Training a Dog

Importance

Although #training a dog seems very labored and overwhelming it is very important for your healthy relationship with your #pet dog.

Now here is the result

It improves your life. You understand your dog’s behavior and he/she learns basic commands.

It is a step-by-step process and it may take up to six weeks to complete your training.

The dog becomes more obedient and adopts positive, calm, and friendly behavior.

A dog can be trained by a dog trainer if the dog’s owner can afford it or take private classes about how to train your dog. It will help in all cases.

Rewarding good behavior

Reward your dog’s good behavior and praise him/her so that he/she can understand the worth of a good act. You can reward your pet #dog in a variety of things or ways like giving him/her a new toy, love, or extra meal or you can pat him/her, or touch him/her where he/she likes.

Whenever he/she does a good thing, give him/her a warm welcome. Avoid rewarding him for bad behavior otherwise, he/she will be confused between the bad and good things.

He/she needs to understand what to do and what to avoid. This part of the training will help to understand the dos and don’ts.

14 basic commands for training a dog

1. Training a dog to come when called

This type of behavior is very common and admirable by the owners. They love to call their dogs by their names. Hey, spike! Good boy. It is the first and foremost thing a dog should learn.

2. How to train a dog not to bite?

Discourage this type of behavior. When he/she bites you pretend that you are in a great deal of pain and it is only because of him/her.

If the issue continues, give him/her a chewing toy like a bone, well dogs love bones and they easily chew it as if it is real.

3. Training a dog off-leash

Training your dog off-leash could be dangerous. He or she can harm anyone or may get injured. Before releasing your dog make sure he or she is under your voice control.

A dog can be dangerous if he or she is not under your command. The dog should come when called. Gradually, increase the leash length as you gain control over the dog.

There are parks for dogs fencing humans. The dog can be set free for a while to analyze his/her behavior.

Now here is the important thing,

Whenever he breaks the rules and runs away you don’t need to run after him/her or shout at him. You just need to be relaxed and calm and treat him with extra treats to come back.

You need to know how you can safely break up a dog fight.

4. Socialization

When the dog is comfortable with you, the next step is to #socialize it with other humans and animals. If you adopt another dog both should be comfortable with each other to avoid chaos.

Patience is the key to success. Initially, Keep the dogs separate or allow them to see each other when there is a fence between them.

This will avoid unnecessary clashes and they would not be able to fight if they get annoyed by each other. They should have a separate area, and separate rooms to feed, and make sure they are not able to see each other in the house. This is done initially to avoid aggressive behavior.

Now, this is important,

The next step is supervising the behavior of both. Don’t leave them alone with each other for a long time if you have any doubt, although leaving them for quite a while helps in accommodating each other.

Another way of familiarizing the dog with his/her environment is to allow him/her to smell the house, and explore the house but not allowed it in unwanted areas like sofas, bedrooms, and any other area that is banned for them. Keep them clean, work with patience, and allow them to slowly adapt to each other.

5. Training a dog to lay down

Treat is a magical thing that can change a dog’s behavior. To train your dog to lie down you need to bring your hand full of treats near his/her nose then lower to the chest and finally to the floor.

Mostly, the dog lay down period is the 30 sec to 1 min. After that, you can give a release command or word. Treats can be beneficial if used in the right way.

6. Training a dog to attack

If you want a dog for your protection then you can teach him this command. In the case of pets, it is not beneficial. Guard dogs are not very much friendly with other people.

Things you should keep in mind before teaching this command is the?dog’s personality?if he is the best choice for a guard dog. For instance, German Shepherds and Belgian shepherds are the best #guarddogs.

The first thing to teach is obedience commands. The dog must be under your voice control. The next thing to teach is to defend yourself. Thirdly, to bark on command and lastly to back off on command.

7. Training a dog to heel

The video below will teach you how you can train your dog to heel in just 10 min.

8. Training a dog to sit

This is one of the basic commands that an owner wants to teach his/her dog. Stand in front of your dog holding treats. Wait for him/her to sit and then say “yes”. Give him/her the treat.

Step backward or sideways, the dog will come near you. Wait for him/her to sit and then give the treat. Repeat this procedure 10 to 20 times.

Now here is the important part,

When you realize your dog understands the command, repeat it without the treats. If it goes well, the dog learns the command. If not repeat the procedure above to teach him.

9. Training a dog to stay

There are two commands, one is for sit and one is to come often called release command or release word. The come command is very important in this regard.

Toss the treat over the floor and call your dog. He/she will eat it. Repeat the process until he/she learns to come and stay without the treat.

The sit command will help your dog to stay in a place and obey you.

10. How to train a dog not to jump

One of the most annoying habits of a dog is to jump when it sees his/her master. The master or owner is annoyed by this behavior.

Here is what you do,

When you come home and your dog starts jumping, ignore him/her and go to your room. After 1 min come back. After seeing you he/she will jump again.

You should ignore your dog and again repeat the same procedure until he/she doesn’t jump. When he/she doesn’t jump, reward him/her with a treat.

11. Training a dog not to run away

The following video will teach you how to control your dog. Running away is among the most common habits of a dog. The owner of a dog is annoyed by this behavior.

