Posts Tagged ‘Home’
There are plenty of reasons why dog training at home should be taken with care and determination. Proper training results in pets doing what is expected of them in terms of socialization, good defecating habits, reduced anxiety, obedience, and a generally good behavior.
Providing the proper dog training at home could be very rewarding experience if you put your heart into it. A responsible and loving pet owner should be more than glad to help his new dog adjust to the surroundings.
A disciplined dog is loved by many compared to their rowdy counterparts. He will also return the favor back to you by being well-behaved and following your commands and instructions. Apart from this, he will surely make you proud if you did well in training him.
Training you dog should start while he is still young although older dogs could also be trained. Moreover, you should be prepared to spend time and energy when dog training at home because it is a long process.
Dog owner anywhere must be consistent and patient in training his dog. The key is setting limits and restrictions by being firm and by offering rewards for a job well done. Below is 5 Steps To Dog Training At Home.
A. Have fun. More than anything, dog training at home should be a fun experience. Dogs love to play and they should not be denied that privilege. Be firm yet gentle. Start with simple commands and use them repetitively and consistently.
Believe it or not, you also need to establish mutual faith and trust in place of harsh punishment. If you succeed in creating a training environment filled with respect, your dog will be more than willing to be trained.
B. Be flexible. This is not the military so do not hesitate to make minor adjustments if, for instance, your dog still does not get a certain lesson you are trying to teach. Consider your pet’s maturity and age. There is no need to hurry. Like human beings, dogs are unique and also harbor different rates of progress.
C. Training your dog yourself helps develop a strong bond between you and your pet. A well-trained dog is a dog you could be proud of around your friends and your neighbors.
D. Be fair. As mentioned earlier, give rewards and merits when it is due. Do not set very high standards. Recognize every achievement no matter how small it is.
E. Positive reinforcement is the highly recommended method of dog training. This entails providing praise and physical rewards each time your pet follows your commands. Training sessions need not be long and tedious.
Set realistic goals. You cannot expect your pet to do it right the first time around. You take it one step at a time whether you are training him to use the litter box or getting him to follow the “Sit” command.
The key is consistency and patience. Do not punish your dog if he makes a mistake.
These five Steps to dog training at home also provides your pet with needed exercise and mental stimulation. You could also have peace of mind if you have a well-trained dog around the house.
Deen Adelakun is an accomplished writer and puppy enthusiast. Get his new 30 page report on puppy training which you can download FREE today. His exclusive E-course is jam packed with up-to-date puppy training tips and techniques
Posted in 
Tags: 
To refer to the Labrador Retriever as an extraordinary breed would be nothing short of an understatement. Characteristically, being in tune with their masters is a requirement of their personalities so it is important that the owner understand what the animal was bred to do – namely hunt and retrieve. In order for a Labrador to find birds or ducks that were shot down and have landed out of sight, they must be in tune with their hunter/owner in order to learn their purpose.
This need for harmony in the Labradors life carries over to the home front as well and is not reserved exclusively for their retrieving skills. For the person who is in need of constant companionship, this is the ideal breed of dog. Conversely, if you expect the dog to be able to entertain itself you will be rudely awakened as the breed thrives on canine-human interaction. So that is one of the first things you need to be aware of when deciding if this is the right canine pet for you.
Hounds and Terriers are breeds of hunting dogs that can do with or without human interaction, so if are not capable of satisfying this need of the Labradors you would be wise to choose one of the other breeds. Where Hounds and Terriers hunt by their sense of smell, the Labrador must have that human attention link in order to successfully perform its duties as a retriever.
Labradors that do not respond well to their owners commands may take of into the water after a fallen bird or squirrel (as an example) and swim past it – maybe even way past it and vanish from sight. The well disciplined and trained Lab does not often make this kind of a mistake because it is their innate nature to adhere to their owners commands. It follows then that this canine breed is an excellent choice for obedience trainees as well as being service dogs (i.e. one of the better seeing-eye candidates).
So how will you know if a Labrador Retriever is the right dog for you and your family? For one, you have to have the capability as its owner to deal with a strong connection and dependency factor. Additionally, it must have human interaction and leadership. Most breeds of dogs exhibit a propensity for companionship, but the Labrador demands much more than other breeds. Whether they are indoors, outdoors, or a combination, they will not survive well physically (and psychologically) if left alone to their own devices, so you should be extra certain that you can handle this responsibility.
The bottom line with Labrador Retrievers is that if they are left alone for long periods at a time it confuses them. They think that they have lost their family (or pack as it were) and attempt to escape their confines in order to hunt down their owners and be with them.
Background
I got my puppy from the local animal shelter. The description in the local paper was: “I am a beautiful, lively black puppy from a variety of dog breeds. I was abandonment and desperately need a home. Please come fetch me or else I will be going to doggy heaven”
Needless to say the puppy’s appeal worked and low and behold he was home with me. The abandonment word, led me to call him Bandit. I could not have asked for a more lovable dog.
