You can make obedience training fun for the dog - and yourself too - by making a game of it. This makes both your dog and you, as the trainer, more willing and motivated to give it your all. Incorporate a period of play at the start and the end of each training session to ensure that the session ends positively. Teaching your dog to heel is the most basic of all the obedience commands. This refers to having the dog walk along with you on a loose lead. Heeling is generally the first obedience behavior taught to a dog, and it is easy to teach this using reward training.
Begin the training by getting your dog a good training collar and lead. Make sure the collar is strong and fits the dog properly. If you don't know how to fit the collar, ask a dog trainer or the pet store manager when you buy your training equipment. As you start to walk with the dog, be aware of the dog's position in relation to your own. If the dog begins to get ahead of you, pull gently on the leash. This will engage the collar and provide the dog with a gentle indication that he should slow down. You may have to apply more pressure in the beginning until your dog learns to accept the discipline. If the dog falls behind, slow down and encourage the dog to come forward. Use a lure or the dog's favorite toy to teach him to walk by your side. If you keep the lure at the position you'd like the dog to be, he will learn quickly to walk in the correct position.
Always give your dog lots of praise, treats, toys, and other rewards when he or she does what is expected. Dogs learn best when desired behavior is rewarded in a positive manner. Positive reinforcement means that when a dog does what the trainer wants, the dog receives a reward. This can be a pat on the head or a treat or toy of some kind. If the dog shows even the slightest attempt to please you, especially at the beginning of training, you should lavish positive reinforcement on him or her.
It is much less effective to attempt to train a dog through reprimands and punishment. Dogs become discouraged and confused by too much punishment. You may have to reprimand the dog sometimes to correct a potentially dangerous behavior. For example, chasing cars or biting must be punished, but the reprimands must be direct, short and directly linked to the bad behavior. After the immediate danger is over, training should go on, based on the reward method as before.
Dogs must learn to associate rewards with good behaviors and reprimands with undesirable behaviors. It is difficult to change any negative associations once they have taken hold. It's easier to train the dog properly in the first place than to try and retrain him later. You should teach your dog to associate behaviors like coming when called, heeling, and sitting on command, with the happy and fun times you shared during training.
Although dog owners generally consider their delightful pets to be a child and part of the family, it will help to always bear in mind that dogs are just animals and not children and so a slightly different type of obedience training is required. Having said this however, dogs, just like children will misbehave and take chances especially when they think you're not looking.
Dogs, not children, or at least hopefully not children, will chew on furniture and in some cases, everything else in sight, jump up on things and people and may even snap at you when hand feed. It's important to help your dog understand what your expectations of it are and dog obedience training and the specific instructions that go with it are the key to achieving this. Think of it as similar to the first year in kindergarten.
Ultimately all your dog will want to do is please you once it understands just which of you is in charge. Once the ground rules are established your pup will do mostly as directed. Dog obedience training will require you to be the disciplinarian but this does not mean to suggest that it requires shouting or hitting of the animal. Any voice commands such as sit, stay or fetch can be taught with a smooth, firm but not necessarily loud voice.
By recognizing your dog's correct or desired behaviors with praise will make the animal aware of what is wanted from it and it will become open to more advanced dog obedience training. It's important to note that some types of breeds will require being handled in a specific way for example the dog may only listen to one person in your family and as such that person should take responsibility for all the obedience training. Often households will have more than one type of dog and so each dog should be trained separately, if necessary.
?Old Dog? Obedience Training ? It's Never Too Late
The familiar saying that it is not possible to teach an old dog new tricks is not necessarily true as dogs can and will be open to dog obedience training no matter what their age, so long as it is done correctly. Dog obedience training should start as soon as the dog arrives at its new home, regardless of the animal's age, as it has perhaps developed habits that you may want to ?unteach? it before it begins to learn the way you would like it to behave.
It is important to note, however, that some old habits may find their way back into your dog's routine. Dog obedience training requires consistency and patience and it's up to you to ensure your dog understands clearly what is and what will not be tolerated. If today one thing is ok for the dog to do but tomorrow it gets reprimanded for doing the same thing it will become confused about what is expected.
Our recommendation, if you have never trained a dog in obedience before, is to get to a dog obedience school, if possible, to learn some of the basics. Alternatively check out Dove Cresswell and Dog Training Online's Free Lesson to get you started. You don't want to get off on the wrong foot, paw or bark.
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