Jump to Section
#1: Potty Training
4 Important Rules
Dog potty training, otherwise known as dog house training or housebreaking a dog, is something many dog owners face with fear and anxiety. The dog training advice you get from other dog owners is often contradictory and can leave any new dog owner baffled by what course of action is the right one to take for his or her dog.
To a large extent, different dog breeds respond to different training techniques or methods and you may need to change some techniques to determine whether your dog is from an easy to train breed or a hard one. Below are some of the best four golden rules to make this training adjustment as easy as possible for you the owner and the dog being trained.
- Never scold your puppy or shove his face in its mess. Doing this will only confuse the poor little dog. Instead, use the praise method, focus on praising it when it goes outside. Dogs like humans like to be appreciated and praised. It is also very important not to forget to use treats when the dog deserves it.
- Be Consistent With Feeding Schedule: Free feeding is common among dog lovers and owners, this is not a problem for the older dogs, but during potty training, it will be better to feed only at certain times. Feeding your dog at a particular time of the day means your dog’s potty time will be predictable too. A consistent feeding schedule makes it easier for you the dog owner and the dog being trained to avoid accidents.
- Be Consistent when rewarding the puppy. Reward the dog for doing the right thing during potty training. You can use praise and or food treat as a reward but make sure it is done immediately so that he associates it with what it has done right. If you are using food treat, keep it handy. For every positive thing your dog does right, give it the proportional number of treats. One for one, two for two.
- If your puppy has an accident in the house ensure you thoroughly clean up the area. Dogs have a sense of small many times greater than that of humans and will continue to go back to that spot as many times as possible if they are able to pick up the scent. You can buy some special odor removing soaps at a local pet store. Potty training your dog will be a big challenge if you don’t clean properly.
We all lover over pets and our pets love us. We want the best for them, we want them trained not to mess up the home so we are free to love them all the time. It is always very easy to love a clean dog! Potty training is an essential step to have a happy and healthy puppy in a happy and healthy home.
#2: Jumping Training
How To Teach A Dog Not To Jump At People
Learning how to teach a dog not to jump up at people is a dog training process that includes you and other people around you. You are not only teaching your dog how to stop jumping on people but you are also teaching people how not to react to the dog. You are also training yourself how not to pull the dog down or yell at it.
The dog is simply showing submissive behavior when he jumps on people. He is being friendly and his showing loyalty, but most people don’t like dogs jumping on them. People believe it is simply a case of teaching the dog some manners. The poor little dog, on the other hand, will get confused if people are scared of it or even aggressive when he is trying to show he is only trying to be a good friend.
Children are often the hardest to keep the dog from jumping on. Dog’s don’t understand children can be shocked, hurt or scared while he is trying to be a friend and or a playmate.
The process of training a dog not to jump on people is very simple. The training has to start with yourself. Never allow him to jump on you. Say “Down” and then “Sit”. Make sure you don’t yell at it. Speak to it gently. Give him a treat when he obeys you but the treatment should be when it is sitting down and not when he first gets down. If you give it a treat when he gets down, he may think he is being given a treat because of the jumping, so he will do it all over again. Remember, jumping on people to a dog is friendly, not aggressive at all. He expects you to be happy with him when he jumps on you and other people. Therefore the reward must be for sitting and not for jumping.
Teaching a dog how not to jump on people will take some time because the jumping behavior is natural to every dog. Dogs like to be friendly with people. It is a natural instinct with them. They love to play with people and love it when they are being appreciated for it. Therefore ensure you give the dog enough playing time but not when he jumps on you. Explain this to close relatives and frequent visitors that know the dog well and can see it when he is going to jump. If they don’t respond to him when he tries to jump, he will get the message not to jump.
Some people may be able to do this because the jumping makes them nervous or they just want to play with the dog. These class of people will not make it easy for you to train your dog to become a better and well-behaved dog and it is better if he is not allowed to get near them while he is still undergoing training because they will confuse him and slow down his training.
Do not confuse your dog and both you the owner and the dog that is undergoing training will be happy at the end. Just try to be vocal and make sure you reward it when it does not jump on you or visitors. As with all dog training, this can be a simple lesson or it can take some time. Being consistent in your training and having everyone to do the same thing, is the most important factor of how to teach a dog not to jump on people.
#3: Crate Training
5 Tips On How To Crate Train A Dog
Crate training a dog is a very good way of raising a pooch from a puppy-hood to old friend. Many people worry that it might be cruel, but if used for the right purpose, nothing could be further from the truth. Crate training your dog is an effective and humane way of establishing your most beloved dog a place in your home and in the world and give him a sense of belonging.
