Posts Tagged dog behavior

Article On the Topic of How to Train My Dog to Do Agility

Posted by admin on Sunday, 12 April, 2009

Dog Agility training can be an enormously rewarding, fun activity for both you and your dog. Unfortunately too many people think it will be too hard or too time consuming to train a dog to this level of activity. The truth is it’s quite easy to train your dog to enjoy agility courses.

Even when you are training the dog, you will need the training for yourself as wel. Even though it is human to know when someone is upset, dog have a hard time understanding what they are doing wrong.

Dogs of all ages, always like to please their owners. If they don’t have a clear understanding of how to make you happy, then of course they can’t do the things you want them to do.

This means you as the master must learn a little about effective rewards for when your dog does something you like and effective punishment for when your dog isn’t behaving well.

Training a Dog with Rewards

Even at a very early age, puppies are able to understand praise and reward. If you find the puppy going to the bathroom in the yard by himself, and give the action a name, the puppy will learn to associate the action with the name. When the puppy has done his business where you like it to be done, offer him a treat, a cuddle and plenty of praise.

Soon your puppy will like to do it’s business in the same place evey day and it will find that he/she goes their by instinct every time.

The same principles of acclamation and reward applies for each action you want your dog to learn.

Dogs will attempt to get praise and affection from you by performing each of the behaviors it remembers eliciting a good response from you.  When a dos always here NO when they are wrong, they will learn this ability and think that this is a good thing.

Turn your back to the dog and cross your arms if you want him to learn that his behavior is unacceptable. The best way to deal with your dog’s bad behavior is to ignore them; this is the most significant form of punishment you can give them.

How to train agility to a dog.

Praise and rewards are always essential whether you are training your dog or not. Canines enjoy being active. Curiosity come naturally to them and they are playful by nature.

If you show your dog that an agility course is fun and an easy way to get rewards and praise, your dog will love leaping over the obstacles on all agility courses.

You need to have patience when doing agility training. Initially, attempt to bring your dog to a nearby dog instruction course that provides a class in agility. It is best to verify that your dog has gone beyond the growing stage, around a year old, before starting agility training which could cause a pup injury.

Learn more about Training Dog for Agility here.

Use the agility course like a game and run around with your dog. If you have the choice, you may want to lower the bar on the jumps so they do not appear to be threatening. The way to get your dog doing what you want is by praise and food rewards.

Instructing your dog to do agility isn’t hard work for both owner and pet if they perceive it as enjoyable. He’ll soon be racing around the course like a pro waiting for his reward.

Learn more about Training Dog for Agility here.

How To Become A Certified Dog Trainer

Posted by admin on Tuesday, 17 March, 2009

puppy training

There are many circumstances where we are forced to work to live when in reality it should be about us living our lives and doing something that we enjoy. For those who love dogs, becoming a certified dog trainer may be just the career. A certified dog trainer is of great value, especially when helping a new pet owner with adjusting to their new dog and vice versa.

Becoming a certified dog trainer begins with a love of animals. It requires patience and a desire to interact with the animal. Dog obedience training takes knowledge and a compassionate nature in order for there to be success. Most people do not turn to a certified dog trainer until there is an obvious sign of dog aggression and then the battle begins. Dog training starts when the animal first comes home and continues throughout the life-time of the canine.

The training all begins with understanding the basic nature and structure of a dog. It is important to learn the different breeds in order to understand each dog’s particular traits and learning level. Some dog are more hyper than others and require a special sort of handling skills. The same goes for fetching or active breed lines that require special diets and more exercise.

Once the basics of dog behavior are down, then begin the specialized coursework designed to train a dog through a variety of methods. The instruction will teach how to use a variety of instruction in order to train the dog such as through a clicker or through positive reinforcement. Other steps include teaching safety to the owners as well as the dog. It is also important to learn how to deal with dogs that are more difficult to deal with due to a past history of violence or dog fighting.

Once the coursework is complete, the certified dog trainer is ready to begin. There are a variety of places to work such as pet supply stores, kennels or even opening up a business. One great example of a certified dog trainer is Cesar Millan who works with troubled dogs and their owners on his hit television show ‘The Dog Whisperer’ airing on cable.

If you find yourself longing for more freedom and becoming tired of simply punching a clock, consider a different line of work. There is always a need a certified dog trainer somewhere and you might find yourself looking forward to going into work each day.

