Obedience Dog Training Tips
Tip! Dog obedience training videos are effective means of teaching ourselves how to instruct our dogs to eventually rear them towards a better-behaved and well-disciplined life. Dog obedience training videos are excellent visual guides that could perfectly provide for us the step-by-step process of educating our canine buddies.
Obedience Dog Training is needed when your pooch is barking constantly, digging in the garden, and begging for your food. Training is all about letting your dog know what's acceptable and who is the boss.
I used to have a dog called Ben whom I loved very much. He came to me when he was six weeks old and I looked after him until he died when he was seventeen years old. He did the usual things when he was a puppy, like jumping up on people, chewing slippers and sneaking food. Dogs were not always pets after all, and they operate from a collective instinct. Making them fit for human habitation requires obedience dog training.
Start Training When They're Young
The younger the dog is, the easier it is to train him. If you don't feel confident to tackle it yourself, there are professional trainers who'll do it for you. You will have heard the saying, it's the owners that need the training and not the dogs. My friends had a very boisterous German Shepherd dog that they couldn't do anything with. In despair, they handed him over to the Air Force for obedience dog training and he became a member of the squad. There usually isn't a need for drastic measures like that.
Barking Out of Control
Tip! The "down" command is a fundamental ingredient of your overall dog obedience training program. It provides the foundation for many other advanced commands/skills and establishes you as the leader in the relationship you share with your dog.
One of the most annoying things is for a dog to bark constantly. This can often happen if the owner is away at work. You'll get to know about it because the neighbors will complain. It sometimes helps to leave some background noise in the room, from a radio or television. This is company for the dog. If you're present at the barking, tell him to stop in a firm voice, make a loud noise yourself or snap the leash (not too hard!).
Digging
Digging the garden is another instinct that you'll want to stop. Again, communicate your displeasure with a firm command or loud noise. Puppies urinating in the home is another problem which might require obedience dog training. This tends to happen if the puppy is frightened or over excited, especially if he is reacting when greeting the owner after a long absence. Pay no attention until the dog is calmer, then speak in a reassuring tone and allow him to smell you. Puppies also like to chew. This habit can be overcome with good obedience dog training by being firm, and also providing the puppy with lots of toys he can chew. He will grow bored of your slippers.
Begging
Tip! Remember that timing and consistency are key when beginning dog obedience training with your young pups. The trainer should be planning, on a daily basis, when and how to work on these essential skills, and then perform them at basically the same time every day.
If you want to avoid begging, then never feed your dog at the table and make sure that family members and visitors know the rule. Don't let the dog pester you at meal times and don't feed him between his set meals except to praise a particular display of good behavior.
Using a Leash to Obedience Train Your Dog
Is your dog still running ahead of you?
Getting your dog to walk on a loose leash is not hard to do. Sometimes your dog--especially if he's a young or adolescent dog--will still want to walk or run slightly in front of you. He's not pulling on the leash, he's just not walking along side you in the heel position.
The heel position means that his right leg is aligned with your left leg, and his toes and your toes line up when you stop. Many puppies don't initially understand the concept of staying parallel to you in that heel position.
Here's how to fix it:
- Take one small step forward. Only one. If he doesn't take just one small step forward as well, tug backward with the leash, until he takes a step backward and is parallel to you.
- Now take one more small step forward. Do the same thing. Continue this for about 50 steps, and you'll see your dog begin to make eye contact...really watching you...and only take one step forward.
- Now take two small steps forward, and stop. Repeat this about 50 times as well. Then three steps.
- Practice this, and remember to praise him whenever your dog gets it right.
Pretty soon, it'll "click" for your dog, and you and your puppy will stroll.
Always remember...obedience dog training is all a case of letting the dog know what is unacceptable and what the limits are. You are in control when you know what you're doing.
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