Training a dog to act properly has many benefits, for the dogs and their human companions alike. Dog behavior training is critical in order to prevent such negative behaviors as aggression. It is important to deal with dog aggression issues by training dogs to interrelate appropriately with other dogs and especially people.
In order to know how to effectively train your dog to be a loyal and eager pet, it is important to know where dogs came from, and how their interaction with each other can affect training.
The first domesticated dogs were likely abandoned wolf puppies taken in by early humans. These wild dogs were taught to perform tasks that the humans needed assistance with, like guardian territory and frightening potential predators. Humans in turn provided sanctuary to the dogs, in addition to food and companionship.
This is a kind of connection that continues today. Many dogs still perform a variety of tasks for their masters, including herding, guarding, and hunting.
Be aware that dogs are instinctively pack creatures before beginning a training program. In wild dog packs, each member of the pack quickly learns his or her place in the ranking. Only when the alpha dog dies does the hierarchy ever change once established. The lower dogs understand that they do not challenge the pack leader, and the alpha dog carries out his duties as pack leader.
The other members of the pack look to the alpha dog for leadership, food, and protection. Keeping this in mind, it is important for you to be the pack leader when you begin training your dog.
A dog that submits to his human pack leader will respect his commands without question. Earning your dogs respect is the first crucial step in effective dog training, and it will lay the groundwork for all succeeding training.
There are many reasons to train a dog properly. A calm and well-mannered dog is pleasant to be near, both for the dogs family, and other people he might encounter. Additionally, being around an obedient dog assuages peoples fears, especially when it comes to more controversial breeds like Rottweilers and Pit Bulls.
Knowing why a dog is exhibiting a negative behavior is important in effectively training and modifying bad behaviors. For instance, separation anxiety may be the root cause of many bad behaviors chewing and destructive behaviors. Solving the root cause of the problem will help to eliminate the peripheral behaviors.
Stress and the lack of ability to deal with it can cause a host of unpleasant dog behaviors. One objective of a high-quality dog training program is to help the dog to endure stress without exhibiting negative behaviors.
It is important to differentiate human behavior and dog behavior when training and working through bad behaviors. Dogs and humans have different motivations and reactions, so avoid the temptation to see your dog as human, and react on that impulse.
One thing the humans and dogs have in common is their sociability and the need to form close groups and strong bonds. While the bonding is very important to dogs and humans, it has served very different purposes in the evolution of each species over time.
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Feb 22, 2010 | | Dogs
By the time you have your dog its behavior will have already been greatly influenced by his mother and his siblings.
Heres an example: If his mother barked to attract some attention, her puppies will probably behave in the exact same way. The experiences that occur between three and twelve weeks of age are crucial in the development of a dogs personality.
The best time to get a puppy is when it is about eight weeks old. By making sure that it has as much varied experience as possible during the month that follows, you will lay the groundwork for easier, more productive, and rewarding training.
Meeting New People
You need to make sure that your new puppy meets as many different people as possible while it is still young. If you can, take him to work, take him out in the car, and take him to your friends homes whenever possible. Let the puppy play with dogs that you know are healthy, and introduce it to children and other adults.
Personal Investigation
Playing with toys will provide the puppy with mental and physical stimulation. Find out which toys the puppy likes (they often have favorites), but you need to make sure that the toys are unlike other domestic items, such as shoes. You can use his favorite toy as a reward during training.
Play Constructively
You can play active games with your puppy, but you need to make sure that it is you who is in control and dominant in the puppies eyes. While you play, watch the puppys behavior, and if it is about to sit, issue the Sit command. This gives the puppy some early association with basic commands and what they mean.
Give Immediate Rewards
When the puppy obeys a command, you should offer an immediate reward, such as stroking or praise with words. Remember: Youre the dominant member of the pack, which means you should always be in control.
