Do It Yourself Dog Training

How Training Benefits Both Pet Owners And Pets

Welcome! Whether you are a new pet owner or you have had a pet in your home for some time, you know how delightful, and frustrating, owning a pet can be.

The joy of bringing a new puppy or dog into your household can be insurmountable. After all, there is no relationship quite like the one that is developed between you and your dog.

A dog can provide unconditional love, hours of entertainment, and genuine friendship. Or, a dog can provide unconditional messes, hours of destruction, and a genuine nuisance!

How do you ensure that your dog behaves in the manner of the first scenario described above? If you are thinking that the answer is "breed" you are partially correct. Indeed, breed does play a role in a dog's behavior. But an even greater factor in the dog's behavior is based on the training he receives. Good dog training resources can go a long way toward helping.

The Benefits of Training

If you are like most people, you are extremely busy. Some days, there just doesn't seem like enough hours to take care of yourself, let alone a dog! But, the time that you spend training your dog will reward you and your relationship for many, many years to come.

There are five main benefits of training:

1. It builds a relationship.
2. It corrects behavioral problems.
3. It stimulates intellect.
4. It encourages inclusion.
5. It saves time.

Let's explore each benefit in further detail.

1. Training Builds a Relationship.

There is no better way to create a bond with your dog than through the process of training. You may think that training begins at the time you decide to try new tricks, but it actually begins at the very moment you acquire your dog.

Your dog is constantly watching you and learning from your actions. He learns from the way you react to his actions. He looks to you for guidance, for food, for warmth, for comfort, and for playtime.
2. Training Corrects Behavioral Problems.

Barking at anyone who passes by the front window, chewing up your favorite pillows, digging through your freshly planted garden, bolting out of an open door...do any of these actions look familiar to you?

When you have developed a trusting bond with your dog, you can teach him how to correct these behavioral problems. He will learn by your reactions whether or not his actions are acceptable to you. No doubt, he will test his limits!




3. Training Stimulates Intellect.

Yes, it is true that dogs are very curious creatures. With exposure to so many unusual smells, sights, and sounds, dogs can't help but want to explore. It's in their nature!

Most dogs have the capacity to be very intelligent. But, they need to be stimulated first, and then they will be motivated to learn. Training is a huge benefit for stimulating your dog's intellect.

4. Training Encourages Inclusion.

The sense of "inclusion" is very important to a dog's security. From the earliest days of being a part of a litter, your dog feels comfortable being a part of the pack. That includes the pack of your household.

You may be the primary dog trainer, but everyone in your family or household should take the time to train your dog. When he receives this undivided attention from everyone, he feels like part of the pack.

5. Training Saves Time.

Another huge benefit of training your dog is that it saves you time. Taking the time to train your dog now, will actually save you time in the long run. For example, if you take the time to train your dog to behave properly inside the house, you will actually be saving time cleaning up mischievous messes that he could create in the future-if he didn't have the training.




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Housetraining-The Good, the Bag and the Ugly

Welcome! In this issue we are going to discuss one of the most difficult aspects of welcoming a new dog into your family-housetraining! While housetraining is often an issue with puppies, it can also be a problem with older dogs at times as well.

One of the very first training exercises you will want to work on with a new puppy or an adult dog moving into your home is-housetraining! Housetraining is indeed a real test of your patience, but it is one of the first opportunities that you and your puppy will have to bond.

Housetraining is a lot of hard work, but it is necessary. You will need to have a lot of patience-and maybe even a sense of humor-as you train your dog. But don't worry, after all of your hard work, you will have a dog that is housetrained!

When it comes to housetraining, every dog succeeds at a different rate. It takes some dogs only a few weeks to learn, where it may take other dogs several months.

Here is perhaps the most important thing to know about housetraining: The rate at which the puppy succeeds is determined by the amount of consistent training that you as the owner give him. Good quality dog training resources can help you to make this process much easier.

You should begin housetraining your puppy as soon as he arrives home, which is generally around 7 or 8 weeks. It is important to understand that he does not have full sphincter muscle control, so puppies are not able to hold their bladder and bowel movements for very long periods of time.

Training the Older Dog

If you are bringing an older dog into your home that has not yet been housetrained, it may be more of a challenge. Older dogs already have developed their habits, so it will take time to retrain him. However, it can be done!

