Teach Your Dog Tricks

A puppy is always a pleasure to welcome into your home. These cute little rascals are friendly, funny, curious and mischievous, but just like kids – ;} – , they’ve got to be introduced to the ground rules of your home life in order for them to integrate into your family life as easily and pleasantly as possible, to your mutual satisfaction. Training your puppy may sound like an overwhelming prospect – where do you begin? However, training a puppy need not be arduous and trying. On the contrary, training your new family canine can be easy and fun. Your puppy comes complete with attitude. For the best results and shortest learning curve, all you need to do is apply your lessons consistently, calmly and with a gentle manner. Here are a few tips to get you started, training your puppy the easy way.

When you first bring your puppy home, he’s bound to be excited and curious. Everything is new to him. Before you bring him in the house, lay a few sheets of newspaper down around the house. In his excitement, don’t be surprised if there’s an accident deposited on the floor somewhere. Treating carpets with a water repellent spray, prior to bringing your new family member home, may be a good investment! If a potty accident occurs, don’t flip out and shriek at the poor little puppy … he doesn’t know this is undesirable behavior. Instead, use a low, firm voice, saying “No, no…”, and get him over to the newspaper. Granted, the deed is already done, but if you don’t scare him with shrill chastisements and excessive hand-wringing, your puppy will soon come to the party, associating the act with the newspaper as a people-pleaser.

One of the coolest characteristics of dogs is that they have an in-built desire to please you, which is certainly not the case with kitties! Keep this fact in mind as you begin training your puppy. He – or she – intuitively regards you as the master in this relationship – unless you give your puppy reason to think otherwise! Never use a heavy-handed approach when training your puppy. If you do, he may dig in his heels or simply become afraid of you and less willing to go along with your program.

Being patient during the all-important potty training period lightens your load in future lessons, such as the ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘heel’ training sessions. Sure, for you, the potty training is one of the least attractive aspects of training. On the other hand, try thinking of this stage as an opportunity to bond with your new puppy. He’s only doing what comes naturally. Given praise for the ‘right’ behavior is like a ray of sunshine in your puppy’s mind. Eager to please, he’ll learn the ‘correct’ behavior and bask happily in your praise. If he seems a little slow on the uptake, continue to be patient. He’ll get it, eventually. In the process, you’ll find him paying closer attention to your wishes, just for the sheer pleasure of hearing your praise.

During the first few days, allow your puppy to explore, so he becomes familiar with your home. Your puppy training program does require that you keep a sharp eye on him. Chewing on furniture and your daughter’s favorite sweater must be discouraged! The key to success lies in you keeping your cool, interacting with your puppy in calm and measured tones and consistent behavior.

Once you’ve mastered potty training, training your puppy to obey simple commands is a piece of cake. Now, your puppy knows all about the worst offenses. Teaching him to sit becomes easy. With a little biscuit or other treat in hand, push his behind down as you say “Sit!”. Sitting is natural to a dog, but he’ll certainly love you all the more when he gets a treat for doing something that easy!

Training your puppy is easy, when you exercise patience and give him a lot of love!

Your dog’s bark is its voice. It is how your dog expresses itself. As a dog owner, you can have a little fun with it too – with the right kind of dog training in place, you can get your little furry friend to bark on command. To have your dog bark when there is an intruder in the house can be particularly useful too. Of course, it can be a problem to have too much of a good thing. Dogs in a domestic setting can over time learn to release pent-up energy with barking that never ends. Dog training methods exist though that can help your dog understand how to bark on command and also how to quiet down when asked to. Sure, you can find as many dog training philosophies as there are trainers. Here is one though that most trainers seem to agree on.

Getting results out of this method can take you the best part two months. You need to give up about a half hour a day training your dog with it, split into two sessions each day. Your first step would be to pick a choice phrase or word to use as your command to get your dog to bark, and another phrase or word to get him to quiet down. Most people like the sound of “Speak” and “Hush”, but you can take your pick. Anything will work just as long as it’s short and you are consistent with it.

