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Dog Training : How to Train Your Dog to Stay

November 22, 2010 By 25 Comments

Training a dog to stay entails teaching a dog to sit still through distance, duration and distractions, and remember to use positive reinforcement and short sessions. Teach a dog to stay with a certified dog trainer in this free video on dog obedience. Expert: Nancy Cusick Contact: www.TrainMyDogs.com Bio: Nancy Cusick is Austin’s premier dog trainer and animal handler with more than 12 years of experience. Filmmaker: Todd Green

Visit MyDogTraining101.com
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Pet Care : How to Potty Train Your Puppy

September 14, 2010 By 25 Comments

Potty training a puppy requires determining the pre-potty behavior, taking the puppy outside at regular times throughout the day and offering lots of praise for desired behavior. Use consistency and positive reinforcement when potty training a dog with information from a practicing veterinarian in this free video on pet care. Expert: Marcia Martin Contact: www.drmarcia.wordpress.com Bio: Dr. Marcia Martin is a 1990 graduate of Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine. Filmmaker: Suzie Vigoin

Visit MyDogTraining101.com
 for great dog training tips and advice

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Dog Training Using the Praise and Reward System

September 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Praise and Reward System is without any doubt the most animal friendly approach to train your dog. This method, often referred to as positive reinforcement training, is considered by experts to be the correct method of dog training.

In the same fashion as parent reward and praise a child for good behavior so it is with training your dog. The difference in dog training is, you praise your dog when the dog does something you approve and ignore your dog’s behavior when you disapprove.

In the past, dog training methods did not consider the harm that it caused to the animal. Unacceptable and cruel methods such as beatings, electric shocks were once common practice in dog training. As more people discover the humane approach to dog training, the old animal abusing methods are no longer being used.

The Praise and Reward System takes your dog temperament into consideration. This method is such that the dog has a chance to absorb the commands you are asking him to do. The praises and rewards make the dog understand that certain behaviors please you and dogs thrive on pleasing their master.

When a training is more meaningful for the dog, the behavior change tend to be more rapid. With time, the behaviors become more natural for the dog as the dog has a chance, in fact the opportunity, to use his own brain in deciding how to act.

To leverage your success in dog training follow these tips and tricks.

The use of food treats and showing affection to the animal work much better then simple verbal praise followed by a pat on the head.

The giving of the reward must immediately follow a behavior you want repeated. It must be clear to the dog as to why he is being rewarded. When the dog exhibits a proper behavior, immediately mark this behavior with a significant distinctive noise (such as a clicker) or by simply saying yes in an excited tone of voice, either will work. The treat needs to follow immediately so that the dog can understand that if he behaves in such a way, a treat is going to be given. Always use the same marker when the dog repeats the behavior and soon no treat will be needed for the dog to repeat the behavior. You need to be consistent for proper training to take place.

The commands used for training must be the same all the time. The dog needs to able to link the commands to the expected behaviors. Do not vary your commands as this will only confuse the dog. It is simply a matter of repetition until the dog associates behaviors with commands. A good idea is to pre-determine what commands to use, write them down and use them all the time.

You need to reward your dog in a fashion that is meaningful to the animal. Most dogs have a preference as far at what treat they like and as to what demonstration of affection they prefer. Some dogs will do back flips for a certain treats; other dogs just aren’t big eaters and prefer to be rewarded through a game with a favorite toy, or through some physical affection from you.

You probably already have a good idea of how much the dog enjoys being touched and played with. Each dog has a distinct level of energy and demonstrativeness, just like humans do.

The following are good ways to stroke your dog: most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. You can also target the ears: gently rub the earflap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.

As far as food is concerned, just experiment with different food treats until you find one that the dog really likes. Some dogs actually respond most reliably to training commands when they receive treats sporadically instead of predictably. Giving the dog treats in an irregular schedule might prevent the dog from growing tired of the food reward. Some dogs could make a conscious decision to forego a treat.

No punitive measures have to be used with the praise and reward method which is a definite improvement in dog training.

With this type of training, all you have to do is ignore the behavior that you don’t wish to see repeated. Not giving any attention is enough to make just about any dog miserable and is therefore an adequate deterrent. After a while the dog will decide to no longer use that behavior.

The more you give attention to the dog when it behaves properly, the clearer the connection will be between a bad behavior with no response and the good behavior where you give positive attention and rewards.