Early Habits Can Last A Life-Time
If you carry a puppy constantly when it is very young, it will expect similar treatment when it feels insecure as an adult. Bear this in mind.
Give Mental Stimulation
Puppies that are actively stimulated between the age of three and twelve weeks grow into adults that are good at both learning and problem solving. A puppy learns best by observing its mothers behavior.
Understanding Fear
You must try to keep an eye on all of your puppys activities, to ensure that any frightening situations he may encounter are kept to a minimum. Fears learned at an early age can become lifelong phobias unless they are overcome with training.
Gatherings
All dogs must learn to behave properly, both with their own species and with others, especially people. This isnt always an easy task, so the best time for them to learn is when they are still very young less than four months old is best.
When its possible, make sure that the puppy meets other species such as cats horses when it is very young.
Heres why: Early socialization to other species reduces the likelihood of future problems. With the advice of your vet or local dog training club, its a good idea to participate in supervised weekly puppy evenings. At these gatherings, puppies learn how to respond to other dogs and to strangers in a controlled way.
Social Deprivation
Dogs that lack early social experiences can sometimes become more difficult to train. Restricted contact with people when the puppy is young can cause limitations in the dogs ability to obey commands.
Before getting a dog, find out as much as possible about its early experience. The more a puppy has been handled while young, the more likely it is to respond well to obedience training.
Puppies raised with hardly any contact with people can be very difficult to train for the average person without the help of a professional dog trainer. So remember to ask questions about the puppies experience with being handled.
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Jan 17, 2010 | | Dogs
‘Sit Up’ Buddy: Training Your Dog To Sit Like You
The trick of sitting up is easily taught to small dogs, but should try not be included in a big dogs education, as it is difficult for them to preserve their balance.
The training of sitting up is one of the first tricks to teach and forms the groundwork for many other dog tricks. To train a dog to sit up, prepare some treats as a reward, and set your dog on his haunches in a corner, so that he cannot fall either backward or sideways and has very little or no space to lose balance.
Keep him from pitching forward by holding one hand under his chin and with the other hand hold the treat above his nose and keep repeating distinctly and deliberately say, sit up. Do not make him sit up too long at any one time, but repeat the lesson frequently and reward him often with plentiful of praise and treats.
During his first lesson he will require considerable assistance from your hand to prevent him from pitching forward, but as he gets control of the balancing muscles and understands what you want, he will depend less and less upon your hand to keep him in position and you can gradually render him less assistance until you will only have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from his neck or chin, so as to be ready to prevent him pitching forward; later on you can withdraw this hand entirely and simply hold the treat just above the level of his head.
By constant practice he will sit up well after you set him up; then he should be set up against the wall, so as to afford him a support for his back only, and after he has been well schooled at this and can keep his position easily, practice him against chair legs, cushions or other objects that afford him less and less assistance, until finally he learns to preserve his balance and sits up without anything to lean against.
During all these lessons the words sit up have been impressed upon his mind by frequent repetition, and now comes the final lesson to teach him to sit up as soon as he hears the words, and the chances are, if he has been diligently drilled, it will be necessary only to call him out in the room, show him a treat, hold it up a suitable distance from the floor, say sit up and he will do so, when he should be given the treat while still in position.
The only necessity to perfection is to practice him several times a day until he will sit up at the word and without being shown a reward; that can be given him after he has obeyed.
You have now a foundation for many other tricks. He can be taught to beg by moving your hand up and down just in front of his paws, which he will move in unison with yours. He can also be taught to salute by bringing one paw up to the side of his head, or to hold a wooden pipe in his mouth, or to wear a cap on his head or other articles of wearing apparel.
In teaching a dog to submit to being dressed up, do not attempt to get him to wear too many things at once; try him at first with a cap and after he becomes accustomed to that you can put on a coat and gradually accustom him to the other clothing articles.
Enjoy teaching your dog the sit up trick and most importantly have fun along the way!
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Nov 11, 2009 | | Dogs