Now when your dog begins to bark, what you want to do is to get his attention to have himfollow your command to quiet down. You could clap your hands or whistle to get his attention, and give the command for him to be quiet. Your dog is going to hesitate for a second, and that’s when you give your dog a treat. This should reinforce the fact that you give treats when he stops barking. You can do this several times a day when your dog barks, and hand out treats when he quiets down. Once you dog learns the part where he’s supposed to be quiet, you can move on to the next command where you get him to bark on demand.

Getting your dog to bark on command is a little bit easier (they do like the sound oftheir own bark). Have a family member go outside, close the door, and knock or ring the doorbell. This is when your dog will actually want to bark. Right when he’s about to bark, you give the command for him to do it. You can show that you are pleased by handing out a treat. When this happens several times, your dog will learn to associate the right command with the barking action. You just need to make sure that you are consistent with your rewards, and that you’re genuinely pleased in a way that your dog can see. That’s all your dog asks for – to see that you are pleased.

I’ve owned several dogs throughout my life, and I know of the great joy and affection that man’s best friend can bring. I am also aware of the not-so-pleasant aspects of having a young dog, such as those occasions he does not quite make it outside before he does his business.

Sometimes, it is simply a matter of people forgetting to let the dog out, and it really could not be avoided. Other times, it is because the dog is young and doesn’t know any better. I have observed many methods that different people have used, but there is one way of how to potty train a puppy that I have found works better than any other.

When I was a boy, my dad always told me that the best way to train a dog to go outside was by swatting him on the nose with a newspaper every time that he went inside and putting him out into the backyard. I guess that was the whole negative reinforcement theory of potty training.

The only problem with that method of how to potty train a puppy was that I could never bring myself to swat him on the nose. I did once, and he whimpered, and I felt absolutely terrible. I immediately pulled him into my arms and started petting him and hugging him, and he began to lick me and wag his tail. I felt like an absolute jerk.

I had another friend who told me that when she was trying to figure out how to potty train a puppy, she stumbled upon a way that worked and required no discipline. She said she basically made sure that her dog went out at the same time, three times a day. She said the dog would get used to going outside and would do its business out there.

That is definitely a great idea, but the problem there is that life gets in the way. She was a stay-at-home mom and could make sure that her dog was out at the exact same time every day. I did not have that ability, so my dog was still making messes in the house.

Finally, I was reading about a man who said he had found the best way to potty train a puppy, and it was pretty simple. He said to put down newspaper for the dog to go on, and then each day, gradually move that paper closer to the back door. Eventually, the dog will go all the way to the back door and then you can just let him out.

I tried that method, and within a week, my dog was going outside, and there were no more messes to clean up in the house.

In trying to determine how to potty train a puppy, I have found that a little patience and a lot of newspaper works best. It may take a few days, but there is no discipline involved, and you do not have to worry about following a rigid schedule.

If you’ve added a new family member, of the canine puppy persuasion, to your household, you’ve probably been having a lot of fun playing with this furry, curious and playful little guy. You’re doubtless covering the house-training front. Your next essential step in making him – and your family – happy campers, is to begin your puppy obedience training. Surprisingly, many dog owners neglect this step, or approach it in a haphazard way. The result? That puppy grows into an undisciplined, adult dog! Here, we’ve got a quick guide to a puppy obedience training program that’s simple, fun and successful.

What’s the right age to begin your puppy training? Well, house breaking is really the first step. That’s when your puppy starts to realize that certain behaviors are ‘good’, while others are frowned upon. Once your puppy is housebroken, leave it at that until he’s about 3-4 months old. You might incorporate a little light leash training with the housebreaking, which also gives him a clue on behaviors and habits.

Giving him lots of praise for ‘good’ behavior, such as doing his potty business where he’s supposed to, helps prepare him for your puppy obedience training program as well. Along with praise, delivered in a cheerful, pleased tone of voice, you’ll need to get him used to the alternative – a sternly, but not harshly spoken, ‘No. Baaad dog!’ when he exhibits unacceptable behavior, such as jumping up on Grandma in an overly friendly greeting. Now, he’s got the idea of ‘good’ versus ‘bad’.

By the way, jumping is the most common of puppy faux pas. The easiest way to deal with this problem is to grab his front paws (gently, but firmly) and – wait. This is a quite uncomfortable position for your puppy to sustain. When this becomes your standard response to his enthusiastic jump-up-on-the-person, he soon learns he’s best refrain.

