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Start With These Basic Dog Training Techniques

by: LeeDobbins
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You have to know some basic dog training techniques to effectively communicate with your dog and train him. Although man has been interacting with dogs for centuries sometimes communication between the two can be confusing.

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 are naturally pack animals. They are descendants of the wolf which is a social animal and functions best with interactive play and a strict hierarchy. The idea of the 'lone wolf' seems out of character based on the social habits of the wolf.

Training can start as early as possible. For some breeds, four weeks is a good time to start. For the first several months, you should allocate at least thirty minutes per day, though a full hour is preferred, for training.

All training has similar guidelines or dog training techniques that should be followed, although housebreaking is a bit different, however we will leave the specifics of that to a different article.

First, you have to let him know who is boss. The critical thing to always keep in mind when it comes to your dog is that dogs have a hierarchy - there is the alpha dog, beta, and so on. To maintain obedience from your dog you must establish the role of alpha dog of the pack.

Depending on the breed of the dog, or sometimes the individual dog, the training technique that is used will be either more difficult or possibly easier. Some dogs are more outgoing, similar to humans. Attitude is what counts the most, though training tools like collars and leashes, and commands are also useful. Your dog should never be allowed to think he is in charge.

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 training a young dog, it can be effective to lay the dog on their back and place a firm hand in the middle of their chest. Hold this position until the dog lowers his paws, demonstrating submission. Often it is necessary to reinforce this behavior by putting your face close to theirs which simulates dominance.

Begin by using a short leash which will hinder the dog's natural tendency to run and play. It is essential to allow some free time for the dog to run in order to promote good health however. Initially, this time should be scheduled before or after training but not during.

The first step is to choose a series of short and sweet commands, like sit, stay, down, and come. Each should sound distinctly different to avoid confusion between them. Your voice should be firm but not punitive. Make sure that you communicate that you're the boss, but not that you are mad at the dog. Stay away from using two-worded commands like 'sit down' because they tend to confuse the 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.

Remember that dogs have a word understanding roughly equal to a toddler so you need to keep your meanings simplistic. For example, don't use the verbal command "Down" to mean lay down as well as to indicate not to jump. This will just confuse your dog - stick to 1 meaning per word.

Being patient, clear and consistent with your dog training techniques will result in an easily trained pet that understands what you want and complies. In short, your efforts will be rewarded with a dog that is a joy to be around!

About the Author

Learn how to eliminate bad behaviors in your dog and turn him into a pet that is as good as gold with the dog training techniques at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/.

Start With These Basic Dog Training Techniques

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