My husband and I decided to surprise our son with a new puppy for his 10th birthday a few weeks ago. He had been asking for a pet for the longest time, but we didn't feel that he was ready to handle the responsibility until now. One condition we placed on adopting the puppy was that my son would be completely responsible for the dog's care. He would have to take his puppy for walks, play with it, feed it, make sure it had access to fresh water, and train it. To help my son carry out his responsibility, we also bought a couple of dog training books for him to read.
After careful consideration, we decided that dog training books would be a better option than obedience classes for a few different reasons. For instance, we wanted our son to develop a strong bond with his new pet and figured that using dog training books instead of obedience classes would allow him to spend more time with the puppy. In addition, our son would get a bigger sense of accomplishment from teaching his puppy basic commands through techniques learned in dog training books. He would be doing everything on his own and could take full credit for the way the animal turned out. And finally, we thought it would be handy to have dog training books around the house for a quick reference should any behavioral problems come up.
There were so many dog training books at the local bookstore that it was pretty overwhelming trying to sort through all the choices. I didn't really know anything about dogs, so had no idea which trainers or methods were successful and which weren't. Before making a purchase, it was imperative for me to find out more about how to train dogs in general. So I went online to do as much research as possible in the time I had before my son's birthday. Once I had some good information to work with, I felt comfortable enough to choose several dog training books that were appropriate both for my son's age and for the dog's breed. I also decided to buy a couple of the trainer's aids recommended in the manuals, including a special leash and collar.
As I said before, it's been a few weeks since we brought the puppy home. I'm proud to say that my son has been holding up his end of the bargain admirably and is really making progress thanks to the tips and advice in the dog training books. We're sure that he'll continue to do exceptionally well in teaching his pet basic commands and more, and we're looking forward to watching this new friendship blossom!
You can do your own dog training or you can employ someone else to train your dog for you but it is far more rewarding and certainly a lot cheaper to train your dog yourself. This will also help create a bond between you and your dog that will never leave either one of you.
An alternative to training your dog yourself would be to take your dog along to some local dog training classes and these can be a helpful addition to your own training but you will be committed to regularly turning up for the class and this may be difficult to fit in with your lifestyle.
When you are training your dog it is important to praise your dog when your dog is responding well to your instruction. If he, or she, does really well gives lots of praise and a little treat.
Dogs want to be loved so the more you show how much you love your dog the more he will want to make you happy. When he is doing well and you give him lots of encouraging praise he will remember that by doing things properly he got a lot of love and attention and next time will try extra hard.
Having a pocket full of dog treats can help with your dog training. When your dog has done what you commanded particularly well give him a dog treat as an extra bonus for doing so well. He will remember and learn that by trying really hard to do as required he might earn an extra treat.
Shouting at your dog or hitting him will be counter productive. You are aiming at having a dog that behaves well because he wants to not one that behaves only because it is scared. Love and praise work much better than being unkind to your dog. Be firm and command his obedience but let him obey because he loves you and wants to please you, not because he is scared.
Try to develop a regular routine for your dog training. A short contructive period every day is far better than a long session once a week which may leave your dog tired and confused. Keep the training to short periods and just practice one thing at a time.
Both John Pawlett & Tim Whistle are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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