Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Short History Lesson On Domestic Dog Obedience Training

By Vivian Summers

You would need to understand your dog, make it pay attention and train it consistently in order to achieve the best training results.

You as the owner/trainer would need to be consistent to train your dog properly. Establish a list of rules your dog would need to follow. Once you've made these rules, practice what you preach - reward your dog for a job well done, punish your dog if he or she may misbehave or disobey the rules. Dogs traditionally respect consistent leaders. Dog training can be made easier if you are a person that the dog can follow and show respect to.

Next, your dog needs to consistently focus on you as the trainer without minding other distractions. If a dog isn't focused, he or she would routinely ignore, not understand, or refuse to understand your commands. Your dog can pay better attention and retain it through these quick and easy exercises. Shout out the word "Watch" as your dog looks at you after you call him or her over by name. By doing this, you are reinforcing your dog's attention as you aim for him or her to associate the word "Watch" to looking at you. Once you and your dog perfect the "Watch" command, your next lesson would be on how to give your dog a longer attention span. As a follow-up to the "Watch" command, give the command after you hold a doggy treat with your teeth in front of your dog. Develop your dog's ability to pay attention by standing in position for a few seconds, then praising. Repeat this exercise as needed, preferably until your dog can pay attention to you for a minute. Now you've developed good focus in your dog with a few simple exercises.

Effective dog obedience training can truly be achieved if you know how your dog thinks. Dogs are like toddlers as they have a short attention span - about 20 minutes or less. Dogs usually stop paying attention after you've trained them for about ten to twenty minutes non-stop. Try limiting your dog's training schedule to twenty to thirty minutes. If you wish to further extend your dog's commitment to training, make training fun. Look for ways that could encourage your dog to like training instead of complaining and whining. Your dog needs to appreciate training and why you are doing it for him or her. Be empathic when showing praise for a job well done, and always have enough treats to reward your dog. A happy dog is always expected to train better than an unhappy one.

Let this serve as a beginner's guide - the shortest possible way to get you started on effectively training your dog for obedience. Training doesn't have to be drudgery for doggy - he or she can enjoy the training and the time you spend together, show respect for you as the owner, and make you look like a good and responsible owner in your neighborhood.

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