Taking care of a dog includes a lot of responsibilities, like feeding it a healthy diet, ensuring that it receives adequate exercise, and staying up to date with veterinary visits. Aside from these, you need to train your puppy.
Dogs are intelligent animals making it a nice option to train them in commands like sit, lie down, stay, and come. Learning how to properly implement this training into your dog will make things fun and easier for both of you. This article will go through dog training strategies you should keep in mind as a beginner.
● Enroll in Obedience Classes
Training takes practice, and practice makes perfect. The more you put effort and time into the process, the more you get the best result. You may want to consider hiring a private trainer or enrolling your dog in a training school in Bordentown or any other kindergarten for puppies. Once your puppy finishes that class, you can then have it join an obedience class for older puppies.
Ensure that the trainer you choose only handles a limit of eight to ten dogs, allowing them to give attention and time to each puppy. During the class, the puppy will learn basic activities like sitting, coming, down, and staying and how to walk properly with a leash.
● Use Positivity
Most dogs will respond when you make the learning fun using positive language. Using harsh correction methods may work, but it will only happen once or twice. Moreover, they are considered inhumane and ineffective in the long run. You may end up confusing your dog when you are always speaking to it in a harsh or aggressive tone.
Training dogs with aggressive methods like being stared at, growled at, rolled onto their backs, or hit will end up making them become aggressive too. However, using non-aversive training like giving them rewards or taking them for an exercise will eliminate or remove the aggressive response in them.
Positive reinforcement lets the dog know that you are pleased with it, and it will repeat that behavior next time so it will earn that praise again. Some of the rewards you can give it include food, toys, and a simple petting, depending on what the dog responds to best. You can also verbally praise it once in a while.
● Keep Training Sessions Short
Start teaching your dog good manners a few days after it gets settled in your household. Keep the training short. Let it be around 10-15 minutes per session, then let it take a break. You can repeat the same session later in the day but ensure that it’s brief. Engage in several sessions daily because even humans don’t learn how to do things perfectly after just one take.
● Give Small Treats
After each training session, consider giving your dog a reward. Soft commercial food treats size for puppies, pieces of string cheese, or small hot dog pieces that it can swallow right away are good ideas.
Avoid feeding it hard, crunchy treats that take a while to chew. Give it the treat within a few seconds after it completes the desired behavior. The faster you deliver the praise, the easier it is, and the more it understands that the reason for that treat is the good behavior it showed during the training session.
Follow the reward up with verbal phrases like ‘good boy.’ Avoid the attitude of giving out treats during training sessions or when you think your puppy looks cute. It will work harder when it knows that it will get something after the training than just receiving it during the training. Don’t yell at your dog when it does something wrong or does something you don’t like instead to withhold the reward.
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● Say a Cue Word Only Once
Mention cue words such as sit or down once. Dogs are smart, just like humans. They will follow your command the first time you say it. Repeating it many times will not help it sharpen its skill instead, it will end up tuning you out.
● Schedule Training Before Meals
All your sessions should be scheduled before your dog’s mealtime. This will allow it to pay attention to the training, knowing that a meal will follow after that.
● Choose a Training Time with No Distractions
Choose a time that you won’t be distracted or interrupted or feel rushed. If possible, turn off your cell phone and assign someone who will answer the doorbell if it rings. This will provide you with quality time to devote to the session.
For the first few sessions, use a room that is large enough to move around. Once it’s time to progress, take it outside to preferably a fenced-in area, or keep it on a leash when you’re in an unfenced space. Distraction will vie your dog’s attention. Therefore, make sure your lessons are more interesting than street noise.
● Don’t Train When Puppy’s Not in the Mood
Don’t train your dog when it’s not in the mood. It’s supposed to focus and be eager for the session, so once you understand that it’s hot, tired, or in the middle of playing, just let it be and schedule the training for later.
● Don’t Get Angry with Your Puppy
If one time you become frustrated while you train your puppy, try as much as possible not to get angry with it. Just quietly end the session and try again later. Many dogs tend to stop paying attention once they are yelled at by their trainers. They might end up becoming scared of the training and decide to follow directions different from the path you put them on. Stay calm and relax to enforce positivity onto your dog.
Conclusion
Dogs, like humans are intelligent and loyal animals. If trained well, they can be the best companions you could ever think of. As a beginner owning a puppy the tips written above can help you set your dog on a right path. Remember, the goal is to create a deep bond between you two so use positive words or encouragement when training your puppy.