help

canine commitment Help in 'ruff' times
Amber is next on Interial's list to take to obedience training. With the help of the Obedience Training Club of Wichita Falls, Interial has learned many tips and tricks to raising her pack. Her biggest challenge now is to keep home life peaceful and
Read more on Times Record News

Ffld. cop's top dog (video)
Photo by Meg Learson Grosso Officer Kevin Wells with new police dog, Ruger. In a week and a half, Wells and Ruger will start obedience classes, so Ruger can learn that living a dog's life means “to protect and defend.” Photo by Meg Learson Grosso
Read more on Minuteman News Center

Lulu tries out yet another training class
More than a few dog trainers have labeled me “willful” or "stubborn." I consider myself a free thinker. But I had to bring my A-game while visiting a dog training class last weekend. My Mom volunteers with the Humane Society of the United States.
Read more on Patch.com

{ 0 comments }

Potty Train Puppy Fast with the Help of a Clicker

Getting your new puppy potty trained in a hurry is a priority for many pet owners in order to avoid messes and accidents in the home. If you have never heard of using a clicker to potty train puppy with ease, then you will be happy to learn that the use of a clicker will make training and housebreaking your pet considerably faster and easier than without one.

Clicker training tools are made out of plastic and contain a small metal strip. Just like their name suggests, they make a clicking sound when pressed. This unique training tool is available at your local pet store and is also useful in all aspects of training your dog.

Housebreaking your puppy can be done most effectively with rewards for the behavior your wish your dog to learn immediately after the behavior is performed. Typically you give a treat when the behavior you wish to train is done correctly as a reward for completing the behavior correctly. The combination of treats and the use of the clicker in conjunction will give balance to your overall training methods and doubly reward the behavior you want to teach.

]]>

To get your puppy potty trained, it is a good idea to put him on a lead when he goes outside to go potty. Once he has relieved himself, be generous with praise, click the clicker, and immediately offer a treat as a reward.

The click draws attention to the behavior just completed so that your dog knows which behavior was done correctly. Once the behavior has been identified, offer an immediate reward. The reward then becomes positive reinforcement for a correctly exhibited behavior.

The model described above is based on the well known operant conditioning model in psychology, whereby treats are used to reward the behavior you are trying to achieve. By tying the behavior you want, in this case going outside to the bathroom, to the both the click and a reward your puppy will know both what he is expected to do and how to do it.

 

Learning to potty train puppy is a relatively straight forward process. Using the clicker is actually an aid to draw attention to the behavior you want to teach, while the treats do the job of reinforcing positive behavior when it is completed correctly.

Grace Temple is an author and avid dog lover. For more information on how to potty train puppy and other puppy care information, visit PuppyCareInfo.com

{ 0 comments }

Puppy Potty Training Aids to Help You Housebreak your Dog

Potty training your new puppy is one of the first things you will need to accomplish when you bring home your new dog. Housebreaking your puppy is a lot easier with the help of puppy potty training aids. The tools you use to train your puppy make the job much more pleasant for both you and your dog.

 

Here are a few tips to get you started on successfully housebreaking your new puppy:

 

When you first bring your puppy home, consider crate training him. Create training helps to keep your puppy in a very small space like a box or crate. The smaller atmosphere will help him to feel safe in his new home and will also make the process of potty training him go much more quickly. Generally, having a crate is a good idea because dogs will rarely urinate in the place that they normally would sleep.

 

Dog gates serve the same purpose as boxes or crates, containment. Keeping your new puppy in a smaller space will help him to adjust to his new home without becoming overwhelmed or getting into mischief. Consider also, a space that makes chewing and the occasional accident much easier to clean. This area will serve as his living area, where he sleeps and does not pee, and another separate area should become his designated potty area. The potty area should be either out-of-doors or a designated indoor dog potty away from his living space.

]]>

 

Reward good behaviors with dog treats. Doggie treats are an important part of the process when training your dog and the most important puppy potty training aids in your arsenal. When potty training your dog, dog treats are used to reward the behavior you want to train when done correctly. Find the type of treat that is his favorite and then use that one as the treat he gets for the outdoors potty behavior. Put a treat in your pocket when you take him out. As soon as he goes potty, give him the treat and lots of praise. The trick is finding the treat he wants the most. The more he wants the treat, the more rapidly he will learn the behavior.

 

Have cleaning supplies ready for accidents. Young puppies take a while to become reliably trained. On hard floors use bleach based cleaner; on carpets a stain removing product works best. Enzymatic cleaners are a favorite of many dog owners because they remove the odors associated with pets. Be sure to clean up right away and make sure that no odor remains on the soiled area. Odor will have your puppy seeking out the same spot to repeat his accidents over and over again.

 

Potty training a puppy takes consistent time and effort, but goes a lot easier with the proper tools and puppy training aids.

Grace Temple is an author and avid dog lover. For more information on how to potty train puppy and other puppy care information, visit PuppyCareInfo.com

{ 0 comments }