Dog training is a misnomer; it should actually be referred to as human training. This is proven by the fact that before an owner is able to teach his or her dog, the owner must know the trick in order to teach it. Learning how to tame a dog is something that is not innate. This article offers some good guidelines for first-time dog trainers.

When crate training a new puppy or dog, help the dog realize that the crate is its home. At meal times always put their bowl of food inside the crate leaving the door open the whole time while they are eating. This will allow your dog to have a positive association with the crate.

Timing is everything in training your dog, and you need to make sure you don’t overdo it. Shorter training sessions are better at the beginning of your program. Pay attention to the point when your dog starts to get restless.

Be sure to feed your dog healthy foods and treats. An unhealthy diet can have several negative effects on your dog. If your dog isn’t getting what it needs to stay healthy, it could really struggle to find the energy for training or may act out in other ways. Simply improving their diet may have a bigger impact on how they respond to training.

Train your dog on a regular basis to make sure he understands the rules of the house. Do not believe that just because you dog has graduated from obedience school that training is complete. That’s not a good idea, since animals and humans form and retain habits in a similar way. For this reason, you need to reinforce what your dog has learned in training or better still, teach him a new trick every now and then.

When approaching a strange or unfamiliar dog, approach slowly, while allowing the dog to sniff the back side of your hand. This lets the dog get accustomed to your smell and he will be more trusting towards you. After your dog gets your scent, it will no longer fear you and will follow commands better.

In order to prevent your dog from jumping on you, grab its paws anytime he jumps on you and gently squeeze them to inform them that this isn’t acceptable behavior. This won’t hurt your dog, but it will give them an uncomfortable feeling that will help teach them not to do it again. This will help them to stop this action immediately.

Now that the people who are interested in training their new pet dog have, hopefully, learned some new tricks, they can proceed to pass them along to their pets. Once a dog is on its way to learning, the owner will begin to appreciate the dedication that he or she has shown for doing the right thing for man’s best friend.