By: Michael Royce
There are many, many ways to approach training your dog. You
could hire out a professional trainer (expensive...ouch!). You
could enroll in a less expensive class (time-consuming...ugh!).
Or you could carve out the time from your own busy schedule and
do-it-yourself (can you spell commitment?).
I favor doing it yourself for a lot of reasons, not the least
of which is that it's the best way to get to know your little
best friend. But if you're doing it yourself, you definitely
don't want to waste time or effort, right? So here are 4
time-crunching, zero-wasted-effort dog training tips that will
work.
1) Keep Your Sessions Short
Your pup isn't like us. He can't "force" his attention on
anything for very long. So you need to capture it quickly and
work with it quickly. That means keeping your training sessions
short...probably never really more than 10 minutes when you're
starting out. You can compensate for the short time by having
multiple sessions during the day or evening....think
"mini-sessions." Then, when his attention span starts to
stretch, you can stretch your sessions out too. Shorter sessions
actually make for faster learning.
2) Keep Your Sessions Fun
Think about this for a second. Since both you and your dog have
to go through the same training together anyway, why not make it
fun?
Look for ways to catch your dog "doing it right" and pile on
the praise when he does. That will be fun for him and his
reaction will make it fun for you too. Be positive! Smile!
Laugh! Set a "fun" tone. Then don't be surprised if both you and
your dog start to look forward to your sessions together.
3) Hold Your Sessions In Different Locations
Many dog owners have been successful at getting their dogs to
understand and obey them over a large range of commands. Then
they see it all fall apart as soon as they go to a new location.
It happened to me. I had trained up one of my best buddies to
the point where he obeyed me almost perfectly. The problem was,
I had only trained him inside my apartment and in a small
adjacent side yard. Then the first time we went to the park,
WOW, it was like I had a different dog!
You see, I'd been working him out in the same surroundings and
when those surrounding changed, he thought the rules had changed
too. So I learned my lesson and since that time have tried to
train my pets in lots of different locations. After a while they
learn that the rules are the same no matter where they are.
4) Make Your Sessions Consistent
It's probably hard to believe, but your dog really wants to
know his place in your world...and he's happy for you to define
it. You can define it more easily for him if you're consistent.
Don't vary your training too much in the beginning. Work your
lessons in the same way, the same order. Train him in the basic
fundamental commands until he starts to understand and obey.
Once you've established that framework, you can add more
commands and a little variety. This will give him a strong
comfort level about what you expect from him...and once he knows
that, he'll show steady improvement.
Keep in mind that every owner/pet pair is a unique combination.
And for training to be successful, they have to find their own
unique "rhythm." Using these dog training tips will help you
find your rhythm quicker...so you and your pooch can build a
strong bond that will last for years.
About the Author: Michael Royce is an amateur dog trainer who
has lived with, trained, (and been trained by) more than a dozen
great dogs in the last 25 years. He is a regular contributor to
several websites and is a co-founder of http://The-Dog-Zone.net.
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=265883&ca=Pets
