subject: How To Turn Your Cujo Into Lassie [print this page] You love your little furry four-legged family member who is full of beans no matter what. Too many times a new puppy can upset the balance in your household. For the sake of the puppy's and family's happiness it is a good idea to start training you dog as soon as possible. Having the right approach, coupled with the right knowledge will help you to make sure that your furry little family member is well behaved. Here are four tips that the pros use to train all the dogs that pass through their care.
Who Is The Boss?
All dogs are pack animals that will only follow the commands of their alpha male. To stop confusion and back-biting within the pack there is only ever one pack leader at a time. What you need to make your dog realize that you are the alpha male. You need to show your dog that you are in charge by taking him for walks when you get home and helping him to complete obedience training. Controlling the amount of food and when your dog gets it is another way of asserting your pack leader status over your dog. If you dog learns that you will feed him twice a day and no more then he will learn that you are the pack leader.
Always Be Consistent
If your dog doesn't learn a command experts say that it isn't his fault, professionals agree that in most cases it's the owner that is at fault when a dog doesn't understand what you want him to do. Every matter in a dogs world is black and white whereas humans see things in varying shades. People know that "Come" and "C'mon" have become synonymous, dogs on the other hand don't know that they mean the same thing so saying "C'mon" in place of "Come" will only succeed in confusing the dog. To limit the confusion to a bare minimum it is vital that you use the same tone of voice and the same words when teaching your dog a new command.
Respect Your Dog And He Will Listen To You
To build a happy relationship with your dog you must share a feeling of mutual respect between the you. It's not hard to build a bond based on mutual respects you for your position as the alpha male you must respects all of his needs. Respect is not something that you will find by intimidating your dog or cramming treats down it's throat. The only reward you will get if you treat him too much or are too stern is very erratic behavior, a bond of respect comes from praising him and correcting him properly.
It Is All In The Timing
Time factors in to every part of your furry friends training schedule. The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" isn't true, it is just much easier to train a puppy than it is to train a fully grown dog. Some owners make mistakes by trying to have long drawn out training session with their pets. Some dogs have the same type of attention spans as children so having the odd ten minute training session is a better way to keep your dog from being distracted. Timing also plays a part in asserting your status of alpha male. In a natural dog pack the alpha male will eat first so mimicking this behavior in your own home be feeding your dog after you've finished eating is a great way of reminding him of who is the top dog.
Where as dog training has to be done, it doesn't have to be looked at as work. So that training you dog doesn't become a chore is it important to make sure that you find a trainer that makes things easy and enjoyable for both of you.
