Fun things to teach your dog...

Guess what, you can teach an old dog new tricks. 

Heck, You may even find that it is the dog is training you.

Key Things To Do When Training your dog:

• Keep training time to 5-15 minutes.
• Keep plenty of fresh water and shade available.
• Use treats and loving praise to reward when he/she gets the trick.
• Don't give up, many tricks will require a lot of patience.
• If your dog totally does not get it, stop for the day and review the directions.
• Praise your dog at the end of a training session (even if nothing was accomplished)
• Play with your dog after training.
• Continue to review old tricks that have been learnt as you introduce new ones.

 

Great Tricks:

SIT:      Hold onto your dog's collar while he is in a standing position. Say SIT and gently push down on his hind quarters. When he is in a sitting position praise him or give a treat. Repeat. Eventually, your dog will start to recognizing the word SIT with your pushing his hind quarters down. Now you only have to use a small amount of pressure on his hind quarters to make him sit. Repeat this until you only have to say the word SIT to make your dog sit.

SHAKE:     Simply say Shake and take your dog's paw. Praise him and give a treat. Repeat this step a couple times. He will eventually get it and start raising his paw after you say Shake and before you reach for it. 

SPEAK:      First find out what will makes your dog bark. Mine use food.  Have your dog sit.  Hold a treat out of reach say speak and imitate a bark. Hold above the dog's nose and say speak and "bark" again.  Once he barks, reward with the treat and praise.  Do this in every training session. Soon Rover will start recognizing you telling him to SPEAK and him barking. 

FETCH:     Start with a ball.  Throw the ball and have your dog chase it. Once he gets the ball, call him back to you. If he comes, praise him but IGNORE the ball. Don't try to take it or you'll soon have a dog who will always drop the ball coming back half way to you. If your dog is being a bad boy, and decides to enjoy HIS ball in the other corner of the yard, you'll have to use a rope. Tie the rope to your dog and throw the ball again. Now call him and if he doesn't come give tug on the leash. You don't want to pull him in, instead you want him to come to you on his own will.  Once your dog is coming to you, praise him and still ignore the ball. Now try some other commands while he has the ball in his mouth. Like HEEL, SIT, and COME. You don't want him to drop his ball. Try not to use the word NO, as this may cause him to drop it. If Rover wants to play cat and mouse, ignore him and move the other direction and call him, if he response, praise.

BRING ME AN OBJECT:     Once your dog can fetch and not drop the ball, move on to another object like a dowel or a stick. Throw the object a couple of feet and tell your dog to Bring me ___. If he fetches it and brings it back to you, then you have a great dog. Do this with other objects, like small boxes, shoes or whatever you want. If he brings them to

 

 

 

Potty training puppy
By: cheryl wheeler

Advice on potty training your dog
You've just brought home this adorable little puppy and in appreciation he has left you a present, a smelly little pile of poop. What do you do now? Day one with puppy is time to start training. You want to start right away before bad behavior becomes a habit.

To start with, confine your pet with either a child's safety gate, in one room or in a doggy crate. The less room the better, dogs don't usually defecate or urinate in their own beds, to much space and he/she will go in one area and sleep in another. Freedom is earned with good behavior, peeing and pooping outside.

The next step take determination, patience and endurance on your part. Start by putting your pet on a leash and taking him out every two hours. He will need to go out during the night also. But make sure you stay strictly business at night time, unless you want to have play time in the middle of the night, every night. By the time he is four months old he should be able to hold himself through the night. Choose a place near the house where you would like him to go. Take him there, on the leash, let him sniff around about five minutes or so. Use words to encourage him to go. Use the same word or phrase every time. If he gets distracted, and puppies are easily distracted, a gentle tug on the leash and repeating the word or phase you have chosen to use to mean peeing or pooping should do the trick. Otherwise just stand there and wait. If he doesn't go don't worry, just go back inside and try again in 15 or 20 minute intervals till he does. When he does go, praise him with words during the act and loving or a treat after. Don't just send him outside by himself. You must be there in person to praise during and immediately after the act.

