Dog Training Basics

It is essential for dog owners to know certain basic facts that can determine your relationship with your dog and can also go a long way toward training him effectively.

Before you begin training your dog, it is essential that you build a loving bond with him. This is important as it helps you to understand his needs and instincts and also allows your dog to have complete trust in you.

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How To Bond With Your Dog by Using Dog Training Basics

Building a bond with your dog is the first and the most crucial step involved in training him successfully. As soon as you bring your puppy or dog home, you must first try to develop a caring and loving relationship with him in order to win his trust and confidence.

When dogs are secure in the knowledge that they belong to the family, they are more likely to respond better to your training commands. As with any type of relationship, there must be mutual trust and respect between you and your dog.

Trust takes time to develop and respect comes from defining boundaries and treating any breach of those boundaries with firmness and fairness.

Without enforceable limitations, respect will not be developed. And when there is no respect, building a bond with your dog is almost impossible.

4 Golden Rules To Building A Relationship With Your Dog :

1. Spend quality time together;
2. Take him out in the world and experience life together;
3. Establish and promote a level of mutual respect; and
4. Develop a way of communicating to understand each other's needs.

Building a bond with your dog will not only help you manage him better but will also make your dog calm, quiet and an extremely well-adjusted pet.

Love Your Dog and He Will Love You Back

Once you have succesfully built a bond with your dog, you can rest assured that training him and teaching him new and clever tricks will be easy.

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How Your Dog Learns...

Your Dog's learning period can be divided into four phases:

1. The Teaching Phase - This is the phase where you must physically demonstrate to your Dog exactly what you want him to do.

2. The Practicing Phase - Practice makes Perfect. Once a lesson is learnt, practice with your Dog what you have just taught him.

3. The Generalizing Phase - Here you must continue practicing with your Dog in different locations and in an environment with a few distractions. You can take your Dog out for a walk, or to a nearby park and command him to practice whatever you've taught him.

Practicing the learned lessons in multiple locations and in the presence of small distractions will help him learn and retain lessons better .

4. The Testing Phase - Once you're sure that your dog has achieved almost 90% success....he responds correctly almost every time you give a command, you must start testing his accuracy in newer locations with a lot of distractions.

Example: Take him to the local shopping mall and ask him to obey your command. He may not come up with the correct response the very first time you do this, but you must not lose hope.

The idea is to test your dog to see how he responds in an environment which is new to him. Set up a situation where you are in control of the environment and your dog.

There are only 2 possibilities:

(a) Your Dog succeeds!!!

(b) Your Dog fails. Do not worry. Simply re-examine the situation. Review and/or change your training. Then try testing again.

Keep on testing until he succeeds. Follow the rule of the 3 Ps – patience, persistence, praise.

Internalizing Phase - Finally, comes the extremely rewarding phase where your dog does everything he is taught to do even without your commands.

Remember:

Never scold your dog if he fails. It's not his fault. You have failed as a trainer!

You must be patient and persistent for your efforts to show rewards.

Appreciate and love your Dog when he does it right! A little encouragement will work wonders for your Dog.

Dog Training is easy when you do it right.

Learn how to train your Dog better with this free mini course. - click here!

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

How to Stop Your Dog From "Marking"

Dogs mark for a variety of reasons. If your pooch is marking a tree or two, then you probably don’t mind it much. However, if your pooch has resorted to marking inside your home, then you probably want to stop the behavior. Before you can stop the behavior, you’ve got to get to the bottom of the marking. Once you figure out why your dog is marking, you can implement an anti-marking plan.

First off, make sure the marking isn’t a problem with housetraining. Even a fully housetrained dog can experience a relapse. To tell the difference between marking and a housetraining problem, look at the “accident.” Animals normally do not mark with feces, so feces in your home may require additional housetraining. Also, consider your pooch’s schedule. If you are away from the home all day, then he may just not be able to hold it. Try to have someone stop by your home and let your dog out during the day. If the indoor urination ceases, then you can blame the problem on a full bladder! If you are unable to let your dog out during the day, then you may have to go back to crate training.

Since dogs like to spray to get the word out about their mating availability, have your pooch spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering are great ways to stop mating urination. If your adult pet has not been spayed or neutered, then the procedure may not completely stop the problem; often, if a dog gets accustomed to marking, then it becomes a habit. Still have your pet spayed or neutered, then take additional steps to stop the marking.

If your pet is marking his territory, then it’s a good idea to try to keep him away from other animals. A dog that watches a stray through the window all day will be more likely to urinate in your home as a way to protect his space. Try keeping your pooch confined to a specific area when you are away, preferably a place where other animals can’t bother him. If he is marking because of another animal inside the home, then you need to take necessary steps to make peace between the animals. There is a ton of information on the Internet about how to go about this dilemma.

When your pooch marks as a way to establish familiarity, then the best thing you can do is to not allow him access to unfamiliar objects. For instance, if a stranger stops by for a short visit or a long stay, then keep the stranger’s belongings away from your dog. Place bags and purses in out-of-reach areas. If the person is staying overnight, then keep his or her bedroom inaccessible to your pet. The same is true with a new family member: keep the belongings out of reach until your dog gets accustomed to the new person. In order to help your pet cope with the newness, have the person help in feeding, exercising, and playing with your pet. Your pooch will welcome the new person into the home once he gets accustomed to the change.

If your pet soils your home, then you need to take care of the mess immediately, because your pet will use the same spot again. Clean the area thoroughly, removing any odors. A good way to make the area less attractive to your pooch is to start playing with him or feeding him in the places he likes to urinate. He’ll soon be turned off by the idea of urinating in his dining area. If your pet starts to circle or sniff out the spot that he has used before, distract him from the area and take him outside immediately. The same is true if he starts to urinate in your home: stop him abruptly, and take him outside. Give him a treat for urinating outdoors.

If your pet is urinating all over your home, then you have a problem. There are many reasons why a pet may mark his territory. In order to stop the marking, you must be able to identify the cause. Common causes include outdoor animals, other pets, strangers, and new additions to the family. If your pet urinates inside your home, it is important that you clean the spot right away. In order to correct the behavior, you must interrupt your pet and show him the proper place to do his business.

This article was provided by pet-super-store.com an online pet shop featuring the latest in rugged Aluminum Dog Crates and luxurious wooden dog gates.