Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Dog Training: House Breaking

Housebreaking simply means teaching your dog not to relieve himself inside the house. Anyone who has ever tried the process knows that it isn't easy to house break. Puppy logic is simple, "I have to go. I'll go here."

Routine is absolutely key to housebreaking. At first you may have to take your puppy out every hour. Get in the habit of taking your dog out first thing in the morning and just before bed time. Be patient with accidents.

Here are a few steps that you could take.
  • Choose the spot outside where you would like your puppy to go to the toilet (eliminate).
  • Keep your puppy in his/her crate, pen area or even tethered to a chair where you are working. Your puppy cannot have free run of the house at this early stage Every 60 minutes take your puppy straight to the designated toilet area outside.
  • When you reach the toilet area repeat a cue word you would like to attach to the act of your dog eliminating example "hurry up" but just pick out a cue word or short phrase and stick with it. In your dogs mind you are building an association between the cue "hurry up!" and him emptying out.
  • If your pup does eliminate continue to repeat your cue word and the instant your dog finishes doing his business enthusiastically praise and reward him with a small tasty treat. Make it clear that you are very happy with him .Immediately after a successful toilet trip outside you can allow your puppy some free play time in the house. Just spend some time enjoying the company of your puppy, then place him back in his crate or pen area. If after 3-4 minutes of circling around your puppy shows no signs of needing to eliminate take him back inside and try again in about twenty minutes.
  • "What about overnight?" . Well, firstly do not feed your puppy close to bedtime and take away his water before you go to bed (don't forget to put it back first thing in the morning). You'll need to set your alarm clock to go off once and possibly twice throughout the night. This is an important step, just take your puppy out to the toilet area as usual and then hop back into bed. When your puppy is young it is physically impossible for him to hold on all night, but before long you will both be sleeping peacefully right through the night.

Secrets to Dog Training is an extremely comprehensive guide, written by the world renowned dog professional, Daniel Stevens. Although the 261-page manual is impressively detailed, its step-by-step format provides dog owners with straight-forward instructions on how to quickly identify and solve their dog behavior problems. It also has lots of great pictures! Secrets to Dog Training has been used by over 64,000 dog owners all over the world, and has been the best selling dog training system for the past four years in a row.


Saturday, March 28, 2009

Basic Dog Training - Dog Training Tips

Don't make the mistake of thinking that your new pet dog doesn't need basic dog training. If a dog's training is neglected when it is young, it can cost the owner in more ways than one once the dog is older and more settled in its ways. The time spent in training your dog early in its life is good for both the owner and the dog, as both will be much happier in the long run for having undergone the experience.

A dog needs direction when it is young, and it is up to the owner to give it that direction. Training your dog in the basic dos and don'ts of good dog behavior will save you in the frustration of having to deal with the public embarrassment of a disobedient dog. Proper dog training when it is a puppy, or as soon thereafter, can help your dog become more sociable and easier to handle as it grows older. Having given your pet basic dog training when it was young, you as the owner can rest assured in the knowledge that your dog has received proper obedience training.

An unruly or disobedient puppy or dog is no fun to be around. You can't properly live with a dog unless you give it some basic dog training. An untrained dog can be a recipe for owner frustration when the dog disobeys your commands. And you will have no one to blame but yourself for your dog's misbehavior. If you haven't taught your dog to sit and stay, then you can't blame the dog for not having learned these behaviors.

Fortunately for you, dogs are not that difficult to train. With a few basic dog training lessons from you, your pet should be listening to you in no time. But before you can begin teaching your dog the five basic obedience commands of sit, stay, heel, down, and come, you'll need to show your pet which actions are acceptable and which are not.

This is achieved by constantly reinforcing good behavior by praise and correcting bad behavior in a mild and non-threatening way. One example may be, if after throwing a ball the dog happens to return it to you without your having to chase him and pry it from his mouth, this is good behavior and should be rewarded accordingly. Most dogs will respond to nothing more than a simple "Good dog!" offered in a supportive enthusiastic tone of voice. Others may need a pat on the head or maybe a small treat to eat. The point is to start off with nice, simple vocal praise.

On the other hand, if you throw the ball and the dog delights in watching you chase him around the yard attempting to retrieve the ball from him, a simple "No!" in a loud but firm tone will work. Don't become angry, panicky, or annoyed as this will only confuse the dog. When your dog finally drops the ball at your feet, praise him to let him know you approve of his behavior. This teaches him quickly that he will be corrected for doing something wrong and praised for doing something right.

