Posts Tagged ‘dog train’

Dog Training: Dogs Like To Be Rewarded, Too!

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Everyone, even your dog, needs to be rewarded for a job well done. You receive pay raiseshe receives a reward he really likes. The type of reward will vary depending on your dog’s personality. But whether it is playing with a ball or toy, treating him with food or petting and loving on him, he needs to know he is appreciated.

Every dog has his own preference in rewards. If you happen to own a little guy that is shy and bashful, he probably will prefer a natural treat — something soft like a bit of real meat or cheese. High-strung dogs might do better with a dry biscuit. All dogs seem to really appreciate Bil-Jac Soft & Chewy Liver Treats. These are already small enough to be used as treats for training and dogs enjoy the taste.

When your best friend is unable to predict which type of treat he will receive, he becomes much more enthusiastic about the entire affair. Variety is the spice of life and well he knows it. Most dogs love to play ball: fetching balls, chasing balls, chewing on balls. Playing is a good thing. Other dogs like the challenge of a pulling contest and some little guys even find tearing a great amusement. There are tons of rag toys to be found that will accommodate this need.

Giving treats may not be the best option for a highly strung, excitable dog, especially when you are attempting to train him. Instead, opt for a gentle body massage. This will calm him down and relax him. Petting your dog is a very reinforcing action that will help strengthen the bond of trust and love between you.

When your dog has accepted the fact that his new behavior is appreciated, you will be able to “fade out the treat.” This is a simple process that begins with combining a tactile reward with a food reward. Eventually, begin to reduce the number of food rewards he is given until you reach the point where he is rewarded by love and pats alone.

How you reward your dog is definitely going to depend on his personality type. But all dogs like to just have fun. So, enjoy this time with him. Give him love and support and you will be rewarded with his loyalty for life.

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Dog Training Hand Commands Guide

Friday, November 14th, 2008

As well as you teaching your dog to obey you through the use of verbal commands, you can also teach them to obey you when you only use hand signals instead. When it does come to you teaching your dog about such commands you will need to use them in conjunction with verbal commands in the beginning. In this article, we look at one of the ways in which dog training hand commands can be accomplished.

Teaching your dog how to obey hand commands is very simple and generally, dogs find it very easy to understand these along with verbal commands. Along with you and your dogs when you start this kind of training you will also need some kind of treat (food is ideal) that you can reward your dog with when they react in the correct way to the signal.

It is crucial when you first start training your dog to react to hand commands rather than spoken ones is that you use the two in conjunction with each other. Also, you need to first decide what signal will represent what spoken command that you want your dog to obey. Only after you have made a decision on each hand command can you then start actually training your dog to respond to them.

In the beginning as you, say each command to your dog you should also very slowly and deliberately show the hand signal as well. You will need to repeat the verbal command and the hand signal several times in order for your dog to understand what it is you would like them to do. Then once they react the first time to you saying the word and doing the hand signal then you can reward them.

As you continually repeat the commands and signals you should very slowly you should start to eliminate the verbal commands. However, you should still use the rewards of food and praise for your dog when they respond to your hand signals only. For a while as you begin to slowly eliminate the verbal commands you should when carrying out the training, use them half of the time, and the other half of the time just hand signals.

After a period of time when they have begun to purely respond to your hand commands then you can start beginning to eliminate the food rewards also. It is crucial that you do not stop providing such treats as soon as they start responding to hand commands, but gradually eliminate them and instead offer your dog praise instead.

When you are going to be teaching your dog to respond to hand commands rather than verbal ones it is a good idea to start of with the most basic commands that you want your dog to respond to. Most owners will start of with the ones we all learn in the beginning with our dogs, which is sit, stay, down and come. Only once you feel that you and your dog are ready should you be moving on to commands that are far more elaborate.

Actually getting advice on the right way dog training hand commands should be done is easy. There are plenty of sites on the internet today that can offer lots of practical advice and tips. Plus there are plenty of books and videos, which can help you with training your dog to respond to such hand signals.

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Dog Aggression Training Tips

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Aggression in a dog is something, which an owner should not tolerate and should be dealt with as soon as the problem arises. However, in order for an owner to find the right kind of dog aggression training they should be using to control this problem they need to understand the kinds of aggression that dogs suffer from.

In this article, we take a look at just what these are. It is important to remember that a dog may not only show just one type of aggression in fact they could show several.

1. Dominance - This kind of aggression will occur in a dog who thinks that they are in fact the alpha member (leader of the pack) and will use this as a way of asserting their dominance over the others in the pack (you and your family). Most commonly, you will find that male dogs and certain dog breeds are likely to suffer from this kind of aggressive behavior more. But in order for you to control the situation, you need to quickly and fairly establish that you and your family are the leaders in the group and they are at the bottom of the pack hierarchy.

2. Fear - This is type of aggression occurs when a dog feels insecure or frightened. They will often react to a disturbance or when being approached by either barking, growling, they may bare their teeth, snap or bite. In some cases, if they feel cornered or threatened they may actually bite. It is important that you do not think that your dog will grow out of this problem, as they will not.

3. Territorial/Over Protective - When a dog suffers from this kind of aggressive behavior if left and the owner chooses to ignore the problem they will become a danger to all those around them and not just to those they see as strangers or predators. This kind of problem will not be one that is a problem for the owner at home, but will also be one that will become a problem when the dog is away from it as well.

4. Possessive - This can make a real Jekyll and Hyde out of your dog, one minute they can loving and playful the next they are baring their teeth or snapping at you. This will normally occur when you approach something that they consider to be theirs. In many cases, a major trigger for this type of aggression is when you approach them when they are eating. If you want to stop this problem, you need to react as soon as you notice it occurring.

5. Punishment - Often this particular type of aggressive behavior will occur in dogs that have been abused by their owners, especially where owners have tried to exert too much dominance over their animal. Normally a dog will not react aggressively towards their owner when being punished, but if an owner punishes the animal too much then over time things can change. One day an owner may suddenly find without any kind of warning their dogs turning on them.

Above we looked at some of the kinds of aggressive behavior that a dog, no matter what age, breed or sex they are can have. However, in order for an owner to know what the right kind of dog aggression training they should be using to control the problem they first need to identify what type of aggressive behavior it is. The internet is a good place to find advice and information on all types of aggressive dog behavior.

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