Home Dog Training–Can You Do it on Your Own?
In the past, nearly every dog owner relied on home dog training to get their dog to obey and perform tricks. This was in the days before obedience classes were popular, or even available. Pet owners who wanted a well behaved dog really had no choice but to spend time teaching Fido at home, and had to have the patience, willpower, and desire to do so. Many people learned how to train dogs from their parents who had owned dogs, while others used instructions found in dog training books.
While there is a ready availability of dog obedience classes today, you can still accomplish home dog training just as your ancestors did. This is an especially useful option if you just don’t have the available funds to go to obedience classes with your dog. Fortunately, dogs are simple creatures, and can be trained pretty easily with a mixture of consistency, praise, and treats. Give them enough of those, and they’ll be doing whatever you want in no time. You can teach them not only to obey, but also to perform some cute tricks that your friends will find amusing.
The most successful way to train your dog at home is to model the behavior you want from him. For example, if you want him to sit on command, then gently place him in a sitting position and say “sit” very firmly, while looking him in the eyes. Do this over and over, until finally, just say “sit” to him and see what he does. If he sits on his own, give him a treat and lots of praise for a job well done. If he doesn’t sit, then go back to modeling the sitting and the command until he learns it. Some dogs catch on more quickly than others, so have some patience if it takes a while with yours. He will get it eventually.
With home dog training, just be sure to keep praising and giving treats for the first several times your dog does the right thing on command. After a while, you can forego the treats, but be sure to always praise, at least a little. Your dog wants to know he is making you happy.