Emil Desnoyers is involved in marketing, a recent project was The Traffic Magnet For more free dog training information visit Train Your Dog To Behave

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Four Dog Training Tools That You Must Use

September 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Dog training doesn’t have to be that difficult and really, when it comes to basic dog training, you only need a few dog training tools. Sure you can buy all the latest and greatest tools that money can buy but you don’t really need to and sometimes, such as is the case with dog training tools, less is actually more. That being said, I would like to point out that the type of training that you do will greatly affect the type of dog training tools that you need. For example, if you are training your dog for hunting, you will need a variety of tools such as dummies, birds, whistles and, possibly, a rifle. While hunting training may be a step that you are moving toward, for now we are just going to look at dog training tools that you will need for basic dog training.

Tool #1: The Bait Since most dog trainers use positive reinforcement you need some form of bait and reward for your dog. Obviously, food is a big incentive for many dogs but you may need to invest in something different if your dog is really not interested in food or your trainer recommends a different type of reward, such as a clicker. If you will be using food, it is important to use a soft treat that is cut into small morsels; usually about the size of your pinkie nail. Using small bites is the perfect dog training tool since a dog won’t lose focus when he is chewing the food and you won’t need to spend large amounts of money renewing your food reward.

Tool #2: The Lead (or leash) One piece of everyday dog gear that you will use as a dog training tool is a lead or leash. This is just a standard leash that you can use for walks on a daily basis and the only thing that it should be is sturdy. For many areas of training, this will be the most important dog training tool that you will use, outside of food, since this will give you the greatest control over your dog. What is usually recommended with leads is to purchase one that is 6 feet long with a sturdy clip. Do not purchase a retractable leash to use as a dog training tool since you will not have as much control over your dog if you do. If you decide to take your dog to different types of training, such as conformation, you will find that you need different styles of leads but for basic training, a simply 6 foot nylon lead is essential. When you move into long distance “come,” your trainer may ask you to purchase a 20 foot lead but that will be at the discretion of your trainer.

Tool #3: The Collar Although this dog training tool is often linked with the leash, it is important to look at the collar on its own. Generally, when you are looking for a good collar for training, you will want one that is flat and has a snapping clip to prevent the collar from slipping. Some trainers will recommend that you use a choke or a prong collar as an essential dog training tool but it is important that you only use those if you are told to do so and that you use the collar correctly since they can lead to serious injuries for the dog if used incorrectly.

Tool #4: The Toy While this isn’t a dog training tool that you will really use during the training, it is a good tool to have handy for breaks or even for distractions. During a training session, take a few breaks for the dog to be rewarded through play. This will keep your dog interested in training and it won’t seem too long for you puppy. In addition to providing a break, a toy can be placed out as a distraction when you are teaching come. Having the distraction will teach your dog that no matter what he is doing, he needs to listen when you give the command. Once you have all the essential dog training tools, I would recommend speaking with your trainer to find out if there is anything that he would recommend or, if the training is specialized, if there is anything extra you should bring. Usually, all you will really need is a lead, a collar and the reward.

Nancy Richards has been involved with dog training for several years. Learn all about companion dog training , aggressive dog training etc. with positive reinforcement dog training tools.

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Positive Dog Training Techniques

September 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

There are many different dog training techniques that are out
there today. Many people often don’t realize that dog training
courses often utilize different dog training techniques.

Some of these dog training techniques work better than others.

Whether you are going to a dog training course or if you are
doing the dog training yourself… wouldn’t you rather know
which dog training technique is the best?

If you answered yes to that question then you should know that
positive dog training is the best technique to use.

Positive dog training is quickly becoming the preferred method
of dog training. If you would like to learn more about positive
dog training techniques, please read on.

Positive dog training techniques involve using only praise and
positive reinforcement.

This means, positive dog training rewards your dog for good
behavior or when it performs a command correctly.

The rewards used in this type of dog training can be treats,
kind words, a pat on the head, etc. It has been found that dogs
respond much better to positive dog training.

Positive dog training techniques never involve hitting,
spanking, scolding, or punishing your dog in any manner. Dogs do
not do well with any form of negative dog training.

Now we will go over some examples of positive dog training
techniques. Let us say that you are beginning your dog training
by teaching your dog to sit. When your dog sits, reward it with
a treat and tell it what a good dog it is.

Another example of positive dog training is to use praise and
treats when your dog goes to the bathroom when and where it is
supposed to. Dogs will soon learn to relate to doing this when
and where it should because it gets rewarded for it.

Thus your dog will be potty trained much faster. When using
positive dog training, your voice should always be happy and
pleasant. Dogs will want to do as you ask when they get rewarded
by any positive means.

This is why positive dog training works much better than any
other type of dog training.

Now that you understand what positive dog training is, you may
wish to start some of these techniques yourself. You can find
dog training courses that use positive techniques and you can
also utilize these techniques on your own.

