Adult Dog Training: Teach Your Adult Dog New Tricks
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By the time your dog has reached adulthood, he should already have been well domesticated and able to enjoy a harmonious relationship with you. Your dog’s adult years should also be a more relaxed time for you, knowing that your dog has been house trained and no longer needs to be disciplined nor to be kept on a leash to stop his aggression.
At this stage, he would also enjoy the extra freedom you can now grant him to do some “jobs”. He would by now mastered his skills to listen and understand your expectations, which will make him more confident.
Although much of the dog training he had when he was still a puppy are paying off now that he is more matured, it does not necessarily follow that all his training should completely stop. It is highly recommended by most trainers that adult dog training sessions be given to more matured dogs in order to reinforce their early lessons on obedience and discipline.
A weekly visit to a dog trainer can provide your dog that opportunity to refresh his skills and at the same time strengthen his bond with you as you and your dog go through the training activities. The old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” is not completely true, if you help your dog maintain an active lifestyle which can also give him opportunities to learn new things daily.
A few short adult dog training sessions on agility for example, will help your dog stay fit throughout his adult life. The training sessions will also provide your dog a good deal of physical and mental exercises to prevent him from getting bored. We know that most of bad dog behavior easily resurfaces when a dog is not given enough mental stimulation or physical exercise.
It is then essential to create a stimulating environment for your adult dog which will keep him occupied and prevent him from getting bored. Boredom is one of the biggest frustrations of domesticated dogs who are usually left on their own during the day. This results to developing negative behaviors such as excessive barking or chewing on your couch or your child’s shoes.
Your adult dog will still need a balanced amount of physical and mental exercise as part of his daily life. Adult dog training activities that stimulate him mentally and demand some physical stamina from him will keep him busy, healthy and happy. The overall quality of his life will improve, which will actually even add more years to his life.
Dog Socialization – How to Make Your Puppy More Sociable
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Teaching your puppy social skills is critical and should be started while your dog is still between four weeks to four months old. The period before your puppy reaches 4 months is a crucial time when he could learn new skills and acceptable dog behavior.
A puppy’s brain gets to be fully developed when he reaches his 12th week of age. This means anything taught to him beyond that age may take more time because he may need to unlearn his conditioned inappropriate responses. If you expose him to different people, other dogs and new environments at an early age, your dog will learn how to interact with others in a positive way. The process of teaching dog socialization may be a tedious one, but it is necessary for your dog to learn this skill as early as possible.
Puppy training at home should help improve your dog socialization skills. These skills are necessary to prevent your dog from developing aggression or reacting unfavorably in strange situations. If your dog fails to learn social skills while he is young, he may develop fear and may resort to biting when dealing with strangers or being in unfamiliar situations.
You can help your puppy adjust more to his new environment by exposing him to new experiences and teaching him how to respond to these stimuli without fear. Here are 3 ways you can help your puppy learn social skills:
Encourage interaction
When you take home your puppy for the first time, try to integrate him into the family right away. Put his crate or play pen where you would usually have family time together. Never tie him in a place where other dogs may try to agitate him. This is not a good experience for a young pup and may lead to him developing aggression towards other dogs.
Make opportunities to socialize with other dogs
If you have friends who have trained puppies, you can let your pup join in active play with them. Make sure though that none of the dogs start bullying your pup, otherwise he may learn aggression as a reaction to fear from a bigger or a more dominant dog. It is best to separate the bully dog from the rest of the pack, rather than trying to rescue your pup all the time. Make sure you present your puppy rewards if he showed good dog behavior during play time.
Introduce him to the neighborhood
One way to teach your puppy to socialize is by taking him out on walks where he would get to meet other people and dogs. You should keep him on a leash, however, although you can loosen it a little bit. A very tight leash may be telling your dog that it is not safe for him to go on his own.
Never force your dog to socialize. Instead, watch his reactions every time you take him out, and if he seems hesitant to try a new experience at first, do it in stages until he gets familiarized with it. Find time to encourage dog socialization with your pup and you’ll be the proud owner of a happier and friendlier dog.
Should You Use Crate Training for Your Golden Retriever?
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A lot of golden retriever owners may not be too keen on the idea of putting their cute and adorable golden retriever puppy inside a crate the minute they take it home, for fear that it will do more damage than good to the puppy.
Golden retrievers are by nature very cuddly and affectionate. They are usually so cute and adorable that it’s hard to imagine them wreaking havoc on your home once they grow up with very little guidance. With their fuzzy bodies, puppy dog eyes, you can easily get hooked on them and maybe even give excuses for the bad behavior they may show or for manipulating you to give in to their demands.
