Build a Relationship With Your Dog Through Training

Here's Today's Joke: How do you stop a dog smelling?
Cover its nose.

Dog training is all about building relationships.

Good dog training is all about building positive relationships where the dog has respect for it's owner and also where the dog realizes that the owner is the master and leader of the pack.

If the owner assumes the position of the leader of the pack and the dog knows and respects that position then it will feel more secure and be a happier pet.

Under no circumstances should the dog be fearful of it's master and that is why most current methods of dog training focus on the positive aspects of the dogs actions and reward it for the good actions that it takes rather than punishing it for anything that it does wrong.

A well trained dog that respects it's master will always want to please, and that leads to a better-behaved dog both at home and when socializing with other dogs and people.

These positive training techniques are also great at retraining dogs that have consistently done something wrong, as they will quickly learn that the rewards for good actions are far greater than the attention they are seeking from their negative actions.

Even older dogs can be trained quite well by using these methods so a dog is certainly never too old to learn new tricks.

Train Your Dog To Come When Called

Dog Quote: A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

....Josh Billings

The Command to Come when Called

One of the most basic and important commands that you will need to teach your dog is to come when called.

No matter what else happens, if you have taught your dog this command you will always be able to maintain control whether at home or in public.

Should your dog ever get off it's leash or escape from your property you will know that when you call it that it will come back and this certainly makes life a lot easier for the dog owner.

For working dogs, this is a vital skill as a handler needs to know that at any time they can get the dog back beside them and ready for their next command.

When you are comfortable that your dog knows the commands of 'stay' and 'come' you no longer have to be as concerned that it needs to be kept on a leash at all times.

This allows both the owner and the dog to have a lot more freedom.

Generally, this command of 'come' is incorporated when teaching the dog to stay, as these two lessons work hand-in-hand with one another.

The dog is first taught to stay and then the owner will teach the dog to come, while still on an extended leash.

After gaining success in getting the dog to come, while still on a leash, the owner can then teach it to do so without the leash.

Obviously for an untrained animal this would be better taught in an enclosed area until the dog has learned to respond to that command.

Train Your Dog Not To Run Away

Here's Today's Joke: Why did the Dachshund bite the woman's ankle?

Because he couldn't reach any higher.

No owner likes to get a call from the pound telling them that their dog has been picked up for roaming the streets, but even the best trained dog can escape and end up in places where it shouldn't be.

In many towns you can find yourself in legal trouble if your dog is found to be wandering the streets.

And quite rightly so as a dog on the loose can do quite a lot of damage to other people's property, pets, children and elderly folk.

Dogs that generally try to escape from their property are usually those that have not been trained or are bored.

Boredom is most often the case, and giving your dog suitable stimulation to ensure that he/she remains contented on the property can prevent this.

This can be as simple as leaving toys for your dog to play with, fresh water and a suitable place to sleep, shelter from the weather, and anything else that the dog might need while you aren't in attendance.

Obviously a big fence and a locked gate will go a long way to deter your dog from escaping.

Consider the alternative of trying to catch your dog once it has escaped, and the damage that can be done, should it run out in front of a cyclist or a car.

Prevention is always best.

Giving your dog regular exercise will also reduce the likelihood of it wanting to escape.

Even the fact that the dog knows it will be getting exercise when you arrive home will eliminate much of the possibility of having it escape during the time when you're away.

If your dog gets this exercise before you go out you are less likely to have problems because it is more likely to sleep after having exercised.

Train Your Dog Not To Jump Up on People

Dog Quote: They have dog food for constipated dogs.

If your dog is constipated, why screw up a good thing?

Stay indoors and let 'em bloat!

....David Letterman

Jumping on People

No matter how much we might enjoy our pet jumping up to greet us, there are many people who dislike having a strange dog coming up and jumping on them.

For many people it can be a frightening experience as not everyone is a dog lover.

Besides that, many people just don't want dirty paw marks over their clothing.

It can also create major problems if a large dog were to jump up on a child or an elderly person.