Next on your puppy obedience training agenda? Teaching him to sit and stay. He’s already primed to want to please you, knowing you’ll bestow loads of praise when he goes along with the program. (Dog biscuit treats provide a great deal of incentive.) You want to make the ‘command’ words short and sweet. If you’ve been putting him on a leash already, this makes the lesson even easier for him to understand (‘ah, it’s discipline time – woof!).

While on the leash, gently push his behind down to the sitting position, as you say the single word, ‘sit’. He may not get it the first few times. Just be consistent in the repetition of the magic word, ‘sit’. Dogs like to sit anyway, so this step in your puppy obedience training program should go quickly and smoothly. Give praise and perhaps a biscuit, now and then. Don’t lead your puppy to believe that he must have a biscuit every time he sits. Verbal praise should do the trick.

OK, now you’re in phase 2 of your successful puppy obedience training program. It’s now time for the ‘stay’ command. This one can take a bit more time, but once he’s recognized the rewards for good behavior, he’s eager to please. While he’s on the training leash, give the ‘sit’ command, then walk a short distance away – just a couple of feet will do. He may want to bound towards you. In this case, lead him back to the original ‘sit’ spot, repeating the sit command as necessary.

Lay down a dog biscuit a short distance away and say ‘Stay!’ in the stern voice. Remember, you’ve got the other end of the leash! The second he strays from the sit position, pick up the biscuit, lead him back to the ‘sit’ spot and repeat, ‘Stay!’ He’s going to want that biscuit bad! He’ll soon figure out that he’s not going to get it until he retains the sit position in the designated spot. Once he continues sitting for about 5-10 seconds without moving, loosen the leash and let him go for the treat. Praise him with enthusiasm! Repeat.

Now, you’ve completed puppy obedience training 101! He won’t jump on Grandma, he’ll sit still long enough to let the family cat achieve higher ground, and he’ll stay where you tell him too and leave the mail delivery person drop off the mail without mishap. What’s next? Heel. This should be a piece of cake at this point.

Your dog is not perfectly trained, but you love him or her anyway. They may jump up when you don’t want them too, and perhaps they still think that your bed is their bed. This is okay for some people, but if you have a baby on the way, this is behavior that is going to cause you a few problems, if not injuries in the future. You have to think about dog training services if you want to keep your new baby safe from your loving but very misguided dog. You can try to train on your own, but some people simply don’t have the time or the talent to do it.

If your dog is a large one, dog training services are always a good idea. If you have a baby on the way, they are essential. The safety of the baby is the biggest reason. While your dog will probably love the baby as much as they love you, there are many accidents that could happen. They could scratch them, or they could lay on them or too close to them. They are doing these things out of love, but those things could be deadly to your baby. They could get into their sleeping spaces, or bite at hands or feet while the baby is in a swing, thinking baby is playing.

Some that give dog training services suggest that you have training done long before the baby arrives. If you try to change everything the moment baby comes home, the dog is going to assume it is because of that baby, which can cause problems. If you get them out of your bed and expose them to baby items with the rule that they are to stay away before baby is home, they will not associate these new rules and restrictions with the baby. Not only that, it is twice as hard to train a dog once you have a baby in the house. You simply won’t have the time or the patience.

Dog training services offer basic training for your dog that can teach them to do the basics that you expect from any dog. You can learn to control their barking, if they have problems with going inside the house rather than when they are walked, with jumping up on people, including you, and to sit and stay when needed. They can also be taught to spend some time in a crate, which is the break you may need on occasion with a new baby in the house or while you are away from home for a few hours. If they rip and tear your belongings, you can be sure they can be trained to stop doing that as well.

When it comes to timing of using dog training services and a new baby, get them in as soon as possible, and before the third trimester begins, if possible. Babies have their own timetable, and if you have a premature baby, you’ll need to leave pup at home more than you would like. Again, you do not want the dog to associate new rules with the baby, so get them trained, get the baby items out early, and make sure the dog is doing well so that the homecoming with your new baby is indeed a happy and a safe one.