It irritates the owner. If the owner is short-tempered he/she will surely punish the dog but that is not right. Patience is the key to success.

12. Training a dog to fetch

Whenever your dog does a thing you like to reward him/her. There are three ways to reward your dog: affection treats, and play.

Encourage your dog to run after the items you threw. Take an item and throw it. The dog will run after it and grab it.

Here is the thing,

When the dog grabs the item what should you do to call him/her? The answer to this question is very simple: you throw the second item, and he/she will leave the first one and run to grab the second one.

Add extra motivation by giving him/her treats or affection. Extra motivation can be an extra treat or extra time to play. Keep calm and be patient while training a dog.

13. Training a dog not to pull

When you go out with your dog, he/she gets excited and starts pulling, one of the natural behaviors of dogs. Dogs are best at sniffing and exploring new things. This ability of a dog is used by police to track down drugs and criminals.

When they are tired after the play they won’t pull. So, the first thing you can do is tire them by playing. Then go for a walk and they wouldn’t pull.

14. Training a dog not to chase cats

In ancient times, dogs always chased cats. This training step is very important for those who own a dog and a cat in the same house.

Tie the leash of your dog’s harness to your belt. Make sure he sits and sees you when your cat passes by. Teach him/her to sit and relax when a cat is nearby. Repeat this procedure until he/she obeys you.

Now replace the leash with a light rope and attach it to an object. If he/she runs after the cat, go back to step one and repeat it.

Finally, when your dog obeys you, take off the rope and allow him/her to freely move and interact with the cat.

4 tools to train a dog

1. Training a dog using a clicker

The clicker is a magical sound, gesture, or marker that you don’t use often and on. You don’t use it off training. It could be light or a shoulder tap, anything that triggers the dog to do a task.

Firstly, you should teach your dog what marker means, sometimes called ‘loading the clicker’. Whenever your dog responds to a clicker, immediately give him/her the treat.

Repeat this procedure 10 to 20 times and your dog will learn to obey.

Mark & Reward: Using Clicker Training to Communicate With Your Dog

2. Litter box training a dog

Litter box training is something important as the house becomes a mess when litter is everywhere around. You surely don’t want your dog to mess around.

Training your dog to pee outside is different from litter box training.

3. Crate training a dog

There are rules in every house and a pet animal should obey them. Crate training is teaching your dog the rules of your house.

Crate Can be:

1. Plastic
2. The fabric on a collapsible, rigid frame

Following are important steps in crate training a dog:

1. Introduce your dog to a crate.
2. keep your dog for longer periods in the crate.
3. Feed your dog in a crate.
4. Keep your dog in a crate when you leave.
5. Keep your dog in the crate at night.

4. Training a dog to walk on a leash

The next thing is a leash, to familiarize the dog with the leash, slowly introduce it to the dogs because some dogs are afraid to accept sudden changes. Allow the dog to smell it, in this way he/she will be familiar with it quickly. Do not allow the dog to chew it.

5 types of dog training

1. Training a police dog

Dogs have excellent sniffing and exploring abilities. These abilities are used in drug tracking and criminal tracking.

Obedience training is necessary for police dogs. If anyone is harmed by the police dogs. Police are liable for this damage. However, the?use of force is sometimes justified.

2. Training a rescue dog

A dog who is rescued from a shelter becomes an excellent pet. There may be some behavioral issues with that dog therefore, a period of adjustment is required for it.

Set a schedule because dogs love a schedule. Time for a walk, a time for play, a time for food, and a time for sleep.

3. Training a cattle dog

Many farmers need a cattle dog for the protection of cattle. The problem is, they don’t know how to train them.

Firstly, the dog must socialize (read the point socialization) with the cattle around. Acclimatizing to the situation around them helps dogs roam freely and guard the cattle.

The cattle-guarding dog is calm and quiet. He/she is not aggressive and proves to be an excellent?stock dog.

4. Training a cadaver dog

The dog should be midsized and loves to play with a ball every time. Make the toys smell like the dead bodies of humans.

The dog should calmly sit and sniff the area for evidence. Peeing at the crime site will destroy the evidence.

5. Training a dog for a show

American Kennel Club (AKC) has put forward some rules for a dog show. The dog owner should know the rules.

The first tip is to attend dog shows to learn about them more. The second thing is “Hand Stock”.

Tips for training a dog

1. When to start training a dog

Start your training when your dog is 6 to 7 weeks old. Teach him gently with love. Puppies have short attention spans, so have patience and don’t get mad at your dog.

Start with capturing items like toys and bones.?Food-lure training?is an essential way to get off the mark. Teaching the dog basic commands is necessary for his/her growth.

2. How much does training a dog cost?

Dog training costs a lot, 30 to 80$ per class. It may be 50$ per hour in some countries and then there is an obedience training school that costs 200 to?300$?per week.

Conclusion

After completing the basic level of training you should move to a more advanced level, although training doesn’t end in any way. It is easier to train puppies than adults or older age dogs.

In this article, we have gone through several unwanted behaviors of dogs and the strategies to correct them.

Advanced-level training includes many new strategies and new tricks and is used by someone who is more professional and wants to take part in some kind of competition.

Summing up the discussion we need patience, affection, and love to train the man’s best friend as we love our pets and want to improve our and their life.