by your dog's performance that he
can be trusted to be off-leash. If not, keep your dog on a leash and avoid
exposing him to situations that could cause him to react improperly until
fully trained
Training Your Dog to be on a Leash
Most dogs get very excited when they are to be taken out for a walk. However,
sometimes dogs act out of control as soon as they hear the leash being picked
up. This excitement can continue even when your dog is already outside. To
prevent your dog from going leash crazy, either pulling your or refusing
the leash, you need to begin the process of making your dog accept his leash
and respect you. As soon as you take the leash and your dog comes running
at you, command him to sit-stay. Do not attach the leash to his collar until
he responds properly. If your dog does not want to obey because he is too
excited at the prospect of a walk, leave the leash aside and postpone the
walk until he behaves.
Wait for a while and pick up the leash again. Give the sit-stay command once
again. If your dog responds to the command, attach the leash and remain in
your place for a few minutes. Do not start the walk until you are sure that
you have your dog under control. When this happens, try walking around your
home to get your dog used to walking with the leash. Every time your dog
gets out of control, stop what you're doing and do not move until he calms
down. If you continue walking, you will be rewarding and enforcing your dog
for his misbehavior. Once he is calmed, continue training him to walk properly
on a leash. Practice walking your dog as many times as needed inside your
home. This requires a lot of patience but your effort will pay off in the
future.
As soon as you observe that your dog has made great progress and can walk
on a leash without pulling, take him outside and keep practicing over and
over until your dog gets it right. Praise and reward your dog for his effort
and success. As your dog improves his skills and training is fully mastered,
you can venture into training your dog to walk with you off-leash. Do not
attempt to do this if you are not fully confident that your dog will stay
by your side no matter what. Practice at home for a few weeks, then take
your dog to a nearby by park. Once you can trust your dog, you can give him
the freedom to walk off-leash.
Getting Your Dog Used to Loud Noises
Many dogs develop a fear of loud noises. This is a common situation and is
usually the result of poor socialization skills or because your dog associates
such noises with a bad experience. Dog owners often react by immediately
running over to their dogs and comforting them, but his only reinforces their
fears. Other dog owners take a different approach and force the dog to face
their fears and be braver. Both approaches only make matters worse. In the
first case, dog owners reinforce their dog's fears by providing them with
instant security and safety, preventing the dog from learning to overcome
his fear. On the other hand, by forcing a dog to face his fears, a dog owner
can make the fear turn into phobia, leading to a physical reaction on the
part of the dog, either by urinating or reacting in an aggressive and destructive
manner.
There are many things that you can do to help your dog overcome his fears.
One of them is called ‘distracting training'. When your dog is afraid of
a specific noise, a thunderstorm for example, get him to play with you or
perform some tricks until the storm dies down. This is a process that requires
much time and practice and might be difficult to achieve at first. Slowly
and gradually make your dog feel more confident about coming and playing
with you. Once your dog gets into the game, it will be much easier for you
to get him distracted. With time, your dog will learn that there is nothing
to be afraid of when he hears the noise and without even noticing, his fear
will begin to disappear.
There is also a desensitization process that can work very well. Whatever
the noise is, make or obtain a recording of it. Start by playing it at the
lowest volume possible. Allow your dog to get used to the low volume noises
while going about his regular routine. As time passes, increase the volume
and be watchful of your dog's reactions. Remember that the volume should
be raised slowly. Only increase it according to the progress your dog makes.
If your dog begins to show signs of fear, bring the volume back to its previous
level and continue. Your dog will slowly become accustomed to the noise and
will promptly lose all fears towards it.
reprinted with kind permission from Barbara Bangser
Best Friends Pet Care Customer Care Team www.bestfriendspetcare.com
