Dog Training Tips

Dogs needed to be trained as pets just like we need to teach manners and etiquettes to our children. Dogs often have behavior problems such as climbing up on sofas and beds and pester you to always play with them and keep talking to them. They either don't understand even the basic instructions such as to respond when called, to sit down or fetch a newspaper or they don't heed to you. Training the dogs help them to solve these problems and help him to find and understand his position in the family and accept behaving better as a part of life. The best method often recommended to teach anything to dogs is 'positive reinforcement. Let the dog earn food, treats, walks or being loved and petted on head by learning a new trick or command.

The commands can start from the basic ones such as 'Sit', 'Down' and 'Stay' and gradually move to the simpler tricks such as 'Shake', 'Speak' and 'Roll Over' to the more complex commands and tricks such as 'Fetch The Ball', 'Fetch The Newspaper' or 'Jump Through The Ring'. Train him to perform at least one of the commands before getting anything desirable such as food, walk or love. You can make him sit while you put the leash before taking your dog out for a walk, or make him lie down and stay still until you fill his bowl and put it down before him. You can teach him to sit and shake hands until you throw the ball for him to fetch or even lie down and roll over to make you pet him or rub his belly. Do not give the desired thing until the dog drops his resistance and starts obeying your command.

You will have to be patient to train a dog and may even wander if a dog offers much resistance for a few minutes and then try to teach the same trick to him again. Make sure that dog understands what you want him to do, before withholding his food or walks. While some dogs are more submissive, others have dominant nature and quite often challenge their owners to gain the control. Yet others prefer to manipulate the owners instead of being aggressive, growling, snarling, or snapping. They use affectionate behavior and are subtle yet 'pushy'. Dogs who are more fearful feel more comfortable by obeying commands and knowing their place in the hierarchy. It makes them feel more secure and confident. Many dogs take children as their playmates rather than superiors as they are smaller and play with them more often. In such cases, we have to make children who are older than eight years learn the training techniques too.