Most people have dogs as pets because they are so cute and also because dog training is so effortless and relaxing. Dogs are often referred to as a man’s best friend. They are such adorable, loving creatures with their tails wagging and tongue hanging out. Dogs are the happiest of all animals.
They understand your emotions and obey you and want to be around you all the time, which is why dog training is so easy. Apart from the fun-loving animals that they are, they also have a reasonably sharp memory and are on high alert at all times.
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Having a dog as a pet and taking care of it is a comforting thought. But only taking care of them is not enough. You also need to train them. Dog training is essential for multiple reasons, and it will only be an advantage to you in the future. And you have nothing to worry about as this article will give you the best tips to train your dog well and with great ease.
1. Build A Mutual Understanding Before You Start With Dog Training
Dog training can get a little intense at times, but there’s no need to worry; just go with the flow, and you will find everything falling into place just like that. First things first, you need to build up a rapport with your dog. Your dog has to trust you, so there should be a mutual understanding of this to work out harmoniously.
2. Friendly Environment
You will also need to familiarize yourself with your dog, its surroundings before you start with dog training. Your dog should feel free to move around the surrounding it lives in. It should be able to recognize other family members too. You can take your dog out for walks or jogs around the neighborhood, so it knows it is in a friendly environment.
3. Introduce Your Dog To Games
Once your dog feels comfortable, you could start playing games before dog training—fun games such as catch the ball or Frisbee. Dogs love t, ug of war, so that you can try that as well. Always remember it has to be a fun exercise. Don’t pressurize your dog if it does not follow instructions at first.
All good things take time. You can also try talking to your dog or calling its name. Dogs get excited when you call out to them or keep talking to them even if they don’t understand anything. If you have a new dog and you are looking for good dog names, just take a look at this site: https://www.madpaws.com.au/blog/top-dog-names/
4. All In Good Time
According to many research and surveys, it takes at least 8-10 weeks for dogs to be well-trained. So do not stress if your dog is not responding as well as you wanted it to. It is just getting used to all of it. Give your dog all the time it needs and try not to hurry them. Dog training takes a lot of patience and understanding.
5. Start With The Basics
You can start with toilet training your dogs if they are 3-4 months old. They might be small, but they are very observant and obedient. You can teach the dog how it should behave when it needs food or if it has to go to the toilet. Your dog should know when to come back home if it ever goes for a stroll out of the house.
Your dog should know where he is allowed and where he is not in the house. Another essential thing to teach your dog is not to damage the furniture and other things. Most puppies love biting shoes and slippers or socks that lie around here and there. So you need to be careful of that while dog training.
6. Professional’s Help
Before you get into it, you can consult a professional such as a veterinarian to get a heads up, or you could go to an animal store and ask the people in charge of the requirements for dog training. Since they are the experts, they could give you a few tips too that would turn out to be helpful. Things like a dog belt, collar, a name tag, the correct food that your dog would prefer, a few toys that your dog would like to play with, etc.
7. Treats And Rewards
Always remember to reward your dog. Each time your dog listens to you and does what you say, give it a prize. A pat on the back, a slight belly rub, some delicious treats, or just a warm hug. These rewards act as positive reinforcements to your pet. They will understand that they have been rewarded for obeying their master, which will make them repeat the action more often for more rewards.
Do not treat them with anger or punish them when they make a mistake. They should not be scared of you, because if you scare them, they might not perform very well, which will only disappoint you all the more. If your dog inculcates terrible habits such as biting clothes or scratching, you need to explain to the dog that it is not the right thing to do, but you should do so in a manner that is polite and not harsh.
You could show gestures and emotions of sadness and pain for it to understand that it has made a mistake.
8. A Good Master
You need to be a good master to your dog during dog training. If you should love and respect you but also not fear you at the same time. Your dog should know that you are its master, and it needs to obey you. You need to make sure your dog listens and comes to you when you call out its name, and it does what you tell it to do. You are doing all of this so that your dog is well-behaved and socializes well with others. You are not dominating your dog but training it.
9. House Rules
If you have made or purchased a separate dog house for your dog, it needs to know that. Your dog should have the understanding that that is where it is supposed to sleep. If the dog lives in your house itself and there is a particular place for it, the dog should be aware of it. Your dog can roam around and out of the house the entire day, but at the end of the day, it needs to return to its home.