But remember, no matter how cute and cuddly your golden retriever maybe, it still needs discipline or you’ll end up unhappy with it in the long run. Without giving it a proper golden retriever puppy training, it may grow up either stubborn, lazy or too aggressive. In other words, as early as the day your golden sets foot inside your home, you need to educate it and show that you are the “leader of the pack.”
When housebreaking your golden retriever, it is best to use a crate. When you use a crate to housetrain your golden, you are not just keeping your home safe from poop accidents or from a bored puppy who will resort to chewing your prized possessions, but you are also giving your pup a safe haven, where it can feel comfortable, even while you are away.
By crate training your golden, you can also go on about your daily tasks without getting too worried about your puppy, knowing that it is safe and is not out in the yard digging or inside the house chewing on your shoes. You can then reward it for its good behavior when you get back by giving it treats or a hug, or taking it out to play.
For very young golden puppies however, it is not advisable to keep them inside a crate for longer than 3 hours. If you find that you would have to be out of the house the whole day, find a friend or an accommodating neighbor who could let you pup out for a few hours to walk around, relieve itself or play under supervision and then put it inside the crate again. There is not a fixed period of time as to up to what age should a golden retriever be put inside a crate, but usually a good 12 months should be enough to get it trained.
Of course, if you find that you can trust your golden puppy sooner than a year not to show any unacceptable behavior, you can gradually give it more independence and allow it more privileges as rewards for good behavior.
What You Need to Know About German Shepherd Dogs
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Are you at the point of choosing a family dog, yet can not really decide which dog breed is the best? There are so many dog breeds around that you need to know exactly what you are looking for in order to make a wise decision. If you are looking for a smart yet strong dog, then a German Shepherd may just be the right one for you.
This dog has been around for centuries now, originating from the Bavaria Region where his ancestors were trained to herd sheep. Because his genetic make up is that of a protective dog, a German Shepherd is often used in “jobs” that call for protection, such as police work or accompanying the blind. He is considered a guard dog and can be very protective of his owners. He is also very hard working and is well loved for his strength and intelligence.
A German Shepherd is one of the most preferred family dogs not only because of his agility and aggression towards threatening strangers, but also because he is by nature very loyal and devoted to his owners. He welcomes companionship and can easily be integrated as a new member of your family.
This dog breed can grow to the height of about 20-25 inches and can get very heavy, usually about 80-100 pounds or more. He usually sports a black and tan or grey coats. He is also a low maintenance dog, meaning he doesn’t really need a lot of grooming like other dogs do. This is because he naturally sheds especially during autumn and spring so there is no need to give him regular trimmings.
German Shepherd dogs usually need a lot of love and attention during their growing years. They are very active and playful dogs and are extremely curious with their environment. They constantly need physical exercise and mental stimulation, since they are naturally very smart. They do great in agility training programs because of their competitiveness and aggressiveness. They are easy to train and can be a wonderful family pet who can be depended on as a good protector.
If you do decide to get a German Shepherd for a dog, make sure to give him a good dog obedience training, in order to get the best out of him. A good German Shepherd dog training program can give him the physical and mental stimulation that can help him in his growing years.
Dog Behavior Training – Bringing Out The Best in Your Dog
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Do you have a dog who seems perfect enough except for his excessive barking which keeps you awake all night? Not only does he keep you awake, but he could also be making it unpleasant for your neighbors as well! You would not really want it to get to the point where you will hear complaints from your neighbors, or worse, when you and your dog will be reported to the dog pound.
Excessive barking is just one of the bad behaviors that a good dog training can help you correct. You need to find out what is causing your dog’s excessive barking – perhaps he is afraid of being left alone outside or maybe he is hungry or cold. Whatever the reason may be, you would benefit if you could understand your dog’s needs better to find out what is causing his constant barking.
Perhaps you never communicated to your dog that his barking in the middle of the night is unacceptable behavior. Constant barking maybe corrected early, while the dog is still young. Sometimes, a dog barks a lot because he is suffering from separation anxiety. If he received training while he was still a pup on how to deal with separation anxiety, then you would have a dog who would have learned to overcome his fear of being left alone.
There are different ways to change your dog’s behavior for the better, however, changes in his behavior will not happen overnight. The process of behavior modification has to be reinforced daily, before your dog will show signs of better behavior.
You need good guidance on how to train your dog to overcome his bad habits. There are many professional dog trainers who can guide you or who can conduct the training themselves. A good self help ebook on dog behavior training can even be an effective guide in training your dog to be obedient, and more fun to live with.
Whichever way you decide to go – either train your dog yourself or hire a professional dog trainer, you’ll reap the benefits of a happier and more obedient dog who will no longer give you sleepless nights. So start with a program now in order to bring out the best in your dog.
