Knowing Basic Dog Training Techniques Makes For Easier Training | Dogs

By LeeDobbins.
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The easiest way to successfully train your dog is always to start with some basic dog training techniques. Still not fully understood, the relationship between man and his best friend goes back in time many years. Although many people will say that humans are smarter than dogs, after carefully watching you might wonder if your dog still might have the edge!

Dogs interact with the world differently than humans do. While they understand and respond to people about the same way a two-year-old would there are major differences in how they experience reality. The sensory differences include a highly sensitive sense of smell as well as the differences in responding to the visual stimulus of reds and greens. An understanding of these differences will help reduce human frustration and misbehavior by the dog.

Dogs have descended from the wolf, and as a result have a pack mentality. The expression "lone wolf" is a misnomer, as wolves and dogs are by nature social creatures, who do a lot of interaction with each other, and are ruled by a strict hierarchical structure.

Beginning training at a young age is best, even four weeks is old enough depending on the breed. Devote a half hour, or better yet an hour, each day for training during the first few months.

There are some basic dog training techniques or guidelines that all types of training utilizes.

When training your dog, you want to make it clear that you are the dominant one as early as possible. Dogs are pack animals by nature, and every pack has a natural pecking order. The top dog is the alpha. It is followed by the beta dog and so on. If you want sanity in your household and you want a happy dog who knows where he stands, you need to step up and be the alpha of his pack.

Techniques for dog training actually depends on the breed and the individual dogs itself. Just like human beings some dogs are more assertive than others. Attitude is the most important thing but you should also employ the aid of leashes, collars and commands. Always be sure that you are the one in control - not your dog.

Of course, that doesn't mean that you have to use physical force to assert that you're in charge. Occasionally you'll need to use proper physical restraint, but being firm and confident will usually be sufficient for training your dog.

When they are young, try putting them on their backs with your hand firmly on their chest. When their paws go down they are signaling that they recognize your authority. Sometimes doing this in combination with close eye-to-eye contact helps, since this is the language in which dogs speak.

Begin with a short leash so you can keep the dog from pulling you all over the place. Let the dog have lots of time to run off his energy outside of training, but don't tolerate that kind of behavior or hyperactivity during training sessions.

Use single word commands like sit, stay, down, in a firm tone. Always keep your voice the same or each command but make sure each of the different commands sounds different to your dog. You should avoid using double-word commands like 'sit down' or 'stay down' as these words are similar and can confuse your dog.

Use the same tone, look and hand gesture with each verbal command. Eventually these can be used independently of one another. It is essential, however to provide the simplest, most consistent form of communication when beginning the training.

Dogs don't have the necessary resources to understand the subtle use of language, much like a toddler. Help their cognitive skill by being consistent. Do not use one phrase for more than one meaning. 'Down' should only mean 'don't jump on others or me', or 'lay on your stomach', but not both things.

Using these basic dog training techniques, along with a firm hand, some patience and a lot of love will help you have a happy and obedient pet for life!

About the Author

Training your dog to be the perfect pet all boils down to using the right dog training techniques - find out what those are at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/.

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