With positive reinforcement, praise, and rewards, your dog is
sure to learn much faster and be happier doing so. You will then
be happier as well and you will also find that the dog training
will go much easier.

With that in mind, you can truly see how positive dog training
techniques will give you positive results

Amy Howells is an expert dog trainer and author. Visit http://www.dog-owner.n
et/e-course.htm to get an astonishing free e-course that
reveals the short-cut secrets to training any dog in 21 days!

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Necessary to Dog Training: Positive Reinforcement

August 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

Necessary To Dog Training: Positive Reinforcement

Recent studies have shown that the commonly used method of negative reinforcement dog training is not only an effective in improving dog behavior, it can be harmful to both the dog and dog owner. Positive reinforcement not only promotes a well behaved, and less aggressive dog, it also increases the speed at which a dog learns. This is an important lesson in learning how to train a dog.  It shortens the time of your dog training, and you will have a obedience and well behaved dog sooner rather than later.

The basics of positive reinforcement are that you reward your dog for good behavior and ignore its bad behavior. It is important not to punish, harm, or neglect your dog’s bad behavior. You simply ignore it. When the dog realizes that it is rewarded and treated better for good behavior, it will focus on exhibiting that type of behavior. Understand that the dog does not do this to make you happy, it does this because when it exhibits a behavior that gets rewarded, it is treated well, and it makes the dog its self happier. Contrary to popular belief, dogs are actually very self-absorbed!

Keep in mind when handing out rewards, they need to be both meaningful to the dog, and they need to be handed out in a very precise manner. If the reward is given at an incorrect time, the dog can become confused as to which behavior caused the reward. This can slow down dog training, and can cause the dog to exhibit behavior that you do not find correct.

If the dog is rewarded with treats and praise that it does not find meaningful, it will also become confused and will not exhibit the behaviors that you intend. Throughout your ownership of the dog, focus on learning which praise, which rewards, and which treats the dog responds best to. When giving the dog or reward for good behavior, scale the reward based off of how good the behavior is and what the dog likes best. For an extremely good behavior, give the dog it’s favorite treat. For a less important behavior trait, give the dog a type of praise that it considers less important.

Following these simple guidelines will help to improve your experience of dog training. This will help you to train your dog faster, and it will help your dog to better understand which behaviors are valuable. Although this just touches on a few of the most important parts of dog training, it is important that you obtain a complete training manual before continuing your dog training. Many training manuals, like the ones found at http://www.dogtrainerpro.info, are put together by professional dog trainers. These contain years and years of expertise and fine tuning the best techniques for effective dog training. Good luck in your dog training endeavors. With correct research, you’re sure to have a well behaved and obedient dog.

 

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Dog Clicker Training – Supercharge Your Dog Training

December 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Clicker training for dogs is one of the more scientific methods in dog training. It’s based on research done in behavioral psychology and the method is referred to by psychologists as operant conditioning. But you don’t need to know technical terms in order to get a lot of benefit from the method.

This method was first used with dolphins. With the dolphins, a whistle was utilised rather than a clicker. You can imagine how difficult it is to train a marine mammal compared to a dog. The clicker training method is based on positive reinforcement. It was very difficult to give a reward to a dolphin at the instant the dolphin enacted the behaviour you wanted. However, you could blow a whistle immediately. Then you could follow that with a treat shortly afterwards.

In order to positively reinforce a wanted behavior, you should reinforce it at the moment it happens or very soon afterwards or the animal will not associate the reward with the behavior. The whole reward process is made so much easier and clearer by using a sound from a whistle or clicker to mark the action.

Firstly, you must positively associate the clicker sound with getting a reward. By clicking and following the click with a treat many times, the sound and the reward become associated. Once this connection is made, the clicker sound itself becomes a reward in itself since it’s so closely related to treats in the dog’s perception. This repetitive process is called charging the clicker by dog trainers.

When the clicker has been charged, you sound the clicker when the dog does an action you want and you always follow the behavior with a treat. In true clicker training, you wait for your dog to offer the behavior naturally and click and treat. In order to do this behaviors which are more complex must split up into smaller bits. A tool which assists to do this is the target stick.

One of the first tasks in clicker training is to train your dog to touch his nose to the target stick. Once your dog completes this task, the stick can be used to get your dog to any place where you put the target stick. This is really useful in training other behaviors.

Getting your dog to contact the stick is easy. If you position it in front of his nose, he will almost certainly touch it. Then you click and treat. Make sure you let your dog to touch the stick: don’t touch it to his nose! Repeat this for a few of minutes. Then have a break.

