Some Basic Dog Training Tips

Dec 26th, 2010 By Brian
The key to proper dog training is positive reinforcement through the use of treats and a great deal of praise. You need to be very patient and avoid any harsh reprimands and punishment as this is only likely to be detrimental to their progress. When done properly both you and your pet will benefit. Follow these very simple tips if you want to train up your pet.
Start off by training your dog in the very basic obedience commands such as sit, heel, stay, and come. When your dog is in the learning phase it is very important that you praise them immediately when they do something right. As soon as they exhibit some good behaviour you need to let them know that they have done something very well. You can then follow this up with a treat or reward.
You should then start to increase their expectations very gradually. This simply means that you shouldn’t reward them or praise them straight away what they have done something right. Instead, wait a few seconds and then give them some praise. Wait a few more seconds and then provide them with a treat.
Once your dog has mastered these basic commands then you can move onto others. There are all sorts of different training commands that you could teach to your pet, and therefore how far you go is pretty much down to you. Remember that if your dog is struggling or if you are struggling to teach them properly, enroll them in a dog training class.
When training your pet to make sure that you do this in a very quiet area of free from any type of distraction. Depending upon the breed that you have, your pet may well be distracted frequently and therefore you need to try to eliminate these as much as possible. Limit every session to only 5 or 10 minutes so that their attention doesn’t wander.
As they begin to master the different commands that you are teaching them, move onto continuing your teachings in some louder and busier areas. In most cases you will be issuing many of these commands when you are in different environments with distractions. As such, it is crucial that you start from scratch and train your dog within these situations as well.
Make sure that you begin to reduce the rewards that you present to your pet gradually. You cannot keep producing rewards every single time they do something right and therefore they should be gradually weaned off any treats that you present them as a result of their good behaviour.
Be persistent. Properly training your dog is going to take time and it will certainly depend upon the breed that you have and the specific personality of your pet. While some dogs are likely to pick things up very quickly, others will take a lot more time and therefore you do need to be consistent and persistent. If you are having trouble then consider the option of enrolling your animal in some professional classes.
View the original article here