Dogs will generally jump up on people because they are overly excited and pleased to see them - even if that person is a stranger.

Many people inadvertently encourage this behavior by rewarding the dog with attention after the dog has jumped up on them.

The dog then seeks similar reward from other people whether they like it or not.

This is detrimental to the proper training of the dog and all members of the family must realize that they're doing more harm than good by encouraging their dog to jump up on people.

Consistency is important in all forms of dog training, where members of the dog's family will need to exercise discipline and accept that training will be all the more difficult if the dog is allowed to continue with this behavior.

Failure to do so will lead to confusion with the pet not knowing what is right or wrong.

An alternative to having your dog jump up on you and other people is to teach it to sit and lift it's paw when greeting you for a handshake or similar tricks where the dog will be rewarded with attention.

Training Your Dog for a Leash

Dog Quote: Oh, that dog!

Ever hear of a German shepherd that bites its nails?

Barks with a lisp?

You say, "Attack!" And he has one.

All he does is piddle.

He's nothing but a fur-covered kidney that barks.

....Phillis Diller

Training your dog to not pull on the leash

One of the most common problems people have with their dogs is pulling on the leash.

There are many reasons why this can occur, and quite often it is nothing more than excitement on the dogs part.

If this is the case, allowing the dog a few minutes to simmer down before taking it on his/her walk can often stop it.

Once again, the dogs pack mentality can come to play with the dog assuming leadership over its owner as the leader of the pack.

This comes back to the basics of dog training where the dog must be aware of who the master is.

Failure to get this basic dog training technique under control can lead to all sorts of problems, particularly if the dog gets off the leash.

In the presence of other dogs, and sometimes young children this problem becomes pronounced.

One of the basics of dog training is for the owner to establish him or herself as the leader of the pack otherwise no training can be effective.

Once this is been established you can start the process of getting your dog to walk calmly beside you with or without a leash.

And that process can only start if you are able to get your dog to sit calmly while you put the leash around its neck.

That is the very first step of training your dog to walk without pulling in its leash.

Once you succeed in that task, you can move on to the next step where you can get your dog to walk beside you without a leash and be assured that he/she won't run away.

And from there you will not be one of those people where the dog is taking them for a walk.

Preventing Unwanted Urination From Your Dog

Dog Quote: If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.

This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.

....Mark Twain

Preventing Unwanted Urination.

There are a number of reasons why dogs have problems with inappropriate urination and in some cases defecation.

Unfortunately most dog owners don't understand why this happens and are unsure what to do.

It can even happen to dogs that have been trained and housebroken.

Many dog owners who are unable to address the problem simply take their dog to the pound as they assume there is no alternative to the problem that they are unable to solve.

Unwanted urination is a very common problem that many dog owners face and is more common than most people would assume.

You will need to eliminate any medical reasons first, as there could be bladder infections that are causing the urination, but aside from that there are other reasons why dogs will urinate.

One of the most common reasons for a dog to lose control of it's bladder is from excitement and you will generally see this happen a lot more with puppies.

With puppies this is a lack of bladder control that will generally stop, as they get older.

Puppies are often unaware that they are urinating when they get excited and to reprimand them for doing this will cause confusion.

To get angry with your dog for excitement urination can lead to other problems where the dog will begin to urinate from submissiveness rather than excitement thereby creating another problem that will need to be addressed.

With excitement urination the best cure is prevention and that is achieved by not allowing your dog to get overly excited.

And the best way to stop your dog getting over excited in certain circumstances is to expose him/her to those situations more often until they no longer get excited to the extent that they urinate.

Puppies will eventually grow out of excitement urination as they develop better bladder control.

Submissive urination is something that is common in the wild, where dogs, being pack animals, show their submissiveness to the leader of the pack by lowering themselves and urinating.

Where a dog is showing signs of submissive urination this is effectively a sign of insecurity and is very often associated with dogs that have been abused.

It can be difficult to correct submissive urination and quite often the best method is to ignore what is happening and focus on developing a better relationship with your pet and help to build it's self confidence.