Want to Learn How to Train a Dog? Simple But Important Dog Training Techniques

Learning how to train a dog by using tested dog training techniques is the focus of many dog owners. Let us begin by considering why you should train your dog. The reasons can be many but I have listed a few major ones here:

1) A well-trained dog is loved and cared for. 

2) Its safety and your safety depend on it being well trained. 

3) For the safety of your family and friends also it is essential that the dog is well trained.

It is essential to train the dog to behave properly and also ensure that it is obedient. Often people who have newly acquired a dog do tend to worry a little with the process. The first thing you need to teach a puppy is potty training. Dog house training is also the next important thing in a good dog training program.

Dog crate training is also essential to cure them of chewing habits which leads to chewing anything that they find lying around the house.

This finally leads to potty training and training the dog to be obedient.

In your how to train a dog program (assuming you adopt a formal regimen) remember leash training is also very important. Leash training actually forms an intrinsic part of obedience training. When it comes to behavioral training, incentive based dog training techniques yield better results than punishment based.

Make sure you use reinforcements as a way to reward an expected behavior rather than punishment. While training a dog patience is very important as each dog has its own behavioral patterns while some pick up things fast others resist any kind of training program.

Make sure you have reinforcement like some food items or patting if a dog does as it is told.

A dog that is too aggressive or very jumpy will need to be trained to behave, however do not scold too much, ensure the dog knows what is not acceptable behavior and may lead to punishment or scolding, but do not be too harsh.

It is essential to take the breed of the dog into account when training as that plays a major factor in determining how fast or slow your dog will react to certain instructions.

Make sure you do not ignore or indulge any behavior problem even though your dog may be a small puppy. This will in the long run lead to the dog considering that behavior as acceptable.

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Should Puppy Training Pads Be Used?

One of the first, and most important tasks that you will have with a new puppy, is to train him about where he will be going to the bathroom. Unless you are able to do this properly, you will have an ongoing problem, and a frustrated dog.

Puppy training pads have a scent that attracts the puppy to the pad when he wants to go to the bathroom. The only problem with this is that if the pads are not available, will he know what to do?

One key to properly house training your puppy, is that you will need to praise him when he does anything correctly, but don't scold him after the fact, as he won't be able to relate to the actual event.

The use of the training pads serves as a way to teach the puppy that there is a definite place that he should go to in order to relieve himself. Keep in mind that dogs are very adaptable, and once he understands that there is a place to go, you can gently move him outside, by moving the pads closer to the door, or actually picking him up and carrying him outdoors.

Another way to train a puppy is to crate train him, and this is based on the supposition that you will have him sleep in the crate. Dogs normally don't like to go where they sleep, so he will be more prone to hold it longer.

When you let the puppy out of the crate, and he begins to start sniffing the floor, and getting into "pre-pee" mode, just pick him up and place him on the training pad, or take him outside.

After a time you can just quit using the training pad and just take him outdoors, and after a while he will get the idea that beyond the door, is where he needs to go.

As dogs mature, they are able to hold it longer, but for the first six months or so things can still be in the indecisive stages.

Puppy pads are not inherently bad, but it stands to reason that they are mainly for temporary usage. Someone labeled the training pads as newspapers with a scent, and maybe that's taking it a bit too far, but you get the point.

The goal is to get Fido acclimated to the new procedure of going outdoors when nature calls, and puppy training pads can be one way of helping that process along.

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Can We Housetrain An 8 Year Old Dog?

This is a question I was asked recently and of course, I said, absolutely. This dog had literally been peeing and pooping in the house all its life. The elderly lady that owned it simply never took the time to housetrain her dog.

She felt that this breed was difficult to housebreak so why bother. However it turns out that she said that about every dog she ever owned. Now she is in hospice care and her daughter has agreed to take the dog if we could get it housetrained.

It seemed pretty straightforward and yes we have housetrained dogs this old before however there is now a twist in the problem. We always use a crate and I also like to get the dog out of the house and on the grass as much as possible so that the grass becomes the preference of where it does its business.

But guess what? This dog has recently been diagnosed as being allergic to grass. Well we were not going to quit just because of that. We actually helped the client create a potty area using a small hard plastic kid's swimming pool. Inside the pool we installed some artificial turf that you can get at any of the big box building material stores.

Then we bought a puppy exercise pen and stuck the potty pool inside. Now we have an enclosure that she can put her dog in until it does its business.

But wait we are not finished, there is still more.

We want the dog to be in one of three places for the next 4 - 6 weeks to create the new house training habit. The dog MUST be in one of these places at all times:

1. The crate

2. The potty pool area

3. Attached to the dog owner with a leash so that it cannot wander off and do it business in the house.

After 5 ½ weeks of training, she started allowing the dog to have some freedom in the house. She also followed my directions and removed the puppy x pen from around the pool so that the dog had access to it without having to be placed in the pool.

SUCCESS!!! Yes, this 8-year-old dog is now house trained and living a happy life with the new owner instead of being sent away to a shelter.

If your older dog needs potty training take the time to do it. It's never too late.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Can-We-Housetrain-An-8-Year-Old-Dog?&id=9021148

Potty Training: How to Train your Dog to RING A BELL to be Let Outside

How to Train your Dog to RING A BELL to be Let Outside

Use A Dog To Teach Your Child Responsibility

Has your child been begging for a puppy? Well before you say yes or no there are a few things you need to think about. Having a pet is a really good way to teach your child responsibility, however, is your child ready for responsibility?

Let's discuss the things you need to think about to help you make the decision.