10. Dog Training Classes
If you find dog training difficult, you can call a dog trainer. There are plenty of dog trainers to help you out. You can also take up lessons, be it private ones or in a group. Dog training classes are quite reasonable and pocket friendly, and they might just turn out to be highly beneficial for your dog.
11. Your Dog Needs A Leash
You need to keep your dog on a leash at times when you are traveling or at a public place, which means your dog needs to get you to a leash. It is necessary as there are areas that might require your dog to be kept on a leash. You could start this practice at home or in your backyard or a nearby park. This might come in handy.
It is also very safe for the dog because sometimes dogs get excited and start running without paying attention to their nearby surrounding. They could hurt someone while running or might run on to the road, which can be dangerous. So having a leash keeps your dog in check.
You can train it to walk with you while it has a leash on or if you are on a cycle, and your dog is walking beside you. Even on a leash, your dog needs to be comfortable and happy, so make sure that the leash is not too tight or too loose.
12. Self-Control Is Important
Another tip to consider is management. A well-trained dog will always know self-control. Dogs need to learn to control themselves, and it is your job to make sure. With self-control, the dog will also understand patience and hard work. It will get the idea that things do not come for free, and if the dog wants something, it will have to earn it.
13. Methods Of Dog Training
There are several methods you can use for dog training. Many of these methods have been introduced by world-renowned scientists and have been proven to be effective.
13.1. Motivation
As mentioned earlier, about rewards and awards. This is the process of motivation where the excellent behavior of the dog is rewarded, and the bad habits are ignored. This is a positive method of dog training that does not harm your pet in any way and increases the frequency of responses to get rewards.
13.2. Observation
This is the easiest method where your dog will learn habits and actions by observing you and imitating you. Dogs are very attentive and are always aware of what is happening around, which is also why they are s good at following instructions. You could show your dog how to sit or how to roll over and jump a few times and gesture your dog to imitate you. This is the fastest method to train your dog brilliantly.
13.3. Sound And Signal
Much similar to motivation, where you give your dog a treat. In this type of dog training, you first tell your dog to act and when it completes the action, you could make a noise or give it a signal and then provide it with food or toys as rewards.
Like this, whenever you blow a whistle or make an action, the dog will understand he is going to get a reward, which will make the dog realize that it has done the right thing. This method will surely increase the number of correct responses.
14. Communication
Communication and understanding is the key to a healthy relationship and is quite relevant for dog training. Dogs are animals, after all, and they do not understand human language. But they are also brilliant. Many dogs understand the commands given by their master through human sound itself. If a specific order is repeated multiple times, then the dog is sure to follow and enact that command.
15. Dog Training Products
Suppose you have had pets before, you may have an idea of the different products or the essentials required. But when it comes to training, there are a few other products that you must have with you to make your work easier. These are a few actual but essential products that you should own if you are getting ready for dog training.
15.1. A leash
A dog leash that is at least 6-8 feet long is perfect. It will give your dog the freedom to walk around, but it will also not stray away too far. Always remember to carry a leash with you if you are taking your dog out when you leave the house. You can go for a leather leash because they are comfortable and durable.
15.2. Dog Training Belt Or Pouch
These are small bags that you can tie around your waist. You can fit in little things that you might require for dog training. You can also use it to keep your phone or your keys while you are on the run. A training pouch is essential because it has compartments where you can store treats and food for your dog or can carry a whistle or clicker.
15.3. Whistles And Clickers
Whistles and clickers are the most widely used equipment for dog training. Whistles are mostly used to alert dogs or call them and for directions. Clickers, as mentioned earlier, are used for positive outcomes; when your dog completes a task correctly, you press the clicker, which makes a sound and gives the dog a treat. In this way, your dog will listen to you and do as you say.
15.4. Dog Training Guide
Books are often called the ‘sea of knowledge.’ Books have everything, the answer to all your questions, every tiny detail is found there. Every doubt is so easily solved. You can opt for a dog training book that is easy to read and has all the instructions you will need to make your work less tiring and troublesome.
15.5. Treats
Last but certainly not least are treats. Something that your dog will love and crave for after the effort it will put in to follow and obey you. Different dogs prefer different treats, so you need to get the right ones for your dog because the happiness of the dog matters as well. Treats keep the dogs interested and full of energy. Dog treats are necessary for dog training.
