dog training advice

Dog Training Tricks

February 10, 2010 · 0 comments

When you are a dog owner, you know how much work it is to have a dog, but on the other end of that you know how rewarding it is. Having a dog is a lot of work, but it can be a lot of fun too. There are simple ways to make this happen.

Dogs are naturally loyal to there pack and once you become a dog owner you essentially take over as the pack leader. So, your dog will look to you for guidance and will also want to interact and make you happy. This is where you can have fun. When you’re training your dog to do tricks, make it a game. Keep your dogs mind stimulated and in turn your dog will not only be having a lot of fun, but will be learning new tricks as well.

One of the more common dog training tricks is fetch. Some dogs are naturals at fetch. Their breeds were created to run after things, catch them, and bring them back to their people. However, some dogs need some teaching in this. The easiest way to do this is create a treat ball for them.

Take an old tennis ball and cut a slit into it. Put your dog’s favorite treats in it, show it to your dog and take a treat out and give it him. Next, throw the ball. The first couple of times, you will need to run with your dog to the balls location to get the ball. Take out a treat and give it to him. After that, throw an empty ball, and when your pet brings it to you, give him a treat and praise him.

Another one of the more fun dog training tricks to teach your dog is shaking hands. It is easy enough to teach. First, get your dog to sit. Then say, “Shake” or “Shake Hands” and take your pets paw in your hand. Hold it and praise your pet, then let go. Do this a couple of times a day.

After a while, give the command, but do not take your dog’s paw. If your dog raises it’s paw, praise it and give it a treat. If it does not, show your pet again by repeating the teaching method again. Remember to make all of your training sessions fun for your dog.

Teaching your pet to crawl can be a fun way to get your pet to follow you as an example and get some exercise at the same time. Start off by having you pet lay down. From that position, take a treat and hold it in front of him and tell him to crawl. Pull the treat away slowly while you do this. If your dog starts to stand up, tell him “no” and to lay back down and try again, keeping the treat as low as possible. When your pet moves forward, even if it is a few inches, praise your pet and repeat the steps.

Another of the standard dog training tricks is playing dead. First, have your dog lie down on their stomach. Then, as you roll them over gently, tell them “play dead” or “take a nap”. Encourage the pet to stay put for several seconds then tell him to wake up. When your pet is standing up, give him a reward and praise him.

Also, dig can be a fun game for your dog, but may not be a good idea if your dog is a digger and likes to dig in the yard or garden. For the dogs that are not troublesome diggers, you can teach your dog to dig for a treat by putting a few treats under a towel making sure that your dog is watching. Do not let the pet use their nose to nudge under the towel. Instead, encourage them verbally, showing that the treats are under it. Eventually, your pet will start to paw at it. When they start to dig for the treats, reward them.

Teaching your dogs tricks can keep them from being bored. It will also strengthen the relationship between owner and dog. Dogs are pack animals and they perceive their owner as their pack leader. Keeping them entertained and showing them that they are loved can ensure that your dog continues to obey you as the leader.

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Potty Training Puppies

February 10, 2010 · 0 comments

You’ve been searching for that special pup, and now you’ve finally found him. Like every other dog owner you’ll want to avoid “accidents” in your house as much as you can, so after you bring him home, potty training your puppy is one of the first things you’ll want to do.

Thankfully, potty training puppies is very simple. It’s so easy, a child could do it. You only need to do three simple things: be consistent, be persistent, and most importantly, be affectionate to your new dog.

First and foremost, you need to realize that puppies respond to affection and rewards much better than they respond to any type of harsh discipline.

In potty training puppies, the first rule is to always praise and reward your puppy when he does well and always resist the temptation to hit your pup or even to shout at him if he has a “mistake.”

Always keeping that in mind, the next thing to do while potty training puppies is to be consistent and persistent. This means you need to get into, and always stick with, a housebreaking routine.

Puppies need to urinate as soon as they wake up, so always take your pup outside right away. Don’t stop to do anything else along the way. Puppies also need to urinate within about 15 minutes after eating and whenever they’ve been playing or been excited.