Have you and your child thought about all the things that are required for raising a puppy or taking care of an adult dog? Let's go over a few those things right now.

Potty Training

If you're getting a puppy it will require being taken out several times a day probably even in the middle of the night while it is being potty trained. Who will be doing that, you or your child? If you don't have a fenced yard somebody will have to take the dog for his potty walks again the decision is who will be doing it.

Here's a big question that comes up quite often. If you do have a fenced in yard and are able to just let the dog go out into the back to do his business who will be cleaning up the poop? It needs to be done on a regular basis to keep your yard sanitary and to keep everybody from stepping in it.

Feeding

For a puppy feeding time comes three times a day and if this is going to be your child's dog certainly your child should be doing the feeding. Even though feeding a puppy is not a hard chore your child needs to realize that he or she will need to be home in order to take care of this responsibility. An older dog only needs to eat once or twice a day so it's much easier.

Exercise

Playing and exercising your dog is a large responsibility and something that your child should be doing with the dog. Dogs need to be walked on a daily basis or taken out in the backyard and allowed to retrieve a ball but no matter how you do it you need to spend a generous amount of time with your dog.

Training

Training your dog to be an obedient and faithful member of the family requires some work but it's definitely something that is a necessity. If you get a large breed dog they grow very rapidly so training should begin early when the dog is 16 weeks of age. Smaller dogs can wait to be trained a little bit later around six months of age. However it doesn't matter whether your dog is big or small training is something that is a must. There is nothing worse than a poorly behaved dog.

As you can see there are several different things to consider when getting a dog for your child. However allowing your child to have a dog is an excellent way to teach responsibility as you can see from the list there are many things that he or she will be responsible for. So now the decision is yours, however if you decide to allow them to have a dog make sure that they stick to their responsibilities.

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Dog Training Can Start When Your Puppy Is Young

Almost on a daily basis I am asked when can a puppy start being trained. Well that actually depends on what type of training you're talking about, if you are talking about formal obedience training or if you're talking about potty training.

When can you start potty training? Potty training is something that should start immediately when you bring your puppy home. This is also the perfect time to teach your puppy not to chew on your personal belongings. Personally I like the crate training method of house training. I feel that it's the most effective and has long-lasting effects. While you're using the crate to house train your dog it also serves as a way to eliminate a tremendous amount of chewing. Eliminating chewing at this point is very important. I tell people if you have a six month old puppy that is chewing you will have a six-year-old dog that's chewing, so we want to stop that bad habit now.

How old should the puppy be to start obedience training? I have found that the perfect age for formal obedience training is 16 weeks old (four months). At 16 weeks their minds are like little sponges and they are able to absorb everything you want to teach them.

Quite often I'm asked can we wait for the training until the dog is a-year-old. The answer is sure you can, the only problem is in that one year your dog will develop a bunch of bad habits. By starting early hopefully the puppy will not develop those bad habits.

Another question that comes up, is a dog ever too old to train. We've all heard that expression you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well that just isn't true, you can teach old dogs new tricks.

Getting your puppy used to its leash and collar is very important so when your puppy is about 8 - 10 weeks old get it a small collar and a leash and start getting it used to walking around with a leash and collar on in the house and on short walks.

So now, last but not least, do I need a professional trainer to help me train my dog. The answer is no, you don't need a professional trainer. However it certainly would make your life easier to have one to guide you through the rough spots and teach you the proper methods of training.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Dog-Training-Can-Start-When-Your-Puppy-Is-Young&id=8341710

Puppy House Training, The Easy Way, Part 1

Now that you brought your new puppy home it's time to house train that little guy. House training your puppy is one of the most important things you can do for you and your dog. Most people aren't aware that the number one reason dogs end up in shelters is because of house training issues.

Quite often a puppy owner will tell me that it's okay we understand if it has accidents, it's just a puppy. And I reply but it is nine months old and your dog should be house trained by now.

However some time between 12 and 24 months old I always get a call from that same client that says we have to either get the dog house trained or my husband says it has to go. It has ruined the carpet, and our home smells like urine.

It would have been so much simpler to do this in the beginning when the puppy first came home. Here are some ideas to help you get that puppy house trained quicker and easier.

Potty Training Methods

Of course like everything else there's more than one way to potty train a puppy. But in this article we are going to talk about the method that I have found with my decades of dog training experience to be the easiest.

Crate Training

The easiest method to house train a puppy is by using a crate. Occasionally I'll have a client who says "oh that seems so cruel to put the puppy in a crate". However that's the farthest thing from the truth.

In fact the crate is the greatest gift you can give your dog. Dogs are den animals and they learn to love their crate as if it were their den. While we are talking about crates let's make sure you choose the right one.

Wire Dog Crate

There are two types of crates available, the wire crate and the plastic crate. I explain to my clients that the wire crate does not give the den feeling. In fact if you were in the wire crate looking out you would feel like you were in a jail.

The plastic crate on the other is more enclosed and has that den

Plastic Dog Crate

feeling that your puppy will be looking for.

Make sure that the crate you purchase for your puppy is large enough for the puppy to stand up, turn around and lay down. It shouldn't be so big they can do their business in one part of the crate and lay in another.

We want the crate small enough so that if your dog has an accident mother nature will tell it to hold it next time until you can allow it to go outside.

Another good rule to follow is to make sure there is nothing in the bottom of the crate that will absorb urine etc. (blankets or towels) Again this is so your dog with mother natures help learns to hold it until you take it out.

In Part 2 of this article I am going to give you more information on house training your puppy, The Easy Way!

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