What A Good Dog Obedience Training Can Do For Your Dog
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There are several methods that dog trainers use to train a dog to be obedient. Some of these methods are crate training, positive reinforcement, clicker training, collar and leash training. The purpose of these training techniques is to teach your dog to be more obedient and at the same time build a stronger and happier relationship between you and your dog.
Whatever breed of dog you may have, you will benefit from the right training method in terms of the peace of mind that you will gain from a healthy relationship with your dog. It is also beneficial to your dog because obedience training will help him understand what is expected of him.
Elements of a Good Dog Obedience Training
A good dog obedience training method should aim to foster a harmonious relationship between you and your dog. It should help you communicate your expectations from your dog and it should teach him how to meet these expectations. It should use good dog training techniques such as rewarding good behavior to help your dog change unacceptable habits.
An effective dog obedience training should also teach your dog to recognize your voice so that you can easily give him simple commands like “sit”, “stay” or “come.”
If you want your dog to be more sociable towards other people and other dogs, an obedience training will give him the basic rules to achieve this. It will help him overcome behaviors such as excessive barking, dog food aggression, digging or chewing that are unacceptable to humans and to other dogs as well.
Benefits of a Good Dog Obedience Training
Obedience training that is fun and easy will give you the benefit of a more harmonious relationship with your dog. It will help you communicate the fact to your dog that you are the leader of the pack and you are there to be obeyed and at the same time to take care of him.
Good dog training techniques will also help your dog know simple rules which will help him avoid confusion which is actually the result of poor communication. Your dog will also enjoy a less stressful existence with you if he is made to understand your rules. This will make him more confident and more relaxed in his dealings with you and other people in his environment.
Once your dog is trained well, you can give him more independence, knowing that he can be trusted more. You would also worry less about unacceptable dog behavior, as it becomes clearer to him that he is expected to obey and follow rules.
Puppy Dog Training – Effective Training For Puppies
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Dogs have lived in packs or social groups for centuries and each dog grows up knowing that it has to find its place in the group. The minute a puppy is able to interact with the rest of the litter, he has to find his position in the pack. Usually the bigger and more aggressive member of the litter becomes the leader of the pack. This is the puppy who can push other pups around to get to the food, because he is a lot bigger than the rest of them.
When a puppy is adopted by a human family, he has to discover his rank in this new pack again. If he has been used to being the boss with his litter, then he may try being the same thing with his human pack. If he has been a follower, then he will continue to be a submissive puppy with his new owners. It is up to his human family to give him proper puppy training where he will understand his rank better. His rank may change, depending on how his human family treats or trains him.
Usually, when a puppy is brought home by his human family for the first time, he is submissive and tries to blend in. But as he becomes familiar with his environment, and if his human family allows him a lot of freedom, he may grow up to be a bully or an aggressive dog.
If for example, a puppy shows some aggression towards a child in the family and was not trained early enough to curb this aggression, he may grow up thinking that his position in the family is higher than the child’s. He may growl at the child if the child wants to take away his toy, for example. If not corrected, this aggression may worsen and later on he may start attacking other people. The family should then put the puppy in its right place by giving him a stern warning every time he growls at other humans. This is why training a puppy should be a family effort and should be started at the earliest time possible.
The puppy has to understand his place in the pack hierarchy as early as possible, so that as he grows older, he will not longer have problems interacting. One of the best ways to make your puppy understand his position in the family is to make him earn everything he receives, starting at an early age. Make him sit and obey before giving him food, compliments or allowing him to go outside to play. This idea that you are his master and that he has to work for food, attention and love will be reinforced in his mind and will help him grow into the obedient dog that you want him to be.
Crate Training – Why You Should Use A Crate To Train Your Puppy
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Oftentimes you may hear comments from other people who see you putting your puppy inside a crate that this is an inhuman, abusive method of in home dog training. However, we need to make other people understand that putting dogs inside crates is not just for housebreaking them. This is to provide our dogs a safe environment that can be a comfortable place for them also.
Crate training is a harmless way of potty training and housetraining your dog. A crate should not be considered a prison, as many would think. It is actually a comfort zone for a dog, where he may retreat to if he is afraid or when he just wants to rest. Remember that having descended from wolves, dogs still carry in them that trait of being a den animal, where they would look for a warm, cozy place for rest and comfort.
Most people do not like the idea of putting puppies inside crates in order to limit their movements around the house. But this is actually the best way to make your dog understand just how much freedom can he enjoy and what are his limitations.
You can introduce your pup to the crate by giving him treats only when he is inside the crate. This way, the crate becomes a favored place and he will look at this place not as a prison but as a place where his hunger will be satisfied or where he can find comfort. Giving him full meals inside the crate must not be encouraged, though. A dog would still need to know that there is a place for everything, and meals are served in a specific place in the house.
