The Single Dog Parent's Guide to Dog Training

If you own a pet, you understand the many responsibilities involved in maintaining a healthy and happy animal. For many owners, dog training is a part of that responsibility. Fortunately, with dog training, there are many rewards for investing in the time and resources to train your dog, including strengthening the bond and relationship between your dog and yourself. Take a look at some of the following tips to help you get started in a dog-training regimen:

Dog training requires patience and understanding.

Teaching your canine obedience and commands is not an easy or short process. In fact, the exact opposite is true: It takes time and lots of repetition. You should begin with very simple commands and stay on those commands until your dog has mastered them. You must be patient and allow enough time for your pet to understand and fully grasp the command. Only once full mastery has taken place should you move to the next lesson. The number one thing for you to know as the teacher is that you must be patient and calm.

Stock up on treats!

Rewarding your dog with treats is a fantastic method for encouraging compliance with a command. Many owners worry about feeding their pet treats, but for animals, positive enforcement is most manageable in the beginning with food. Treats can be a great motivator, as dogs are still primal animals and respond best to food. Make sure, however, that you are feeding your dog only at set intervals during the day. If you make food available at all times, it will be more difficult to reward your dog with food.

Invest in good toys.

There are some great tools to aid you in your dog-training quest, including fetching toys, collars, balls, etc. Read online reviews of different tools and look up videos online to help visualize how to use these different mechanisms. It doesn't have to be a fancy toy. And sometimes, the best toys will surprise you in their use. Unconventional fetching tools have been great aids for many dog owners. Keep an open mind and continue your search.

Stay consistent.

Dogs, like other mammals, are creatures of habits. They learn best through repetition and consistency. Make sure you research a good training program before you begin and stick to your chosen method. Canines do not respond well to unpredictable and sporadic training. Set aside a specific time each day to work with your pet. It doesn't have to be a lengthy amount of time, but it should be every day so that your dog comes to expect it. Be wary of switching methods in the middle of your training, as it could confuse your canine.

Along with consistency, comes a need to be clear and concise in your commands and generous in your praise. Stick to one or two-word commands and always praise your animal when he gets it right. Be careful to avoid rewarding your pet when she does not respond correctly, but never be harsh. Be kind, generous and consistent and your efforts will pay off tremendously!

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Rewards - An Important Part of Dog Training

Rewards are a very important part of training. How you reward your dog will affect your dog's learning and performance now and in the future.

Rewards come in different shapes and sizes. A reward is anything your dog finds of a high value, in other words, something that is extremely important to him. This can be any of the following:

· Petting

· Verbal Praise

· Food Treats

· Toys

· Play/Games

What you use for a reward for your dog really depends on your own dog's likes and dislikes. The higher the value - the quicker the response.

Personally, I believe that Petting and Praise should be the main reward. You want your dog to work for YOU, not what you may or may not have. Play using toys is my second choice - above food. Interaction is a great way to reward your dog, again he or she is working for you, not what's in your pocket. Your dog has the ability to form a psychological bond with you, so use that to your advantage. Make him want to please you and try to please you for your attention, rather than what food treat you can offer him.

My dog, Hodge, will spit out food for a ball or other fetch toy. He lives for Fetch. That, along with Petting and Verbal Praise, is what I use as his main reward. Sometimes I do use food treats, but mainly we play Fetch after a training session. This is how I get him to truly work for me, not for what I may have for him. He knows that after work always comes play and that's what makes it worthwhile for him.

So, as you are training your dog, try to figure out if there is another reward you can give your dog other than food. You want your dog to work for you and listen to you when you don't have treats in your hand. Doing this will help to facilitate a better relationship with your dog and will put you on the road to having a dog who listens to you with or without food!

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Dog Exercise: Very Important Considerations

A lot has been said about the effects lack of exercise has in dogs, something I consider very significant for all dog owners to learn. Today I would like to mention a few important tips to remember in the other direction because the effects of these could harm instead of helping your dog, which is exactly the contrary of what any dog loving owner would want .

The first things to consider are the age, size and breed of the dog. Puppies could never stand the same amount of exercise as an adolescent dog. You will see they spend a lot of time during the day moving, playing and just being curious, but you will also notice they spend many hours sleeping. That means they know when to exercise and when to rest, just like human babies.

Young dogs will, of course, have a lot of energy; nevertheless, that does not mean that energy will keep them running or jumping all day long. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that running and constant or sustained jogging can hurt instead of benefit young dogs because their bones have not finished the natural growth process yet.

Old dogs, precisely because of the natural course of life, will show much less energy and endurance while exercising, so it is important to always be alert to what it shows it can stand. Some people tend to forget the aging process in dogs is not the same as ours, so if the dog owner does not have any idea of his dog's true age, the information is on the internet and can also be easily determined by asking its veterinarian. Don't make the mistake of pretending your dog is what you want it to be and not what it really is as far as age is concerned just because it appears to be fit to you. Many dog owners do fail here and try to force their dogs to go on and on when the animal has already shown signs of being tired.

Small dogs and also short-legged dogs normally do not need as much exercise as larger ones, so make sure you remember this. Don't pretend to have your Chihuahua or Dachshund follow the same routine as your Collie or Labrador Retriever.

When considering breeds, the list should begin by placing your dog in the correct classification or group, if it happens to be of a pure one. According to the AKC there are seven main groups:

· Sporting Dogs

· Hound Dogs

· Working Dogs

· Terriers

· Toys

· Herding Dogs

· Non-Sporting Dogs

Sporting, Hound, Working and Herding dogs are naturally designed for exercise and endurance and some Terriers also have a tendency to be, feisty and playful animals. In this last group, do remember to also consider the size of the dog, since Terriers do vary a lot.

Other very important characteristics to keep in mind when considering an exercise program for your dog are the physiological or structural ones. Some examples of these are:

Pug

Dogs belonging to breeds with short or flat noses like Pug, French Bulldog , Boxer or Pekingese tend to have respiratory or breathing problems if they are excessively exercised.

Some hounds, called sighthounds, in which group we can find the Greyhounds and Whippets, are structurally built for running short and not long distances.

When we see large, strong dogs, like German Shepherds, Rottweilers or Siberian Huskies, we imagine they are prepared for anything having to do with exercise and we are wrong. Large dogs are typically prone to certain ligament injuries, to hip dysplasia and arthritis, so a prolonged or sustained exercise program can hurt instead of benefit them.

There are also those breeds that show a tendency to bloat. In these we find the narrow-bodied breeds like German Shepherds, Great Danes and Doberman Pinschers. The important thing to remember here is to never take any dog belonging to this category to exercise after it has had its meal.

Good dog owners are always careful about their dog's health condition and that is one of the most important issues to keep in mind when thinking about dog exercise.

Someone suffering from a hip condition or a heart weakness would never engage in an exercise program without consulting his doctor, right? The same applies to dogs. If the dog owner is not completely sure about his dog's health condition, he must have it checked first by its veterinarian and follow her instructions as to what exercise program to follow and what to avoid in order for the dog to benefit and not be injured by it.

Just as exercise is a must in any dog's life, so is the correct type of exercise and the adequate time the dog is going to practice the same according to its very individual needs and conditions.

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