You will have to do this every two hours and within twenty to thirty minutes of eating or drinking, time this to know exactly when is right for your pet. Get the puppy on a regular schedule of breakfast and dinner at the same time every day. Puppies will also need to go every time there is a change in activity, like from playing to sleeping or chewing or eating. Get to know your puppies signals, a facial expression, sniffing around for a place to go or suddenly stopping whatever he is doing. Anticipate his need.

There are specific times, like first thing in the morning, that you know he will need to go. These times will be the easiest to catch and reinforce good behavior.

Always reward good behavior. Avoid reinforcing bad behavior, don't rub his nose in it or holler and scream. The worst punishment to your adoring little pet is to ignore him. Simply crate him and ignore him. Never let him see you clean up his messes and always use a pet odor removal product.

If you are still having trouble, ask yourself, are you taking him out enough? Is there any physical reason, ie. parasites or urinary tract infection? Are you expecting to much to soon? Do you consistently praise for good behavior and ignore bad behavior?

About the Author

Cheryl Wheeler is mother of six, publisher and author. You can check out her website at http://www.simply-amusing.com

 

 

Train Your Dog With Respect
By: Wendy Yeager

Proper training of your dog should begin when he is a puppy. The first four months of a dog’s life are very important in the training of your dog. This is when they learn behaviors that they will practice in the future.

Socializing your dog is one of the most important things you can do to influence your dog’s future behavior. As soon as you bring your new puppy home, you should start letting him interact with other puppies, dogs and humans. Take your dog to parks where there will be other pets and people. Ask your friends if it is okay for your dog to visit their dog at their home or yours. Puppies will learn how to get along with other puppies and dogs if they are allowed to play with them when they are young. Introduce your dog to new experiences. Give him rides in the car, walk him on a leash around the park, let him hear the vacuum cleaner running. Help your puppy get used to a regular routine of baths, brushing , and healthy meals.

Housebreaking your puppy takes a lot of patience. Fix up a nice little space or room for your puppy. Place his food and water bowl there along with some favorite toys. Be sure to put newspapers all over the floor and replace them often. When you are at home with the puppy, let him out of his room for a short period of time to roam around and play. Return your puppy to his room and the newspapers after about 30-45 minutes to help with his housebreaking. Do not punish your puppy for having an accident. It could take up to six months before he is fully housebroken. Remember, most puppies can’t control their bladder overnight until they are about four months old.

Your puppy will undoubtedly want to chew on things he shouldn’t. Train him to leave your things alone by keeping them out of reach and by providing him with a variety of doggy chew toys. If he chews on your favorite slipper, don’t punish him. Simply replace the slipper with one of his own chew toys. Praise him for playing with his own toys.

Sometimes, you will have to leave your dog home alone. Help him to feel comfortable alone by leaving on the television or radio for company. Leave an adequate amount of food and water. Don’t forget to leave lots of doggy toys for him to play with.

You may be having trouble training your dog. Maybe he’s not responding to your commands or seems to be ignoring you. Or maybe the housebreaking is backfiring and your dog is having accidents all over the house. These may be signs of a medical condition. Be sure to visit the vet regularly to rule out things like loss of hearing or bladder infections. Always be sure your dog is healthy, happy and well cared for.

If you feel this job is too big for you or you just want some additional instruction or behavioral training for your dog,, there are many reputable professional dog trainers and obedience schools. Do some research and ask questions to find the right school for your dog.

Most importantly, you must be a responsible owner in order to train them properly. If you want your dog to trust and respect you, you must do the same in return. Never hit, kick, or slap your dog. Include your dog in family outings and games and general family life. Do not play aggressive games with them as this can cause them to behave aggressively. Reward good behavior and yet do not spoil your dog. Remember, if you practice lots of patience, love and respect for your dog, you will receive the same from him.

Published by: Wendy Yeager
http://www.wenmarcorp.com/dogs-go2

 

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