Tips for Successful Dog Training

Training your dog isn't rocket science. However, it requires discipline and perseverance on the part of you AND your dog. Here are some key training tips for success for both you and your dog: 1. Partnership. You are your dog are a partnership, not a competition. Naturally, you are the teacher and he is the student, but you are both working toward the same goal. You need to continually and frequently interact and practice with your dog in order for the lessons to be reinforced and remembered.

2. Attitude is everything. It costs nothing to praise your dog, so praise him frequently. Not just when he does something spectacular, but even for something as simple as just paying attention to you, or sitting quietly when asked. Just think how you'd feel if all you ever heard was correction and a stern voice from a teacher or boss. Well-timed praise will go a long way in your dog's training process.

3. Fairness. If you don't understand what's expected of you, imagine how frustrated you would become. The same goes for your dog. Make sure he understands what you expect of him, and be sure any punishment fits the crime. Don't release your anger on your dog. A correction can be as simple as withholding praise. Before punishing your dog, be sure to ask yourself if you are being fair.

4. Consistency is key. Imagine learning a foreign language. If today your teacher tells you the word for "blue" is "azure" but the next day he tells you the word for "blue" is "rock" and then the next day the word for "blue" is "orange" --- well, let's just say you're never going to learn the language this teacher is teaching you. Remember, keep your training consistent, always use the same language when training your dog. If you mean "sit" don't say "down." If you mean "down" don't say "No!" It's especially important that "sit" ALWAYS means "sit" and not just when you're in a training session, but every single time. And always the FIRST time you say it, not when you've repeated it several times.a
5. Slow and steady wins the race. It's important to take it slowly, but you should always try to build on his learning. Teaching him to sit is an important first step, but next teach him to sit until you tell him he can move.....gradually building until you can actually leave the room and he will remain seated until you have released him from his sit.

6. Never ending story. Dog training is about more than completing a training class. Dog training is never over. It is a constant, ongoing process of teaching, practicing, reinforcing, and correcting. As a dog owner, you must constantly be training. The lessons you and your dog have learned in training class or at home must be used over and over in your dog's everyday life so that they are never forgotten.Just like humans, your dog's training must constantly be refreshed, or he will forget it. Do you remember learning Algebra? If your 7th grade son asked you to help him with an Algebra problem today, and you haven't done an Algebra problem since you received your high school diploma, chances are, you're going to have forgotten most of the Algebra basics. If you don't use it, you lose it. The same with dog training.

Articles Source - Free Articles

About the Author
Lisa Pallardy is the owner of http://www.BarkTalk.com, specializing in New Puppy Announcements, and gifts for dogs and dog lovers.

Dog Birth Control

Who would have thought that there is dog birth control? Before becoming interested in the topic, I too was clueless that such a thing even existed! Being a dog lover, it breaks my heart to go to local pounds and animal shelters and see hundreds of dogs locked up in cages without a loving family. Every dog and puppy needs a loving, caring family to take care of it and play with it, giving it the attention it deserves. This is where dog birth control comes to into play.

If you're like me, you consider your dog to be part of the family, especially if he has been around for a few years. Most dog lovers (myself included) see their pooch as another son or daughter. And just like homeless children and overpopulation is a problem troubling the world today, an overpopulation of dogs is an issue just as serious.

Every hour in the United States, 2000 dogs are born. A majority of these dogs end up abandoned or dead because of uncontrolled breeding and overpopulation. The price is adding up too: American taxpayers are paying around $230 million for animal control agencies to cope with this problem. The solution? Killing all unwanted, homeless dogs!

Breeding dogs is serious business, and if you are considering it, you should know the facts. Research your dogs breed and learn the proper breeding methods. However, if you are NOT considering breeding your dogs and would like to prevent your beloved puppy from having a bunch of cute puppies, then you should look into dog birth control. Just like human birth control methods, there are actually dog birth control pills, dog condoms and other methods to prevent female dogs from going into heat! There are also birth control options for male dogs. Dog condoms are increasing in popularity and are in most tests, are about as effective as human counterparts. They come in sizes designed to fit small, medium, and large breed dogs. The condoms are available in meat scented and lubricated to increase pleasure for both dogs. The first dog condoms were to set to appear in most major pet stores in fall of 2005. Currently there is a female condom being designed as well which is set to hit the shelves sometime in 2007. As always, consult your veterinarian first so that they can examine your dog and determine the proper and most effective method of birth control! Remember to put the healthy and safety of your pet first before using birth control! Another great option for controlling unwanted dog births is to spay or neauter your pet.