On top of that, puppies also need to urinate every hour or two, and they poop within a half hour or so after eating. Get in the habit of taking your pup outside at each of these predictable intervals.

Potty training puppies requires your attention. You can’t just let your pup out into the yard to do his “business.” Instead, take him out there, and lavishly praise and reward him when he makes his deposit. While you’re there, consistently say some cue words like “do your business” or “have a poop” while he pees or poops. If you stay with it, you’ll be training him to do it on command.

Potty training puppies is just that simple. You can make it even easier by never overfeeding, never punishing for indoor accidents (this will just make him confused and afraid of you), never being lazy about your routine, and always being affectionate and feeding at regular times.

Puppies are creatures of habit, and if you’re persistent, consistent, and affectionate, they learn very quickly. Those three things are really all that potty training puppies requires.

Here’s another article on potty training puppies that I think you’ll find useful:

  • Dogs Potty Training, Can You Do It? – You Can Make Potty Training Puppies Easy (0); Why Potty Training A Puppy Is Easy (0); What Are The Potty Training Puppies Secrets? (0); The Hottest Techniques For Training Your Puppy The Easy Way (0); Potty Training Puppies Is Easy With …
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Puppy Crate Training

February 10, 2010 · 0 comments

Puppy crate training is one of the key elements of housebreaking your puppy and to prevent puppy behavior problems from developing at an early age.Firstly, you should determine what size crate you need for your puppy. You need to take into consideration what size your puppy is now and what size your puppy will be when it’s fully grown.

You don’t want a crate that’s going to be too big that your puppy may use part of it as its toilet, but at the same time you don’t want one that your puppy will grow out of either, so you need to strike the right balance here.

Dogs also like familiarity, so having the same crate throughout it’s life will reinforce those feelings of familiarity in your dog – so choosing the right one in the beginning is important.

The next element of puppy crate training is to help make your puppy feel comfortable in its crate and to create more feelings of familiarity for your puppy. You can do this by making its bedding from some old blankets that you’ve used in the past so that your puppy can associate your smell from the blanket with positive feelings – remember a dogs nose is a powerful thing!

Once you’ve selected and bedded down an appropriate crate for your puppy actual puppy crate training can then begin. This should be a slow and gradual process whereby you introduce your puppy to its new crate gradually over time.

In the beginning, it’s a good idea to leave the crate in your bedroom over night so that your puppy feels safer – and to begin the process of puppy crate training by helping your puppy associate its crate with sleep time. You can then leave your puppy in its crate for a short period of time outside or downstairs but don’t cajole or force your puppy in any way into its new crate in the beginning. You need to make this a positive experience for your dog and to associate being in its crate with postive things – maybe a small snack every so often, have their water tray nearby & some toys to keep them busy.

Also remember that young puppies like to poop & pee a lot so in the early stages don’t leave them for too long in their crate as they need to learn that they should not use their crate as a toilet! However, soon they’ll realise that their crate if mainly for sleeping and will always then leave the crate if they need to go as puppies rarely poop where they sleep.

Gradually over time you can then leave your puppy in its crate for longer periods (but the key is gradually) and even close the door of the crate too – but again be sure to associate the closing of the door with positive things for your dog – and the dog should always be able to see out through the door – i think all crate doors these days are designed like this in any case.

Notice specifically the mention of the key word “gradually” above as you don’t want your puppy to associate being left in its crate as a negative thing – this is what will happen if you leave your puppy in its crate for long periods early in the process. Think like our old friend the Tortoise – Slow & steady wins the race!

Here are some more articles on puppy crate training that you may find useful:

  • Puppy Crate Training At Night? – 5 Responses to “Puppy Crate Training At Night?” Taterbug says: October 7, 2009 at 8:20 am. I dont believe in crate training.. I have a 5 month old puppy and I got him at 6 weeks…. I started him off sleeping in his bed right next to mine …
  • 9 Steps To Puppy Crate Training Success – … with the dog as they are always at home in their crate no matter where you are or what type of transportation you use. Kelly Marshall http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/9-steps-to-puppy-crate-training-success-68869.html.
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