Crate training is a very popular method for house training dogs, it provides your dog with his own special den and creates an acceptable behavior for life in your home, housebreaking inclusive. Below are the top five crate training tips for your dog.
- Create a dedicated toilet area. You can use a small gravel area in your backyard for this purpose. Or if you live in an apartment, you may be better off getting a potty tray, pads or pile of newspapers in the house. Always take the dog there on a leash.
- Never punish the dog by sending it to the crate as a punishment. Never allow anger in your voice. If the dog misbehaves, just lead it to the cage with some words of encouragement. Look at it as a happy place for your dog to visit for a break when needed. Try to sit with the dog for some time and pet it to reassure it that you are not annoyed with it.
- Place toys in the crate – Placing toys in the crate for your puppy’s amusement is a good for preventing boredom or loneliness. A TufToy or other chew toys will be fine for this purpose.
- Try to be consistent when crate training a dog. If you are using the cage to redirect your dog because it enjoys jumping on people, be sure to crate him each time an incident occurs. Ensure you make it a wonderful experience for the dog and not a punishment by allowing your visitors to drop by the crate and say HI to the dog and pet him.
- Crate training your dog becomes easy and very effective when you use a scheduled crate time. Like a little kid, even an animal such as a dog needs rest. These wonderful creatures, widely regarded as man’s best friend,’ are light sleepers, they are always on guard for man’s protection. Giving them some time to rest or nap will make better behaved and calmer too.
If you want a well trained, well-behaved dog, crate training is the way to go. If correctly used, it will make your dog respect and accept you as a master or ‘pack leader’ which is the first and the biggest step in a successful dog training.
Using a crate to train your dog gives it a sense of belonging and you can have a lot of fun beautifying it and dressing it up. If done in the right way, with love and compassion, crate training a dog can offer both the dog and the owner an amazing friendship free of much of the ‘drama’ of dog ownership.
Read more about crate training and recommended crates and kennels in our article here
#4: Leash Training
What You Need To Know Leash Training Puppies
Leash training puppies are not as simple as many dog owners think but it is definitely something worth all the pain to enable you to take the little dog out for a walk. Puppies like the company of their owners and you will definitely enjoy the company of your pup! The simple tips on how to leash train a puppy is very easy to follow and both you the owner and the puppy being trained will benefit from your effort.
Before you start the training, ensure you get the right size collar and leash. Ask the breeder vet or at your local pet store. Both the leash and the collar should fit your puppy’s size. If it is too big it will easily remove it and you may harm it if too small. It is important to ask to be sure.
The first and probably the most important step to leash training a puppy is to put the collar on the pup. The pup will initially do everything it can do to get rid of the collar. Make sure you don’t remove the collar anytime it is trying to get it off. This will make the pup understand that it is something it has to get used to. This will take some time to happen. Make him wear it many hours a day, but keep a close look at it so he doesn’t hook it on something and harm himself while trying to get it off.
When he gets accustomed to the collar, the next important thing to do is to attach a leash to the collar. Let the pup know you are not trying to harm it. Be gentle with it, talk to it while doing it.
The pup will most likely pull on the leash. You will have to resist pulling the puppy. You can do this in your home or backyard and leave the leash loose for a start. Let the pup get accustomed to the leash, pulling it around and playing with it.
When you get to the stage of walking out with the puppy with you holding one end of the leash, you need to maintain a balance. Never pull the pup around with the leash and don’t allow it to pull you either. Talk to the pup while you walk it out, let it understand what you are trying to do. He will get used to it with time. Just be patient.
This will be a continuous process. Every single walk will be a lesson in the process of your pup’s leash training. Never tug on the leash, and don’t let the puppy run off. Make use of body language and the of your voice.
The ideal walking situation is where the dog walks happily with its owner, and the leash hanging slightly loose between them. When the pup stops to check on something of interest to it, the owner stops too. When the owner wants to continue walking again, he calls the dog with his voice and not pulling the leash. When the dog wants to walk a little faster, he works faster too, but he doesn’t pull the leash either. Well …. I said that was the ideal situation! But you should have that some of the time, if not 100%.
It is important to consistently continue the training, never forget to reward the pup with necessary attention when he gets it right. When you have mastered how to leash train your puppy, it will always walk with you instead of trying to walk you. Read our more thorough article here