Dog Obedience Training and Three Basic Rules

Posted by admin on Tuesday, 10 March, 2009

Dog obedience training requires the use of some principles which differentiate effective training from training without results. Many dog training and dog behavior schools use these rules. They are the following:

Principle One: The first rule in obedience training is to be consistent. This covers the use of words, tone, and the actions that accompany the word or command. At the beginning of training you as the dog owner or trainer must make the decision as to what guidelines you will use to teach the dog. Words do not make sense to a dog. He does not understand things the way we understand, and he does not understand the language we use.

For the training to be understandable, the command must be used in a consistent manner so he can recognize the meaning to the word and tone. If you are using the word ‘come’ make sure everyone is. The command ‘Come’ specifically means that the dog should approach the giver of the command and use it in that sense. If your dog does not come to you instantly, do not punish him when he does. This would make him attribute the command with the punishment.

Then what would you expect?-If the command leads to punishment he will not follow it next time. The same command used, by all people, must be consistent. For example, if you are using the command ‘come’, other people in the household should not replace it with words like ‘here’ or ‘come here boy’.

Principle Two: Keep training sessions short. Keep in mind that the attention span of dogs is very short that making them engrossed with a specific activity would be very hard, if not impossible. Combining children with your puppy obedience training is an example of keeping your training sessions short as they would lose interest very quickly, so it is best to move on to the next thing.

Your dog becomes easily bored and their interest at the beginning soon fades. The same thing happens in training therefore, it should be limited only to 10 minutes to 15 minutes of regular training.

Principle Three: Do not use force and punishment to hurt your dog when training. Also, never force the dog to follow the command if he is not prepared for it or punish a dog for something he did. Whilst training the animal don’t push too hard.

Your dog has no understanding of your impatience for his lack of learning speed. All he knows is that you are mad. So do not use force as this does not communicate your meaning properly, instead use negative reinforcement. If he knows that he is praised when he does something right, then he should not feel praised when he does not follow a command.

You have to be understanding and patient, especially during your dog obedience training sessions. The result will be a very obedient and well trained dog.

Reduce Aggressive Dog Behavior The Easy Way

Posted by admin on Saturday, 7 March, 2009

If you would like more information on how to cope with aggressive dog behavior, and what you can do about it, then this guide will show you. Specifically, I’m going to discuss why your dog is becoming aggressive, the main types of aggression you’re likely to see, and some valuable tips for training an aggressive dog. When you have finished reading this guide, you’ll know why your dog is being aggressive and some of the steps you can take to curb this behavior.

First, I am going to talk about why your dog is aggressive. In most cases of dog aggression, there are reasons for these behavior.

For example – if you have had your dog since he was a puppy and maybe his parents were aggressive dogs. It’s a clever idea to research your dog breeds before you chose on a specific breed, because many owners have made the mistake of bringing a dog into their home which has unchangable aggressive characteristics.

Another reason why your dog is displaying aggressive dog behavior is because your dog feels threaten by another dog or person.

The next thing we are going to talk about is the different kinds of aggressive behavior, and how you can spot them. There are two main different types of aggression.

Here is what you should look for so you can see the differences between the two types of aggression.

The first (and most common) form of aggression is what many owners call every day aggression. This is aggression behavior that can happen everyday. This isn’t a major problem compared to some other potential scenarios, but you should still monitor this behavior to ensure it doesn’t become worse. The main indicators of this type of aggression are intense staring, growling and barking. The best way to fix this type of aggression is with basic obedience training.

The second kind of aggressive behavior can be more of a problem, and you should try to fix this quickly, by seeking the help of a professional dog trainer. This aggressive behavior can become dangerous to you, your dog and other around your dog if it gets out of control.

The signs you should look out for are biting, snarling, snapping, nipping at legs or heels, displaying teeth and intense staring. If this aggressive behavior is not corrected then it can lead to physical aggression such as fighting, and trying to bite.

With aggressive behavior, I would recommend you seek professional who specialises in aggressive dog training to help correct this behavior.

There are books and CDs to help you with learning the “correct” basics of obedience training for “everyday aggression”. If your puppy is still young, you should make it a priority to start training quickly, because left unchecked, it can become a habit which will be hard to remove.

Here are some useful tips to use when you are training your dog.

1. Remember to never leave your dog alone with your children during this training.
2. A bad way of dealing with this is to leave your dog tied up outside, because this will not help, and is likely to make the problem worse.
3. Do not abuse or tease your dog or let anyone else do it, as this too will make the behavior worse.

You need to learn the warning signs of aggression before the aggressive behavior appears as this will be much easier for you and your dog when it comes to dealing with this behavior.

In this guide we have discussed some of the main reasons behind aggressive dog behavior, some useful steps you can take when training your dog in basic obedience, and the two main kinds of aggressive behavior. You should now be able to know how to correct this behavior before it gets out of control.