Dog Training Tips

Dogs are social animals who are relatively easy to train. Because your dog is a social animal, it wants to please you and make you happy. Your dog is eager to learn and it's your job to be patient and persistent with your training.

The ideal time to train your dog is between 6 and 12 weeks old. However, if you have a rescue or an older, untrained dog, it is still possible to modify their behavior and train them. The following tips will put you and your dog on the right track.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Reward your dog's behavior with praise. Praise shows your dog that you are happy. The dog realizes its done something good and learning becomes faster. Praise makes training easier and strengthens the bond between you and your dog.

Do Not Use Physical Force or Punishment

Never hit your dog, rub its nose in an accident or call your dog to you and then hit it. This only teaches your dog to be fearful of you.

Be Consistent

Everyday, spend short periods training your dog. This reinforces the behaviors that your dog has already learned and allows you to train new behaviors.

Teach Simple Commands

Use a firm, but friendly tone to teach commands like: sit, stay, heel, come. Give one command at a time to avoid confusing your dog. Practice until your dog responds to your verbal command.

Get Your Dog's Attention

Make sure you have your dog's attention before giving commands. If your dog is distracted or bored, it simply isn't going to listen or learn.

Teach Your Dog To Wear a Collar

As soon as possible, teach your dog to wear a collar and to walk on a leash. This will avoid any heartache and prevent the dog from ever bolting into traffic or running away. When walking your dog, keep the leash loose so that the dog doesn't learn to tug and pull.

Train Your Family

The entire family must train the dog in the same way. Inconsistency only confuses your dog and makes training much more difficult.

Play With Your Dog

Everyday, spend time playing with your dog. Not only is this just plain fun, playtime reinforces and strengthens the bond between the two of you.

A well trained dog is an absolute treasure! Practice does make perfect and your patience and persistence will pay off in the form of an unbreakable bond between you and your best friend.