Unfortunately that cute little puppy grew into a 60kg long-legged lively lovable dog that like a typical teenager listens to nobody!
This became a problem. Big and boisterous it ran my household with furious enthusiasm.
Now, what?
Can you train an 8 month old big dog? (Gosh, I forgot to mention, he must have some Great Dane in his family history somewhere, because Bandit sure stands high!)
Consequence
To be frank! I work long hours and come home late at night, which means Bandit do not get a lot of park time and on top of it I am so tired after a day at the office that I normally become a coach potato in front of the television.
This led to a very lovable but badly behaved dog with behavioural problems.
Considerations
Things I considered doing:
Enrol in the local dog training days, which normally was a Saturday or Sunday.
Look on the internet to see if there is a do-it-yourself course on dog training with written as well as video material.
From what I know of my work schedule and my social schedule I knew that the local dog training days were not an option for me as I wanted more flexibility.
So I started searching the internet.
Oh Dear, what I did not anticipate was the amount of web sites that offer dog training at home.
The search took a couple of days and at last I selected a training program.
Solutions
I chose the dog training program based on the following criteria:
Researched the web site as much as possible to get an opinion from existing users.
Asked some of the dog owners at the park their opinion on do-it-yourself dog training.
Checked the cost of the on line dog training material.
Checked what material the online dog training program offered.
To be honest, although I felt I had done a fair amount of checking, I could still not put my hand on my heart and swear that this online dog training course would be the program I was looking for.
Results
After one month Bandit was a 100% more obedient dog than before. The material, specifically the dog training video material was excellent.
Today, one year later, I have a wonderful obedient dog that listens and behaves when spoken to.
If this story is also your story and you are a dog lover, you owe the training to your dog. He or she would love it as this is another way that you give your dog the added attention he or she needs.
The effort is certainly worth it and you can do it at home like I did with the occasional practise day at the park.
Taking Bandit out for a walk or to the park now is an absolute pleasure. Before the training I became very stressed out when I took Bandit for a walk as fighting to restrain him from running off behind every other dog was difficult.
If you want to find out more about training your dog at home, please visit my web site.
Deciding to own a dog comes with it many responsibilities. These include feeding, grooming, lots of love and playtime, and keeping up with required shots and vet visits. Dog training is another important responsibility that must not be overlooked. Proper dog behavior training will make life for the dog and its owner much more fun and enjoyable.
Dog training is the act of teaching your dog what is acceptable behavior in specific situations. It is effective communication between you and your dog. Dog training is about you telling your dog what you want, and your dog understanding and responding in a positive way.
Dogs can be trained at any age, but it is most beneficial to start as a puppy, the first day of arrival in your home. This will show your new puppy, from the start, what the boundaries are and can be the beginning of the road to successful dog training. A dog without set boundaries, rules or knowledge of what is expected will only continue to demonstrate unacceptable behaviors. It is your job, through dog training, to teach which behaviors are acceptable.
Some of the behaviors that often need to be corrected are potty training, unnecessary barking or whining, jumping up on your friends and family, chewing, biting on hands and clothing, digging, and aggressive behavior. The more common but also important obedience behaviors that you should teach your dog during dog training is to sit, stay, heel, lay down and walk on a leash properly.
When training your dog, it is important to understand why your dog does the things that he does. Some behaviors are breed specific. Cocker spaniels tend to have weak bladders and will pee when they are excited. Growing up I had a Cocker Spaniel named Blondie that would pee at our feet every time we came home. We quickly learned to let her greet us outside so that she could get excited and do her business. When inside, she was paper trained and would always go in the same spot. Be sure you are fully informed of the behaviors that you may face with the breed of dog you choose.
A dog that digs usually does so out of boredom. It is important to find other activities for your dog to do. I have found that playing with him more, teaching him to fetch, taking him for walks in the park or even providing a place for him to dig will make him feel less cooped up in the yard and stop his digging caused by boredom.
Dog training takes patience and consistent reinforcement of the rules and commands. The best way to train your dog and to get results is through repetition, praise and positive reinforcement. It is important not to get angry or use force as negative punishment when your dog does not do exactly what you ask of it. Dog training does not involve hitting or yelling at your dog when it does something wrong.
B.F. Skinner, one of the most celebrated psychologists since Sigmund Freud, proved that behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur. He also showed that the best training comes when information is presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced (also known as “shaping”). When your dog does something correctly, be sure to use words of praise in an excited voice, followed by petting and rewards with a favorite dog treat. Your dog will be able to feel the emotion and excitement in your voice and actions. This will be the encouragement needed to achieve the positive outcomes of dog training for a lifetime.
Unwanted Dog Finds New Home
Unwanted and left for dead, Bella has found a new, loving family to call her own.
Read more on The Southern Pines Pilot
Find a good dog, find a good home
Adopting a shelter pet can have many advantages over adopting a pure-bred pet. They’re less expensive, often are mature enough to already be showing their personality and be housebroken, and they may be mixed breeds with fewer health issues than purebreds.
Read more on Washington Times-Herald
