Each dog owner wants his dog to give his paw when asked, not to snitch from table, walk near to him while taking a walk, and many other things. However, a lot of efforts shall be given to make it all real. Teaching commands to a dog requires commitment and discipline not only on behalf of the paws, but on behalf of the owner as well. After all, if a pet gets training once a week and the rest of the time your dog is allowed to do whatever he wants, you will not obtain any good result.
In order to simplify this responsible task for you, the “Dog Fest” team prepared 5 rules that will help to educate a disobedient dog into an ideal friend and companion.
Why and when one shall start training a dog?
Dogs are similar to small kids who require attention, care, and correct education. A dog, whose owner does not give sufficient attention to training, will create a lot of troubles. More frequently the owners face the below problems:
- damaged furniture;
- fights with other animals;
- the paws use any place as a toilet;
- dog steals food from table and picks up various garbage in the street;
- dog may attack people in the street.
This list of problems, however, can be continued. Your fluffy buddy who does not know even simple commands, may cause damage not only to others but also injure himself, for example, while fighting, or running onto a road. That is why it is so important to train your animal.
You can start the dog’s training starting from 2-months age. However, at such an age the puppy can remember only the simplest commands. Therefore, do not expect immediate achievements from the pet and do not stress him. On the other hand, at the age of 3-4 months training of your puppy will be more successful. At that age dogs remember the commands better and training goes faster.
Consolidating progress, at average, requires from 4 to 6 months. However, for another year your pet may commit mistakes from time to time. Therefore, you better arm yourself with patience and do not blame yourself for being a bad owner in cases where your pet could not resist and stole a treat from your table.
Besides, also adult dogs can be trained, although in this case the task is much more complicated. Adult dogs memorize any information worse. In addition their character and habits are already molded and this fact should be taken into account as well.
5 Main rules of training
Answering to a frequent question: “ how to train a dog in a correct manner?”, we have put together 5 most important rules for you that will significantly simplify your sessions and save a lot of time and nerves.
1. One and the same person shall carry out training.
Different persons have different approaches to training and apply different methods. Inexperienced dog will get confused and will have difficulties memorizing commands.
2. One shall not feed his quadruped friend before training.
The pet with a full stomach will not want to do anything and the day will be wasted. The training shall start not before than 1,5-2 hours after the last feeding.
3. Pet looking ill – say no to training.
If your pet looks tired or sluggish, it is a good reason to avoid training and take care of his health. If it turns out that the pet is ill or suffers from other problems, physical or mental stress may only worsen his condition.
4. Always use rewarding with affection and treats for dog’s training.
Nobody, including dogs, will do something without a reason. Whatever effort you take, if the puppy does not get his reward for his work, he will not do it again. Give a tasty treat to your fluffy friend each time when he does everything correctly, and you will notice progress in his training.
5. Good mood – key success factor.
Training shall be conducted in a good mood. If you are angry or upset, the dog will notice it and will decide that it is his fault. As the result, the pet will not understand when he does right or wrong and the training will be a waste of time.
These rules are correct both for adult dogs and puppies. Besides, do not forget to make the trainings regularly. We recommend to train animals every day, not less than for one, one and a half hour. If you just start the training, it is better to limit it to 30-40 minutes and increase the time gradually.
This brings up the question: how to train a puppy, if he gets too tired during one hour of training? Dog trainers agree that a puppy less than 6 months old shall have 15-20 minutes training per day. You can increase the time of training together with the growth of the pet.
Basic commands for dogs
In addition to the training rules the “Dog Fest” team will explain how to teach commands to a puppy. We chose for you 3 simple commands that any “good boy” shall know.
Teaching “Leave it” command
It is one of the most important commands which says to your pet that he is doing something wrong. The best way is to start training with various objects in the street. When you go for a leash walk, hold him well and as soon as he tries to reach out for a piece of garbage or any other forbidden thing give the command “Leave it” in a loud voice pulling the leash and preventing the dog from taking the object. It is important that your voice is strict and your face expresses discontent at that moment.
With the passing of time start using the command at home as well, when your puppy damages furniture, eats from table, or starts doing something that you do not want him to do. Repeat the training until the dog learns it well. In this case regular training is the key factor, you cannot allow to do this thing today and forbid it on another day.
Teaching “Heel” command to your pup
While taking a walk try to keep the same pace with your dog. As soon as the he starts to go away, say “Heel” in a loud voice and pull your pet using the leash. When he starts to go away again, repeat the command and pull your quadruped friend towards you. Repeat the training several times and reward him with a treat for the work.
How to teach “Give paw” command to your fluffy buddy
Take a treat in a closed fist and hold it out in front of your dog until his paw touches your hand trying to get the treat with the paw instead of his mouth. As soon as his paw is on your hand, give the command and reward the puppy with the treat.
Repeat the training until the dog starts to give paw just seeing a closed hand. After that start holding out an open hand giving the command and rewarding the dog with a treat only after you hold his paw in your hand. Repeat this “game” until your dog learns well what you want him to do.
Common errors during training:
- Training in noisy places. If there are too many distractions (people, cars, other animals, loud music, etc.), your puppy will not be able to focus on the lesson and will not even try to listen to you.
- Repeating commands. Very often new dogmen give a command, and when the pet does not react, they repeat it several times and only after that the dog does what he is asked to do. With such approach the quadruped friendmemorizes that some time shall pass before he obeys the command and will start following commands in this way on purpose. In order to avoid such results, give the command 1 time, and then stare into the pet’s eyes. You can also get nearer to him. Normally it is enough to make him obey you.
- Missing reward treat. If your quadrupeddoes not get any reward treat for his work, he will have no motivation to obey you.
Conclusions
We revealed all the secrets about dog training methods so that your training sessions become interesting and useful both for you and your pet to the maximum. Putting it in a nutshell, it is important to follow several rules: train your fluffy buddy regularly and give him a reward treat for each command he obeys. Arm yourself with patience and make a stock of your pet’s favorite treats.
