Train Your Own Dog

Training your own dog can be both fun and rewarding

. There's no reason why you can't train your dog and do a great job at it. With the help of a couple of good books or maybe a video you can teach your dog all of the basics of obedience.

Most people want to teach their dog to come, sit, lie down, heel and stay. These are the things that you and your dog would learn to do in a basic obedience course taught by a trainer. It's not hard to teach your dog any of these things yourself.

Come -- Come is one of the most important commands that you can teach your dog. Teaching your dog to come when you call him can save his life. If your dog gets out of the house you can call him back from the street before he is his by a car, for example.

To teach your dog to come your dog should be wearing a good collar for training. A flat nylon buckle collar is fine. Some people prefer a simple choke chain collar. Either will work. You can teach come in your backyard or some other place without a lot of distractions, but preferably one that is enclosed. Attach a long cord or rope (about 15 feet) to your dog's collar and allow him to walk around the yard. When he is away from you give the command "Come" and pull the lead to you. Praise and reward your dog when he gets to you. You will need to repeat this exercise a number of times before your dog associates "come" with actually coming to you, but he will get the hang of it. After that it's simply a question of working on the exercise until your dog comes promptly each time. When you are confident in your dog you can begin to work without the rope but be sure you're in the enclosed area.

Sit -- It's not hard to teach a dog to sit. In fact, there are several ways. One easy way is to wait until your dig sits on his own and then praise and reward him for sitting. He won't know why you're praising and rewarding him so do it again as soon as he sits. After a few times he will figure out that sitting is bringing him goodies. Start putting the command "Sit" with the action. That's all there is to teaching your dog to sit.

Lie Down -- You can teach your dog to lie down from the sitting position. Tell your dog to sit. Praise and reward him. Then you can use a piece of food to lure him into the lying down position. Praise and reward him when he lies down. Keep doing this and add the command "Lie Down." Do this until your dog will lie down without the intermediate step of sitting first. Or, you can wait until your dog lies down on his own and praise and reward him for lying down. Then keep praising and rewarding as soon as he lies down. Add the command and your dog will quickly learn to lie down when told to do so.

Heel -- It's not hard to teach a dog to heel. Your dog needs to be wearing his collar and a good leash. The leash should be about four to six feet long. Dogs traditionally walk on the owners left side, at about the level the position of your knee, but for training purposes it's not too important that you get all the details right at first. You just want your dog walking calmly at your side, stopping when you stop.

Start with your dog on leash walking on your left. You can walk forward and give the heel command. Praise and reward your dog for walking calmly. You don't have to walk very far before letting your dog know that he's doing well. With this exercise it is important to repeat it enough so that your dog gets the idea that he's supposed to walk calmly at your side, but don't repeat it endlessly so that he gets completely bored. Vary the places where you walk -- walk straight, in circles, in different directions. It helps if you are someplace like a fenced yard. Try to avoid doing this exercise in places where there are too many distractions before you are confident that your dog won't take off and pull you after something he sees. Once your dog knows that heel means walking calmly at your side you can teach him to sit politely when you stop.

Stay -- Stay is harder for some dogs to learn since it means teaching them to stay in one place while you walk away. You can teach them to stay in the sit, lying down, or even i the standing position. You should use your long lead or rope again to teach stay. Put your dog in the sitting or lying down position, with the long lead attached to his collar. Tell him to "Stay" and walk a few feet away. If he gets up to follow you put him back in the sitting or lying down position and tell him again to stay while you walk away a few feet. Wait just a minute and then call him to you saying your dog's name and "Come." Praise your dog and reward him. You want your dog to have the long lead on in case he decides to wander off when you move away from him. As your dog learns what "Stay" means you can gradually increase the distance you move away from him and the time you ask him to stay and wait for you to call him to you. Eventually your dog will stay for a couple of minutes, without the lead, and you may be out of sight but this will take a lot of practice.

You can certainly train your dog at home yourself. It just takes commitment and a desire to have fun with your dog. If the two of you work together you can have a dog that knows as much as any dog trained by a professional.

by: Tristan Andrews

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