It can take some time when a dog is introduced to clicker training, especially if he is an older dog. Patience is a necessity for good clicker training. It may take a couple of training sessions before your dog gets it. But once he’s got it, it will stay.

Another tool which is very useful in clicker training is a mouse pad or something similar that you train your dog to step on with one of his front feet. You can train this easily by just placing it down on the ground near him and waiting for him to step on it. When he does it, click and treat. As before, repeat this until your dog gets it. As with the target stick, this tool can then be used to guide your dog to a particular place in further training.

The next step after training a behavior is to add a cue. A cue means that you use a word or command prior to the behavior – for example, “fetch” or “sit”. You do this by saying the cue word just as you think the dog is about to do the behavior. As always you click and reward the action. Then, by repeating this, the command becomes associated with the treat, just like the clicker sound is. Please note that when you start training with the cue, you only click and reward when the behavior follows the cue. You don’t click or reward when the dog offers the behavior without you having given the cue.

I hope this has given you some idea of how the clicker is used as an effective tool in dog training. Obviously there is a lot more to learn. What I particularly like about it is that it’s very step-by-step and all that’s needed is consistency and a lot of patience. Read more about clicker training for dogs, a review of the best clicker training book, and also reviews of other dog training guides.

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Consistency – The Secret To Dog Training

October 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The biggest secret to dog training is understanding the process of positive reinforcement. All that’s really required after that is a lot of patience and being very consistent. Most dog behavior problems come from not understanding reinforcement or from not using it consistently.

To utilise it consistently, you’re going to need an abundance of patience. You need to appreciate the amount of time required to train a dog. You also need to understand that being consistent doesn’t just mean during a short training session but whenever you and anyone else are interacting with your dog. This means that you also need your family members and anyone who interacts with your dog to be consistent also.

Positive conditioning means that a positive reinforcement i.e. an enjoyable stimulus when your dog does some action will encourage him to perform that particular action again. It’s a sad fact that many owners positively reinforce problem behaviors in their dogs without being aware of it. For example, they enter the house, the dog is jumping up on them and they give affection to the dog. Affection is a positive reinforcement and so the dog is being encouraged to jump up on people.

I enjoy watching the Dog Whisperer on TV. One thing I notice is that owners are invariably reinforcing negative behaviors in their dogs without being aware of it. And this is in spite of the fact that they are fully aware of the process from watching Cesar on the program. The Dog Whisperer is very different which is why the dogs behave differently with him. He is always consistent and only give any attention to the dog when it is calm and behaving in a well-mannered fashion. In virtually every case that he helps, the problems are with the owner and his inconsistency.

It requires a lot of self-discipline and awareness to restrain from giving your dog affection when he is doing an unwanted behavior. Any attention is better than no attention to a dog. This means that, unfortunately, shouting at your dog may positively reinforce the behavior even though your intention is the opposite of that. So, the best response to unwanted behaviors in your dog may be to ignore them by turning away from your dog and giving no attention.

It’s more effective to focus on reinforcing positive behaviors rather than focusing on using negative reinforcement for unwanted behaviors. As the dog is encouraged more and more in positive behaviors, less time will be given by him to negative behaviors which go unrewarded.

Obviously, you may have to stop your dog doing unwanted behaviors For example, if he jumps on the food counter, you can just pull him off.

How do you reinforce behaviors you want to encourage? Possible rewards are tasty treats, affection or a toy to play with. Using small tasty treats is probably the most efficient method. The treat needs to be given as close in time to the behavior as possible. This is where using clicker training makes this process easier. The clicker sound is used to mark the behavior precisely as it happens and the treat comes immediately afterwards. However, clicker training is a whole subject in itself but well worth looking into since it will supercharge your training.

Read more about the Dog Training Secrets, about clicker training with dogs and about dealing with dog behavior problems in general.

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Training Puppy Tips To Avoid Behavior Problems

October 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

If you want to train your puppy in the most efficient way from the start, there are two methods for training your puppy which you need to pay close attention to. They are being the pack leader and the method of positive reinforcement. Each of these methods will be explained in this article and you will see how you can use them to train your puppy dog effectively.

When you bring a puppy into your home, it’s wise to have some understanding of the natural instincts of the dog and of the fact that the dog is a pack animal. The pack has its own dynamics and the principle of dominance is crucial within it. Within a pack there is a hierarchy and at the top is the alpha pair. They are the only ones allowed to breed.

When it comes to eating, the alpha pair eat first. When it comes to sleeping, they take the higher vantage place. This is why dogs like to sleep on beds or sofas.