16. Dog Training Commands
By now, your dog knows you and your surroundings. It is comfortable and in a safe zone; it trusts you. Your dog has learned up basic manners and is disciplined. Now comes the critical part, teaching it commands. These are a few basic commands that are not very difficult but essential for dog training.
16.1. Eyes On Me
This is the very first command that your dog should know. You need to maintain eye contact with the dog. You can start by touching the dog’s nose and taking your hand to your eyes so that your dog understands where it has to look. You could hold a treat or a dog biscuit in your other hand to motivate your dog.
16.2. Sit
While dog training, when your dog is just sitting, you can bring a treat close to the dog’s face, let the dog smell it and take the joy higher with your hand. If your dog tries to get up, then gesture it to sit by saying the word and pointing with your finger. When your dog finally does sit, give it the treat to make it happy.
16.3. Stay
This is easy when your dog is in a sitting position; give it a treat first. And then slowly start moving backward, away from the dog. If it follows, you tell it to sit. Always make sure to say the commands loud and clear. Now try again to move a few steps back and command it to stay where it is. If the dog does so correctly, give it another treat.
16.4. Come
Make sure you have your dog’s leash and collar with you. Now when the dog is seated, put the collar on, and with the leash, pull the dog a little while telling it to come to you. Always remember to reward your dog with treats during the process of dog training. You can mix up a few commands just to make sure your dog understands what each order means.
16.5. Stand
Be patient, which every new exercise you teach your dog amid dog training. Repeat it regularly, practice it multiple times a day. When your dog is standing, bring a treat close to its mouth and start lowering it slowly until your dog is completely seated. Give the dog the pleasure. Now do the same thing again, but this time you need to make the dog stand. So bring the treat up higher and higher and repeat the word ‘stand’ until the dog finally stands up.
16.6. No Means No
Take a treat and put it on the ground, and walk around it with your dog. The moment your dog is tempted and moves toward the joy, pull your dog away towards you with the leash while repeating the word ‘no’ multiple times. The moment your dog gets it right, pat it on the back and give it a treat. Teaching your dog this is important during dog training.
16.7. Pick It & Drop It
This can get a little tricky. First, you need to get a toy that is important to the dog. Hold the toy in your hand, gesture the dog to come to you, and take the toy. Do this a few times. After a while, when the dog is playing with the toy, try to pull it from its mouth and say ‘drop it’ until it does so. When you do this, the dog will understand that it is supposed to leave the toy. This is how your dog will learn to pick up an drop things when you command it to do so. These few commands are essential for dog training.
17. Cool Tricks For Dog Training
So if you have taught your dog the basic commands, pat yourself on the back because the most challenging part of the dog training is done. Your dog is now familiar with controls and knows what it means.
Now, this is a much more fun part where you can teach your dog some cool tricks. This is also a good bonding exercise for you and your dog after a tiring day of dog training. To start you off, here are two of the easiest tricks that your dog will catch up to instantly.
17.1. Handshake
Handshakes are a fun part of dog training. Sit gently in front of your dog. Take out your hand and ask for its paw. Do this and wait a while until the dog understands and gives you its foot. Reward it quickly and repeat it a few times.
17.2. Roll Over
First, let your dog lie down on it back. Now with a treat in your hand, move it from one side to the other. Then slowly, when you notice your dog following you well, move your hand in a circular motion. Do this until your dog completes a circle and understands to roll over. When your dog does a rollover, give it a treat. These few dog training tricks are amusing and entertaining.
18. Rules & Boundaries
If you have reached this point, then you have succeeded in dog training, and that means you have a perfectly well-trained dog, and now you can enjoy it. But just one tiny detail is left, which is about rules and boundaries. You don’t only want a dog that listens to you and obeys you but one that is also well-mannered and disciplined.
This is an integral part of dog training. A good dog should always know its boundaries where it can and cannot enter, what it can and cannot do. Having rules set also gives your dog the understanding of what is right and what is wrong.
Isn’t dog training so easy and fun? Dogs are such beautiful animals. All they expect is love and care. Having a dog as a pet is beneficial in so many ways. You will always have a constant companion; they are still there to listen to you and give you the love and care you need when no one else is around.
They will protect you and alert you in case of any danger. Dogs love walks and outings, so they will also keep you fit and fine. If you want to know more about the benefits of having a dog, you can check out this site: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/8-science-based-benefits-dog/
Last Updated on by Sathi