Another good thing about using crates is you can use them for potty training. A dog would never want to stay in a place smelling of poop. Since he recognizes the crate as his den, he will never poop inside the crate. When he feels like he needs to go, he will show it in his movements and you will see that he may be trying to get out of his crate because he needs to do his business somewhere else.
It will be good to be familiar with your puppy’s “potty skeds”, which usually happen when he wakes up, right after a meal, or after he has been playing. When you get used to his body signals, you can immediately take him out of the crate and lead him to a place where you would prefer him to poop.
Remember, as your dog gets accustomed to his crate routine and enjoys the security of having his own space, never leave a puppy crated for longer than three or four hours at a time or an adult dog for longer than eight hours.
Through in home dog training and crate training, you’ll never have an unruly or too aggressive dog later on.
Coprophagia: Understanding Why Your Dog Eats His Own Poop
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Coprophagia is a technical word referring to a condition where an animal eats its own feces. If you are not ready to hire a professional dog trainer yet, you can start training your dog to overcome this kind of behavior.
For dogs, poop eating can start from as early as when they are four months old and may continue for several years. There are different theories to how this starts, but some veterinarians say that this is a habit that young dogs resort to when they are bored or simply wanting some attention. Some say that a dog can get into this habit if he was not properly toilet trained and/or has suffered maltreatment from a caretaker in the past. A dog may then decide to “hide the evidence” if he poops at a place where he’s not supposed to and this starts to become a habit as he grows older. Still another theory says that dogs eat their poop because the food being given to them are not nutritious enough that they end up eating what may seem like undigested food in their feces.
As they age, some dogs are able to overcome this habit, while others just continue eating their feces until they grow older. If the condition is not addressed soon enough it may affect your dog’s health negatively. You should do what you can to discourage this behavior with your dog.
What can you do about Coprophagia?
Training your dog to stop eating his poop is actually easier than you think. Here are some suggestions on how to deal with a poop eating dog:
1. Clean up your dog’s poop as soon as possible. Do not scream at your dog the first time you see him eat his poop, but you can tell him firmly, “No!” and keep repeating it while taking him away from his feces. It is only common sense that it is not there, he will not eat it.
2. You can try to use natural deterrents – these are substances that you can put on the dog food to make it unpalatable to dogs. Some of these natural deterrents are pumpkin, pineapple and zucchini.
3. House train your dog by leading him outdoors when he’s showing signs that he is about to poop. Dogs who are showing early signs of Coprophagia should not be left outside unattended after they defecate.
There are some health risks to a dog who consumes his own poop, like viral and bacterial infections, as well as the proliferation of parasites such as hookworms. So if you see your dog eating his poop, start training your dog to stop this behavior by following the three steps above.
Do Something About Your Dog’s Food Aggression
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You may wonder why your dog would bark or snarl at you when you approach him while he’s eating, even though you were the one who gave him the food in the first place. This kind of behavior is called dog food aggression which can be a serious matter if not rectified early enough. Your dog may get into trouble with other humans or other dogs if he keeps exhibiting this kind of behavior. This is where good dog training comes in handy.
There are many reasons why your dog would exhibit dog food aggression. Primarily, he may think he is the leader of the pack in your household. This confusion about his relationship with you may also manifest in other areas, like chewing or excessive barking. You need to find ways to establish that you are the boss of him and not the other way around.
Another reason why your dog would exhibit dog food aggression is he may be thinking this is the last food he’ll get. This usually happens with dogs who had been rescued from abusive conditions and who developed the thinking that they have to protect their food in order to survive.
It’s possible that your dog may be having problems relating not just to you but to other humans or other dogs as well. In this case, you need to take the time to take him out for walks so that he would get used to being with other people and other dogs. He may also be lacking physical exercise which is necessary to lessen his excitability or nervousness.
Here are some suggestions on how you can deal with dog food aggression:
1. Be in control when feeding your dog. It’s better to feed your dog after you had eaten and train him to sit/stay while waiting for his turn. This also establishes the fact that you are the leader of the pack that’s why you eat first. Make sure that all of your family members understand the rules in feeding him so that he will not get confused.
2 . If you see that your dog’s aggression is towards other dogs, just separate him from the other dogs during meal times.
3. Train young puppies into thinking that it’s ok to have other people or other dogs around while eating. Early training will make them get used to the idea that they don’t have to protect their food while others are around.
4. Never punish your dog by responding with violence as he may get more aggressive and even try to hurt you.
You do not have to put up with your dog’s food aggression. Try the steps above to prevent this from happening and you will see the changes in your dog’s behavior soon.
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