If you want to set off on the right foot and avoid behavior problems in your puppy, you absolutely must position yourself and your family as the pack leaders or alpha dogs in your home. One way to emphasise yourself as pack leader is not letting your puppy onto your bed or sofa.

At meal times for a couple of weeks at least, it’s good to get the family to eat something (like a biscuit for example) just before you give the puppy his food. When taking the biscuits, make it look as if you are taking them from the dog’s dish.

You should always behave in a calm and assertive manner. Being the pack leader leads naturally into the concept of positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement means that you reward a desired behavior in your puppy or dog and ignore an undesired behavior. Negative reinforcement and punishment have been shown to be ineffective and most dog trainers don’t use them any more.

You can use small treats as positive reinforcement. Praise and affection can also be used. It is crucial that you don’t reinforce unwanted behaviors in your puppy. Reinforcing undesired behaviors is one of the main reasons for dog behavior problems. Puppy or dog training happens whenever you are with your puppy or dog, not just when you decide to have a training session.

For example, if your puppy jumps up at you when you come into a room and you give him attention and affection, you are reinforcing his “jumping up” behavior. Whenever he engages in an undesired behavior, you must not give him any attention – just ignore him. This means you should look away or turn away and not give any attention. This method may be difficult for you to accept and this is the reason many people fail in training their dogs.

You will find that positioning yourself as the pack leader in your home forms a bedrock for all your puppy training and positive reinforcement gives you a method to encourage the correct behaviors in your puppy and to avoid potential dog behaviour problems.

For more information on training your puppy, visit the Training Puppy Tips website.

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How to Leash Train A Puppy

August 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Do you want to know the easiest way to leash train your new puppy?  You can get a head start on that by beginning the leash training of your puppy  very early on. By six weeks of age my young puppy could already walk on a loose leash.  He was already heeling at eight weeks old like an old pro.

If you use this easy method you should  get very good results without causing the puppy any anxiety.  Some puppies and  dogs hate the very sight of the leash.  If their first experiences with the leash were negative they won’t be happy to see the leash come out.

Use this easy method to begin leash training your puppy with positive reinforcement.Here is the way I begin the leash training of my puppies without causing any stress for him. In fact, they get excited when they see the leash, because they know they are about to go for a walk with Dad.

  • Begin with placing the puppy’s flat collar around his neck (the choke collar shouldn’t be used at this time). The puppy should have no problems with the flat collar being put on. Attach the pup’s leash to the collar, but let it lay loose on the ground.  You won’t need to keep ahold of the leash at this point. For the first sessions with the leash, let the puppy walk around the house or yard while he does his thing. Stay close behind the puppy so you can free his leash if it gets caught up in anything.  As long as the leash remains unobstructed,  the puppy probably won’t even pay attention to the fact that he’s dragging a leash around.
  • The following leash training step starts after the puppy is accustomed to cruising around dragging his leash along. Pick up the leash end, but be sure to not let it tighten up-you still want to keep it slack.  Walk along with your puppy, letting him explore what he wants to-don’t try to control his position at this point.  Begin the next step in leash training after your puppy is very used to walking along with you on his loose leash.
  • It is time to teach your pup to walk along with you and not to be pulling you with his leash.  As he walks with you can begin to encourage him to learn to a “loose heel”  by having some treats with you for rewards. If you hold the treat in your left hand it will get the puppy used to the idea of staying by your left side. The left side is the side he will be when he learns to heel. Use a happy voice to call your pup over to your side and give him lots of praise and a treat reward for listening. Each time the correct behavior happens, be sure to reward the puppy to positively reinforce that behavior.
  • If the puppy isn’t paying attention when you call him over, just give a gentle tug on his leash to get his attention, and let him see you have a treat for him.
  • Once you have his attention  using a happy tone of voice he’ll come over and you can reward him for  listening. It won’t be long before he gets the idea. Even at 6 weeks of age, puppies are already in the learning zone. Remember, don’t get impatient or cross with your pet when you are first leash training him. Don’t make it an unpleasant experience for him to learn. Only use positive reinforcement techniques when leash training your puppy, or with any other training you will be doing later. Dogs will learn a lot faster if you make it fun and rewarding for them while they are in training. This seems to apply to people too.
  • Continue repeating this training frequently on a daily basis until your puppy walks comfortably at your side with a loose leash. By the time your pup is comfortable walking on a loose leash, he is halfway there to learning how to “heel”. That’s all there is to it. Follow this simple lesson, starting with a very young puppy and you will never have a problem putting your dog on his leash for a fun walk.

To read more articles on dog training and problem behavior solving please click here- www.BehaveDoggy.com

To learn which is the best dog training book to be found on line, click here.

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