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House Training Basics

July 3, 2010 by admin  
Filed under Dog Training

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Your new puppy is so cute and cuddly. He ís a lot of fun with his boundless energy and enthusiasm. In fact, he ís nearly perfect except for one small thing O.. those puddles and piles he leaves in the middle of the floor!

One of the first tasks you wíll set out to do with your new puppy is house training and it can actually be an easy task if you know how to do it properly. Here are some things to remember in order to make house training less of a challenge:

1. The first thing you must realize is that your puppy has a small bladder. He cannot hold it for 10 hours while you are at work and expecting him to is just setting you both up for failure. If you cannot be home to take him outside every 2 to 3 hours, then you must provide him with access to a designated place to go inside.
2. House training your dog can take several weeks or even months and requires patience, persistence and consistence. Be prepared to provide all 3 for your pet.
3. You can start training your puppy as early as 3 weeks old, but remember the younger your dog is the smaller the bladder, therefore the less time between potty breaks.
4. Never punish your dog when he has an accident in the house. Always reward your dog when he goes in the designated area. The reward must immediately follow the action or your dog will have no idea why he is being rewarded.

Like any other type of behavior training, house training involves following a certain series of steps to get your dog to realize what is expected of him. Also like other types of training, you have to get the dog to perform the action so that you can reward him. Luckily this is easy with house training since your puppy will need to do his ìbusinessî many times a day, therefore you have a lot of opportunity to encourage the wanted behavior of going outside!

Here are some steps to take when house training your dog:

1. Observe your dog and take note of his routine. Heíll probably need to go after eating and at certain times of the day. Youíll want to watch him very carefully at all times so you can ìcatchî him right before he goes. When you see him sniffing his favorite area, squatting or circling, itís time to take action.
2. When you see your dog is about to do his business say ìOutî or some other word that you want the dog to associate with doing his business outside in a firm and somewhat loud voice (you can use any word you want but it is important that you choose one word and use that all the time and that it is not a word you want to use for any other training commands).
3. This should interrupt your dog and you want to swoop in, pick him up and carry him outside.
4. Once you have him in the area that you want him to use as his bathroom say ìbusinessî or some other command you want to use to get him to do his business.
5. When he finishes his business, praise him and give him a treat to let him know that he did ìgoodî.

Itís important to note that your dog will probably have accidents in the house and you should never punish him for these. If you do not catch him right before he goes then youíll need to just clean up and wait until next time. If you stumble across an accident and punish the dog for it after the fact, he will have no idea why and you will not be helping your cause of house breaking.

Like everything else, housebreaking your dog takes repetition. Try to be around enough so that you can get him outside to do his business for most of the time. Eventually he will get the idea and you will have a mess and odor free home from then on!

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Dog Training Basics

May 9, 2010 by admin  
Filed under Dog Training

5 Comments

dog ball2

Training your dog can be a worthwhile endeavor but before you start, there are some things you need to know in order to make training easier and more pleasant for both you and your dog.

The very most important thing you must always remember is that you are the boss!   By nature dogs are pack animals and adhere to a strict hierarchy with every pack having a ìleaderî.  In order to train your dog properly (and easily), you need to establish yourself as the leader early on in your relationship.

Some dogs may be more aggressive than others, some more dominant, some more easy going but no matter what your dogs personality, you must be firm in your commands.  Donít let your dog get the upper hand or he will start to think that he is the leader.  Now, I donít mean that you need to be physically abusive to your dog ñ far from it.  You need to show your leader ship with your actions.

Another thing to consider is that while your dog understands you at about the same level as a two year old, he is not a human.  In fact, your dog has many differences from humans that cause him to interpret your commands and act much differently than a 2 year old child would.  So, do not expect him to behave like your 2 year old during training.

When training your dog, you need to be consistent.  Set aside about 45 minutes or a half hour every day to work on training.  You can start training your dog as young as you want but donít be discouraged if you have an older pet as training can be done at any age.

You want to start training your dog with the basics.  The sit command is a good place to start as getting your dog to sit is the basis for many other commands.  Work on this one command every day until your dog has it down cold, then move on to the next command.

During training, you want to be firm.  Always use the same word for each command and say the word clearly.  Never punish your dog when he does not do what you want but, instead, use positive reinforcement when he DOES do what you want.  Punishing or scolding will only confuse your dog so have patience when he is not behaving the way you want ñ the best thing to do is ignore him and he will soon learn that he only gets the reward when he performs the desired action.

Try to work on training every day at first.  As your dog learns more and more commands, you can slack off a bit, but training should always be a part of your relationship with your dog.  It can be fun and rewarding for both of you to keep learning new behaviors and taking the training to the next level.

Dog training is a task that takes, consistence, persistence and patience but your efforts will be well rewarded with a well behaved dog as well as a stronger bond with your 4 legged friend.  Training your dog properly insured not only his safety, but the safety of those around him and it can also be a lot of fun for both you and your dog!dog ball

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Crate Training Basics

May 9, 2010 by admin  
Filed under Dog Training

6 Comments

dog_crates

To a dog, a crate can be like his own special home inside your home. A safe place, a den of sorts, that your dog can go to when he wants to feel secure. Some people think that putting your dog in a crate is cruel, but it is only cruel if you do it in an abusive manner such as leaving your dog in there for more than a few hours. In fact, crate training your dog properly has many advantages for both you and your pet and should be something that you incorporate into your dog training plans.

While some dogs might take to a crate right away, others might be a little leery of this strange object that you want them to step inside of. The most important aspect of crate training is that you must never force your dog into the crate. Instead, you must make your dog want to enter it of his own volition. If done properly, you will find that your dog actually loves the crate and goes there on his own to sleep and “get away”.

Introducing Your Dog To The Crate

The first thing you need to do is “introduce” your dog to the crate. Take one of his favorite toys or a treat and “hand out” by the crate so that he simply gets used to the crate being in the room. Play with him hear the crate, repeating this for several days. You should start off with the crate in the spot you want to keep it in and this should be somewhere that is away from the traffic areas of the home but in a room that the family spends time in. You do not want your pet to feel isolated and lonely in a crate that is way off somewhere where no one ever goes!

Getting Your Dog Into The Crate

Next, you want to get the dog to go into the crate on his own. One way to do that is to “bribe” him by putting his favorite toy or a treat inside. Don’t put it too far in to begin with, just enough so he has to stick his head in to get it.

You’ll probably find that he pokes his head in and then backs out right away. That ís OK, just be sure to pet and praise him so he feels good about the whole thing.

You want to keep at this exercise every day, gradually putting the toy or treat in further and further. You also might want to be sure that you have a comfortable dog bed in there just in case Fido wants to try it out for a short nap.

Eventually, your dog will get used to going in the crate. When you see him in there, sit beside the crate and pet your dog while he is inside. This will let him know that being in the crate is “good”. Always keep the door open wide at this point.

Getting Your Dog To Stay In The Crate

Keep repeating the above steps while trying to get your dog to spend more and more time in the crate. When he seems quite comfortable with it, close the door but do not latch it. Leave it unlocked so that he can nose his way out if he feels uncomfortable.

Eventually, your dog will come to love his crate and will probably retreat there if he is feeling insecure as well as to sleep. If you are going to close the door, be sure you provide him with fresh water at all times and never leave your dog locked in the crate for extended amounts of time.

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