Many dogs are sentenced to a life in a shelter when things get too stressful at home. This is avoidable in most cases. Any dog can be trained to become well-behaved, healthy and happy. A great dog can be yours; just read on.
Timing is crucial when you train a dog, so you need to spend an adequate amount of time training them, but not too much. Start small and build up a bit daily. When the animal appears to lose interest, you will know which duration produces the best results per session.
Keep your dog active. Dogs can become bored easily. When dogs feel bored, they are much more stubborn when it comes to training. Your dog is going to be a lot more attentive when it has received enough exercise. Take your dog on long walks or runs.
Learning how to show authority is the foundation of all canine training. Put yourself in an authoritative position, so that your dog knows to obey you. On walks with your dog, you should lead him and not the other way around.
As your dog progresses, you won’t need to exert so much control. Rewarding them by showing them you trust them more will only encourage better behavior. Just be cautious not to give too much freedom at once, as this may have a counter effect on your puppy training.
Choose an easily teachable action to train your dog with in the beginning. This will cause you to get your dog to learn its first trick quickly, which is rewarding. It will also show your dog what training is all about. Doing this will give you better results in your training.
You need to teach your dog right away that they should drop or back away from something when you say “leave it.” This can help stop them from chewing on your belongings and prevents them from ingesting harmful things away from the home.
Training Sessions
Your training sessions should be very short. Your pet probably lacks a generous attention span, making it more likely that he will thrive on brief training sessions. If you desire to do a lot more training, be sure to give your dog breaks in between training sessions.
Wearing out a puppy with too much training and information, will be extremely counterproductive. Your puppy has a very short attention span, so start out with short sessions, and try to keep things enjoyable for both you and your pup. If you try to rush and throw in too much information, your puppy will not remember the lesson and you’ll have a harder time training him.
If you use a leash to train your pet, you must ensure that it remains loose rather than taut. When dogs are going for a walk, they will often want to check out new territory. Many dogs will strain against the leash due to their eagerness. Smart owners are quick to discourage this by rewarding the animal for leaving slack on the leash.
Older Dogs
Older dogs are going to have their limits. It will never be possible to train an older dog perfectly; each has its own peculiar quirks that you’d best learn to love! By adopting older dogs, you may face stubborn streaks. Although you may be able to teach it some new things, sometimes the best thing to do is focus on the negatives that you want to modify and live with the rest.
While you can definitely teach an old dog any new tricks, keep in mind conditions or medical issues which can limit his capability to behave in certain ways. For instance, arthritis and crawling long distances might not work well. Training can help stimulate a dog’s cognitive functioning, which is beneficial for older dogs. But do not overdo it and make them work to hard!
As this article has already mentioned, it is not impossible to have a dog that is well-adjusted, happy and healthy. All that your dog needs is good training, the right amount of attention, and plenty of support and love from you. By following these steps you can make your dog a part of the family.
