My Dumb Dog

There’s a difference between disobedience and incomprehension. If your dog isn’t obeying a command because he doesn’t understand what it is you want him to do, that’s not a behavioral problem at all; it simply means that you need to spend some more time together in training. True disobedience occurs when your dog deliberately does not obey a request or command, although he has full knowledge of what it is that you’re asking him to do (and you know this because he’s performed it reliably on several occasions beforehand). Although this may seem like a relatively minor inconvenience, it’s actually a pretty serious thing – not only can it be dangerous for your dog (for example, if he’s heading towards a busy road and ignores your ‘come’ command), but it’s also detrimental to your relationship with your dog.

Disobedience is rooted in disrespect. When your dog deliberately does not obey you, he’s saying, “I don’t respect your authority enough to do what you want me to do”. If you allow him to get away with this, you are allowing him to form the habit of passive-aggression. This is not something that can just be left to “fix itself” – the problem will worsen, not get better, if you leave it. It’s very important that your dog recognizes that you outrank him in the social hierarchy of the household. The concept of alpha status is one that you need to be familiar with in order to maintain a healthy, functional relationship with your dog. It may sound cruel from a human perspective, but your dog is happier when he knows that someone else is in charge of making all the decisions – including his day-to-day behavior and obedience levels.

It is not possible to have a good owner/dog relationship if he does not understand that you are the clear-cut authority figure: he must know that he’s beneath you in the chain of command. Your first step in dealing with generalized disobedience is to reestablish your dominance.

Here are some tips on doing so:

- When leaving the house and the car, you must always leave before your dog. This is unmistakable alpha behavior: to a dog, only the alpha leaves first. If you allow him to exit the house or the car ahead of you, you are saying to him, “You’re stronger than me; you should go first because you’re the decision-maker”. Inside doors aren’t so important, but every time you leave the house or the car to go outside, you must make him wait for you to go first, until you release him from the ‘wait’ with a release-word.

- Make him wait for his food. Your family and you must always eat before him – if it means he has to wait an extra half hour or so for his meal, it won’t hurt him any. When you put his food down for him, make him sit and wait until you release him to eat. Keep his feeding schedule varied, so he’s always aware that you’re in charge of his food – don’t allow him to form expectations of when he should be fed.

- Don’t allow him free, uninhibited access to the whole house. The house is your den: you’re allowing him to be inside. Remind him that you’re allowing him into your den – it’s a privilege for him to be there, not a right - by sometimes allowing him inside, and sometimes sending him outside for half an hour or so. Keep certain areas of the house strictly for your own, as well (such as your bed, certain pieces of furniture, or some rooms).

- Never allow your dog to initiate play. If he’s nudging you for attention or to start a game, you may think that it’s cute and affectionate; but what he’s really saying is, “I’m the boss and I’m telling you to play with me right now.” If he starts bothering you for attention, ignore him for a few moments: get up and do something else. Wait until he’s given up before initiating the play yourself. Playtime is a fantastic way to bond with your dog, but it should be done on your terms, not his.

- When you arrive home, don’t rush straight over to him and shower him in affection. That is not alpha behavior at all – an alpha dog, upon arriving home, doesn’t go over to the other dogs and throw himself at them, saying, “Here I am! I missed you guys! Let’s have a cuddle!” – he ignores everyone else, relaxes for a short while, maybe has something to eat, and only interacts with them when he’s good and ready. Even though you’re probably good and ready to interact with your dog as soon as you get home, it will make more sense to him – and underscore your authority – if you ignore him for just three to five minutes upon arriving home. Another fantastic way of counteracting disobedience is to start – and maintain – a basic obedience training plan. You don’t have to do anything fancy or super-demanding; just ten minutes a day of learning and enforcing commands. This can drop to five minutes a day once your dog is completely reliable with the commands.

Here are some tips for a good training program:

- Never give a command that you cannot reinforce immediately if he chooses to disobey you. Every time your dog takes the opportunity to ignore your command, he’s learning that it’s both easier and a lot more fun to ignore you. For example, if you call across the park for him to ‘come’ as he’s playing with some other dogs, the choices are clear-cut to him: he could cut his play-time short and come to you, or he could ignore you – which is easy, since you’re so far away – and continue to have fun. Until your dog is completely reliable with commands, he should be on a long line or retractable lead so that you can enforce them if necessary.

- Remember to use your voice to the best effect. Praise should be in a light, cheery, happy tone of voice; if possible, smile at the same time. It makes a difference to your tone of voice, and most dogs will study your face to make sense of your expressions, too. Corrections should be uttered in a stern, brook-no-nonsense tone: you don’t need to shout, but your voice should be low and authoritative.

- When you’re verbally interrupting your dog, it’s more effective to shout, “OI!” or “Ah-ah-ah!” rather than saying, “No”. The sounds are more clear-cut, and you’ll get a better response. - Do not repeat a command. Remember, you should be training on a leash or a long line: if he ignores you, he gets a short, sharp tug (some call it a ‘flick’) on the lead to remind him that you’re present, and you’re in charge. Repeating yourself teaches him to wait for the command to be repeated at least once before he obeys you.

- Five to fifteen minutes per day is an adequate amount of time for training. Any more than this in one sitting, and your dog’s concentration will likely lapse: fifteen minutes of intense training, where your dog is concentrating hard on what you want, is enough to send even the most energetic dogs to their beds for a snooze afterwards. You might be interested in checking out a Dog Teaching site for advice on Dog Behavior Problems and dog training.

For the house training dogs info, please visit this blog.

What do you need to successfully train your dog? Other than Tritronics shock collars and SportDOG training collars, one of the hunting dog supplies you’ll need is the dog training bumper. The ideal one for training your retriever is one that is made to last for repetitive use, and flexible, soft plastic.