One important thing to remember is: if your dog does something wrong, like getting in the trash while you are away and strewing garbage on the floor, you cannot correct him after the fact. You can only correct a dog if you catch him in the act of doing wrong. Also, don't ever hit or threaten to hit your dog with your hand, a stick, a rolled up newspaper or anything else. Your dog will only learn to be afraid of human hands.

Secrets To Dog Training is by far and away the best, most informative package for dealing with issues of aggression in dogs. The information contained is comprehensive, clearly laid out and the bottom line is it really does work.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Points to note when training your dog

Dogs will be able to manage their behavior better in various and new situations through dog training.

An important point to take note of when training your dog is the dog's understanding that its owner, that is you, is its leader and not the other way around. Dogs naturally lived in the wild in packs and obey those who fulfill their needs and who show dominance.So, to make your dog understand that you are its leader, you provide its food and keep control of it say by giving your dog its food twice a day.

Training your dog requires time, commitment and patience. Repetition is key to training your dog. You must give commands with confidence to ensure your dog understands and obeys. A dog can detect if you are uncertain. Dogs see things in black and white while humans see things in shades of gray. So a command like "Sit" and "Sit down" would not mean the same thing to a dog.

Positive reinforcement is a good method in training your dog. It is done by rewarding the dog with treats, praise or even both when the dog fulfills a command properly. The dog will begin to associate its positive behavior with positive treatment.

Obedience Training Dog

Your dog's total obedience is and should be easily attainable. The only problem is that most people think that for a dog to be obedient, your dog has to fear you.

Well, we both know that this mindset is totally incorrect. Dogs, just like children, learn best when correct behavior in reinforced correctly, meaning when they receive prizes when they do something right.

let's put it this way: If your kids do something right, you praise them, thus reinforcing the correct behavior. If, on the other hand, they do something wrong, you try to let them know that you do NOT like what they are doing and would like them to stop.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Review of Secrets to Dog Training

The official release of the new and improved SitStayFetch - renamed Secrets to Dog Training - took place on February 2, 2009. SitStayFetch has been the top selling dog training course for over four years, and it has been bought by over 64,000 dog owners world-wide. Having reviewed it in great detail, I can fully understand why it continues to hold the top spot in the dog training arena. Secrets to Dog Training is a new and improved version!

Secrets to Dog Training is authored by Daniel Stevens, the highly respected and renowned dog trainer, and it includes everything that needs to be known about dog ownership. This 261-page guide gives dog owners step-by-step and easy to follow instructions which will help them to understand and quickly solve their dog's behavior problems. It's also full of great pictures!


All of the training methods described in the book are tried and true, having been used by Daniel Stevens in his own life as a professional dog trainer.

This course is so comprehensive that the table of contents takes up five pages just to list everything that is included. This guide is much more that a dog training e-book, although it is worth buying just for that section. It starts with a chapter for new dog owners (how to choose the right puppy or dog for you, where to find your puppy, breed information, vaccinations and general health, diet and nutrition, puppy-proofing your house, handling and grooming, house training, choosing your vet, etc. Listing these few topics will give you some insight into the vast amount of information that is covered.

The guide includes recommendations for a number of different training techniques such as clicker training, head collar training, and dog whispering, to mention just a few. Next, the more advanced dog behavior issues such as chewing, biting, aggression, digging, jumping, etc. are covered. This section offers several case studies which are both interesting and informative. A good story is loved by everyone!

There is also an excellent section on understanding your dog and the importance of the dog owner being seen as the "alpha dog". This chapter also covers dog body language, facial expressions and vocals. The sections on obedience training are very clearly explained and are aided by photographs, which show the various commands and positions in great detail.

This is just a small amount of what is covered but I'm sure you'll agree that it's an impressive amount of information.

You've probably already gathered that I'm impressed. I may have thought I knew dogs before, but this guide has made me realize that I still had a lot to learn.

The detailed information covered is easy to comprehend and extremely effective. This guide is useful to all dog owners, not just those with a particular problem with their dog. Much of the information in the course would be of benefit to any dog owner wanting to have the best possible relationship with his dog.

