Have you just got a new puppy or dog and are getting frustrated trying to get him/her to understand you and do what you say? In this article you will get three top tips on how to train your dog and to help you understand your dog, help your dog to understand you and show you how you can have a long and happy life together. 1)When you are getting frustrated with your dog it is most likely because he is not doing what you ask him to. Have you stopped to consider that this might be because he is getting confused by what your words and actions mean? Heres an example of this: Imagine you are the owner of a dog called Roxy and you cant understand why Roxy failed to come when she was called. You recently caught Roxy digging up some flowers in your garden. After shouting Come Here several times, and shouting increasingly louder each time, frustrated by her disobedience you go over to her and give her a smack. Roxy now starts to associate Come Here with getting smacked, so next time you call her what does she do? She does nothing or runs the other way! By punishing Roxy each time she ignores you or runs the other way when you shout Come Here you are reinforcing in her mind that she is doing the right thing when she hears that command. So to get Roxy to come to you when you call she needs to associate the command with good stuff happening always! Youll be amazed at how much quicker Roxy learns too. 2) Praising good behavior is a top tip to train your dog and is a much quicker route to training success and a happy life than punishing bad behavior. Your dog wants to make you happy and you can give him reassurance that he is doing the right thing by giving him praise. Your dog will respond quickly to this praise making the whole process a lot more enjoyable for you both. Dont forget there are various ways of praising your dog without increasing his waistline! For example cuddles and toys are positive treats. You can also give your dog small pieces of food, such as cooked chicken, to reinforce good behavior, you will soon find he is doing what you ask of him without the need to reward him every time. 3) Teaching your new puppy to walk on the lead without pulling is an important part of their training. Imagine you are trying to teach your puppy Minnie to walk to heal. You have small treats with you to reinforce her correct behavior and although you are rewarding her as you go along you are finding that she will sit and wait OK but she is not really getting the walking to heal bit. Can you guess what you are doing wrong? Well because Minnie is still so small you are stopping to give her the treat and therefore you are reinforcing to Minnie that something good happens when she stops and not when she is walking duh! So praise her whilst she is walking along, thus reinforcing that behavior. Using these simple tips to train your dog, you can ease frustration by learning to understand their behavior and by helping them to understand you. Dont forget to reinforce their good behavior with praise and treats. You will soon have a happy, stress-free life with your dog. |