All of the lessons below can be applied to both the younger and older dog. It may just take longer with the older dog, so be patient.

Additionally, older dogs eliminate fewer times than puppies throughout the day, so you have fewer opportunities in the day to train him.

Things to Know about Housetraining

Before you begin housetraining with your dog, there are some basics that you should know. Including:

Where Dogs Won't Eliminate

Dogs develop natural preferences for where they want to eliminate. For example, dogs usually don't want to eliminate where they eat, sleep, and spend their time.

You may be wondering "So why does my dog eliminate on the rug?" The reason is probably because he was expected to "hold it" too long and wasn't let outside. Or, he may have gotten overly excited about something.

Physical Capacity to "Hold It"

Young puppies will need to eliminate every one to two hours during the day when they are active. If your pup has been eating, drinking, playing, or exercising a lot, he may need to go even more. They may or may not be able to hold it throughout the night. Generally, the younger the puppy is, the less he can hold it.

Older dogs that are healthy have the ability to hold it for six to eight hours during the day and eight to ten hours over night.

Then, once you see a pattern, let him out 10-15 minutes before that scheduled time. Of course, he may need to go out more if he has been eating, drinking, playing, or exercising more frequently.

If the situation arises when you need to leave your dog for a longer period than which he can hold it, don't keep him in his crate. Rather, put him in a small room such as a laundry room or bathroom where he can eliminate in an area on newspaper if he needs to, and still keep his sleeping and food area separate.

This is the conclusion to this article, but make sure you watch for our next one because we will be discussing more critical elements involved in dog training. You can also find more information in the resource box below.

All the best until next time!




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Nipping Chewing in the Bud

Welcome! We will be discussing the problem of chewing and looking at different ways that it can be overcome!

Chewing

It is very common for puppies to chew when they are teething. The act of chewing helps their teeth break through the gums. Older dogs, generally chew if they are bored or anxious.

If a dog is bored, it is because he has built up so much energy, but has run out of ways to exert it. So he finds something interesting to chew.

The only problem is, is that he doesn't know what is permissible to chew unless you have taught him. So the sooner you teach him, the less likely he will chew your household items.

A dog may also chew if he has been left alone and not within the comfort of his own crate. This is known as a "spite chewer." He is upset that you have left him so he will start chewing as soon as you leave.

By keeping your dog in a crate when you leave your house, you are not "punishing" him, rather you are keeping him in a safe and comfortable environment. You can place lots of fun chew toys in the crate to keep him occupied while you are away. If you don't keep him in a crate while you are gone and instead let him roam about, he will help himself to chew on anything he wants!

When you return home to find that your dog is in the act of chewing something he shouldn't be, give a sharp "no," but do not yell. Take the object away and ignore him for five to ten minutes. If you start to play with him or feed him, he will think he is being rewarded for the chewing.

If you don't catch your dog in the act of chewing, don't scold your dog, but instead ignore him. Some trainers recommend that you pick up the destroyed object and look at it angrily. However, you don't want your dog to misinterpret that as you are upset with him (even though you are!)

Prevent Chewing

There are some proactive steps you can take to help eliminate the act of chewing. These steps can be used by puppies and adult dogs.

* Puppy-proof - As you learned earlier in this E-book, you need to puppy-proof your home. Even if your dog is older, you still need to take precautions to make potentially-destructive objects out of your dog's reach.
* Provide Toys - Make sure your dog has a plentiful selection of chew toys available to him at all times.
* Provide Sound - Instead of turning off the television or radio when you leave the house, turn them on. The extra background noise will help your dog feel more at ease.
* Increase Exercise - Providing your dog with frequent exercise will help him burn off excess energy that he could otherwise use towards items in your home.

Correct Chewing

It is your responsibility to initiate training to correct your dog's chewing problem. Practice this training by placing some inappropriate objects on the floor, such as a book, a shoe, etc.

As he approaches the inappropriate object, give the "leave it" command. Take the object away and replace it with a chew toy or bone. Once the dog starts chewing the chew toy or bone, praise him.

Practice this training exercise several times a day with many different inappropriate objects.

That's a wrap for this article. Remember that if chewing or other behavior issues continue to be a problem, you can always learn more from good quality dog training resources.

Until next time, best of luck to you and your dog!



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