I strongly urge you to get hold of a copy of Secrets to Dog Training if you already have a dog or are contemplating getting one.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

How to Stop Your Dog's Excessive Barking

Does your dog bark excessively? If you need to cut down your dog's barking begin by cutting down the amount of attention your dog gets during a twenty four hour period. Ignore all attempts by your dog to get attention. You may find this hard at first but you must be consistent. Then leave the dog by itself in a room of the house for periods of five minutes while you are still at home. If the dog barks, do not go into the room. When a gap in the barking comes, wait thirty seconds, then wander in and say hello, but keep the praise low key. In no way should you acknowledge bursts of excitement from the dog. Putter about for a few minutes then let the dog go free in the house. Make sure that no one pets the dog, no matter how much it tries to get someone to pay attention to it. The dog must not view being with you as a right, or associate it with a reward, such as touch, praise, etc.

Sticking to this method slowly teaches the dog that it's no big deal to be with you or without you. You should aim to leave your dog alone for five to fifteen minute periods five times daily. When you accomplish this without barking then begin to increase the time that your dog spends alone, building up to the desired time. The more time you spend on this program, the better chance you have of succeeding.

Some dogs are very attached to thier owners a seem to be incapable of being alone. You can use the dog's food to teach it to spend time alone without barking for attention. Always use high quality food for this program. You will need a tough rubber toy designed to be filled with food. For five weeks your dog should only recieve his food through this toy and while you are not present. Divide his days food into five portions to put in the toy. If the dog ignores the toy then put it in a plastic bag and into the refridgerator for the next lesson. When the dog eats the food willingly he will have learned to do so while you are not present and will associate your absense with a powerful food reward that takes time to get to.

If your dog barks, he can't eat and you should ignore him. Go into the dog's room only when he is silent. He must not associate barking with your arrival into the room. Remember, and this is important, no tidbits of food at any other time.

You probably need to train your dog in a lot more areas than just what is covered in this article. You will need a good training program in order to properly train your dog or you can get professional help from a trainer.

If you would like to train your dog yourself and you would like more information on how to do this then check out my blog for reviews on dog training programs. click here to visit Secrets To Dog Training.

More dog training tips:

There is so much you can do when it comes to aggressiveness control, especially if you have you acquire your dog during his early years. Young dogs are yet to develop their brains and skills, and this is the best time to train your dogs for dog obedience and aggressive control.

Positive Reinforcement Dog Training

Some methods to quicken the dog training process is to hand out purposeful and meaningful rewards. Using tempting rewards for good behavior keeps the caliber of your dog's training at a high measure. Simply patting on the head won't do it, as most dogs actually don't enjoy being pat on the head. You can notice how dogs usually shy away or bark when a hand is extended towards their head. Also, just rewarding a good behavior by just giving a pat on the head bores a dog quickly.

The most important incentives would be physical affections and food treats. Most dogs respond most to the two as they're both the most meaningful rewards.

The key in the positive reinforcement dog training is the right timing. Reward your dog with a treat right after everytime your dog obeys a command. When this is done, your dog will understand what the treat is for. You have to do this consistently. If you were to do this only sometimes, then the treat will lose its significant value to your dog and your dog won't learn what the treat means.

How to improve your dogs agility

When beginning your dog training there is some important things to remember. It is always best to start training your dog at an early age. If you are planning on entering your dog into a competition you must first put him or her through the proper training regime.

A Competition is judged based on time and the dog's ability to clear the obstacles. Although the sport is loved mostly by its competitors it is also a treat for the spectators.

Agility training for your dog competition is a well organized and serious sport with regulations and guidelines. In the competition the dogs will be judged based on the dog's size. A dog between fifteen and twenty-one inches from the shoulder is entered into the smaller division.

Here are some helpful tips you can use to improve your dogs agility.

By having some simple workout equipment for your dog this can help. You can have some equipment like small ladders, jumping poles, training barriers made from pipes, and other equipment as well. By constantly training your dog to do exercises you will be helping keep up with his agility.

Another great way to help maintain his physical health is by start training them when they are young. It is not much different than disciplining a baby when they are young. You always have to start when they are puppies. Throughout the years as they begin to advance in age they will develop habits that will make it hard to break as they get older. It is easier to teach them while they are young. When your teaching them make sure to reward them with a snack for being obedient.

Also remember to have regular check ups. This is very important when trying to maintain your dogs agility. By having regular check ups with your veterinarian this can help determine what your dog is capable of handling, before beginning a workout routine.

There many steps you can take to train your dog properly. The process can seem long but at the same time fun. Keep in mind that discipline and patience is required most especially if you would like your dog to join some dog shows or win a contest.

Secrets To Dog Training is by far and away the best, most informative package for dealing with issues of aggression in dogs. The information contained is comprehensive, clearly laid out and the bottom line is it really does work.