Although many will disagree, spaying and neutering your dog has many benefits and will make for a happier, calmer, family friendly dog. Not to mention the fact that by spaying and neutering you dog you are preventing the birth of unwanted puppies. By doing this, the main focus of the dog's life will be his/her human family. A lot of people out there against this for the reason that it is "cruel" or "inhumane". Well, it is just as cruel and inhumane to let dogs roam endlessly, producing millions of unwanted puppies whose only fate will be death because of overpopulation. It is just like failing to educate our teenagers about proper birth control safety methods. There are millions of babies born each year to mothers who aren't ready to have a child, and so they end up put up for adoption, in shelters or foster homes. I honestly see no difference in these two scenarios. Dogs are living, breathing beings and should be treated with respect. Spaying and neutering may seem cruel, but for the fact alone that prevents many health problems should be enough to convince any dog lover. No one actually enjoys seeing their dog suffer, spaying and neutering can put an end to that. Animal shelters do what they can to connect homeless dogs with a home, but there are far too many dogs and far too few homes for all of them. It's a tragedy that we're allowing these dogs to be born only to turn our heads when they are put to death. Be responsible! Have your dog spayed or neutered, and invest in dog birth control if necessary. It is truly the only way to control the dog population, and have a happy, healthy, family oriented dog for life!

www.dog-birth-control.com

Advice To Using Positive Reinforcement And Rewards To Train Your Dog

Training dogs using positive reinforcement and reward training has long been recognized as both highly effective for the owner and a positive experience for the dog..


Raining dogs using positive reinforcement and reward training has long been recognized as both highly effective for the owner and a positive experience for the dog. Positive reinforcement training is so important that it is the only method used to train dangerous animals like lions and tigers for work in circuses and in the movie and television industry. Proponents of positive reinforcement swear by the effectiveness of their techniques, and it is true that the vast majority of dogs respond well to these training methods.

One reason that positive reinforcement training is so effective is that is uses rewards to teach the dog what is expected of it. When the dog performs the desired behavior, it is provided with a reward, most often in the form of a food treat, but it could be a scratch behind the ears, a rub under the chin or a pat on the head as well. The important thing is that the dog is rewarded consistently for doing the right thing. Reward training has become increasingly popular in recent years, but chances are some sort of reward training between humans and dogs has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years.

When understanding what makes reward training so effective, some knowledge of the history of humans and dogs is very helpful. The earliest dogs were probably wolf pups that were tamed and used by early humans for protection from predators, as alarm systems and later for guarding and herding livestock. It is possible that the wolf pups that made the best companions were the most easily trained, or it is possible that these early dogs were orphaned or abandoned wolf pups. Whatever their origin, there is little doubt today that the vast variety of dogs we see today have their origin in the humble wolf. Wolf packs, like packs of wild dogs, operate on a strict pack hierarchy. Since wolf and dog packs hunt as a group, this type of hierarchy, and the cooperation it brings, is essential to the survival of the species.

Every dog in the pack knows his or her place in the pack, and except in the event of death or injury, the hierarchy, once established, rarely changes. Every dog, therefore, is hard wired by nature to look to the pack leader for guidance. The basis of all good dog training, including reward based training, is for the handler to set him or herself up as the pack leader. The pack leader is more than just the dominant dog, or the one who tells all the subordinates what to do. (To Be Continued...)

Please Visit http://www.absolute-dog-training.com/positive-reinforcement-and-reward-training.html To Read The Full Article... Discover The Techniques That Professional Trainers Are Using To Train Dogs In Less Than 1 Week - And How You Can Do It Too With Proven Simple Steps! Learn This For FREE by visiting http://www.absolute-dog-training.com