5 Tips on Training Your Dog

You just got a new furry friend and he’s chewing everything, jumping on anything and you feel like your living in an anarchy. You make the decision that it is time to get serious about training your dog. Here are five helpful tips to make sure that your dog no longer is considered disobedient.

Start Young - The best time to begin the training process is whenever your dog is approximately six to eight weeks of age. This is when they are the most susceptible to learning behavior habits and they are also young enough to listen well. Their brain acts as a sponge and you can implant a lifetime of good behavior into their brain. However, dogs can really never be too old to be trained; it just makes it easier on you if you start early.

You’re the Master - Make sure your dog knows it! If your dog feels as though there are no consequences for his actions, he will continue to be ornery. Show him who’s boss. This is very important whether you do this by using a remote trainer device, or through using a threatening tone. If he gets out of line, speak to him clearly and with some force in your voice or clap your hands loudly, to show you’re in control. Once your dog realizes that you mean business, he will be much less likely to disobey you as it generates a type of respect.

Have Patience - Dogs are not human. They don’t have the same rationalization that humans have so you must have patience when trying to train your dog. Also, different breeds have unique temperaments and personalities so it will be beneficial to understand your dogs specifically before starting a training program. After you do this, you must learn that this will be a process. Dogs don’t have the attention spans to sit in a classroom for eight hours only to emerge from it with all the skills and lessons they need. Dogs respond best to one or two fifteen minute training sessions per day. So if you go into the training knowing it is going to take far more than one day, you’ll be setting realistic expectations.

Be Consistent - If you are trying to teach your dog tricks, the best way to do it is be consistent in your demands. Deliver the same word with the same tone and inflection every time you give an order. This will get your dog accustomed to your voice and demand so that he adequately executes the request.

Reward Your Pup - After your dog performs the right action, give him a treat or some type of positive reward. This reinforces to your dog that what they just did was good and in order to receive more treats and positive feedback from their master in the future, they must do this same action again. When using treats as positive reinforcement, you want to make sure you are breaking the treats up in small pieces to prolong the amount of time they last while training. If you give your dog too many full-sized treats, then he might end up getting sick, only to associate all of your hard work with the negative feelings of being sick. This may cause him to rebel the actions. Keep up the hard work, and in a few weeks your dog will have adjusted nicely.