Hallmark Dog Training Bumpers

Dog training bumpers come in a variety of styles and sizes to meet the needs of anyone training a retriever. Hallmark makes a variety of superb quality training bumpers including those made of plastic or foam. When selecting your bumpers you have an option of solid plastic, canvas covered or feather holding. Each offers a durable, realistic feeling, non toxic way to help you train your dog on retrieval. One of the added features of these bumpers is your ability to hold the scent of a duck – this can make training your dog that much easier.

No matter what kind of dog training bumpers you choose, you should look at each one for the following benefits:

A) Superb construction
B) Durable materials
C) Safe, non-toxic materials

Ideally if you are training a puppy you might want to consider using plastic training bumpers. The advantage of these is that they are less expensive than some models and offer a variety of bright colors – this makes them easier for your dog (and you) to identify them when you are training your hunting dog in the field.

Dog training dummies

Training dummies that float are also very useful and popular training tools. Using foam-bodied dummies with your training can better simulate retrieving in the field and better prepare your dog for the job. Remember that “bumpers” and “dummies” are interchangeable names that apply to both types of training tool, whether it’s land or water-based. They’ll both help you train your dog to hunt and retrieve fowl for you.

How to use dog training bumpers and dog training dummies

You’ll find it advantageous to use training dummies or bumpers that can be used in conjunction with scents. A common scent is that of a duck, and are available in virtually any hunting dog supply store. Injecting duck scent into dog training dummies and bumpers offers another training tool so that you can have a well-trained hunting dog.

American Bulldog training can be one of the most rewarding things you do with your new (or old) pet. You will establish a life long bond with your pet through the training process and get a better behaving pet in the process. It is important that you start training your dog as soon as possible because every day you wait is one more day you have to put up with aggression, biting, barking, chewing, jumping, and bathroom “accidents”.

American Bulldog training offers challenges that may not be faced when training other dog breeds. It is important to be aware of the unique character of American Bulldogs in order to make sure you get the best results with your pet.

The biggest thing that offers challenges with an American Bulldog is their size. They are large animals and need space to run. With their large size, they can do way more damage than a Chihuahua.

These dogs can be very playful. This means they like to run around and jump on things. Even when they are just playing, they can do a lot of damage because of their size. They are probably not the best choice if you have small children.

They can be very protective so American Bulldog training needs to involve exposing them to a lot of people. They need to see other people as normal and friendly so they don’t attack everybody they see trying to protect you, their beloved owner.

American Bulldogs have also been known to be very aggressive with other dogs of the same sex. Cats and other small animals can easily become play things so you should probably keep them separate.

One last thing to be aware of: many people view American Bulldogs very negatively and this can complicate things for you. This makes American Bulldog training extremely important not just some thing that is nice to do. Getting help from a top knotch training system like the Secrets to Dog Training is absolutely essential to successful training.

It’s important for owners of gun dogs to know that the tools and supplies required for hunting dogs is quite different from those required for family pets. At any given time, our pets may be kept outdoors during inclement weather, but for the most part, pets are kept indoor when bad weather presents itself. But for hunting dogs, the story changes; when they join you for hunting, they will be outdoors in all types of weather conditions. As a hunting dog owner, you will need to ensure his comfort as best as possible.

Dog vests

A dog vest can be an invaluable tool for your dog’s protection. You might see smaller dogs wearing little sweaters or vests for warmth and protection against bad weather, but it becomes very necessary for hunting dogs. In the same way as you would guard yourself against chill and cold, you should make sure that your dog will be comfortable while he’s hunting in all types of weather. You can help your dog by getting him a warm, insulated vest that is comfortable for him when it gets cold. You can get well-insulated vests at specialty hunting dog supply shops.

Dog doors

If you have a fenced yard or an area that is contained, you might want to consider a dog door that will allow your dog to go outdoors without you in bad weatther. This is great for both family dogs and hunting dogs, and you’ll find that installation is very easy and your dog will be able to go outside unsupervised in no time. Safe and efficient, it will allow your dog to go outside and enter as he pleases, but won’t allow humans to enter because it simply is not big enough. Good quality dog doors are not only easy to install, but are insulated so that heat won’t leave your home. Most pet stores and hunting dog supply shops will sell many types of doggie doors.

Dog Collars

Regardless of the type of dog you have you are going to need specific supplies. For those with hunting dogs, a dog training collar may make the difference between a well trained hunting dog and one who goes off on his own. These correction collars can be purchased nearly any place that sells dog supplies. For owners of hunting dogs and a tracking collar may be a necessity. Tracking collars will typically only be sold at a store that specializes in hunting dog supplies.

Making sure that your dog regardless of whether he is a pet or hunting companion is well behaved, safe, warm, and comfortable is your responsibility. Finding your hunting dog supplies can be done in stores or can be done online.

Whether you just got a new puppy, or you adopted an older dog, no doubt you want to train your dog to be well behaved. This can vary from house training your dog, to training your dog how to sit and stay. No matter what kind of training you are trying to do with your dog, there are some tips that can be very helpful to you. The following are some of the effective dog training tips that can help you train your dog in half the time.

Leash and collar method of dog obedience training has survived for a long time now. It is primitive but still mostly followed. The premises of this training method are based here - leash will be the mode of communication with the dog. Dog must understand the commands, and if not obeyed to, leash should be put to action.

Using leash alone is not sufficient - dog must be made aware of the good and bad behavior. Once tracked on the path to bad behavior, dog can be punished with the leash.

Reward system doesn’t believe in punishing the dog. It follows psychological approach to deal with dog training. Dog is made to know the good parts of behavior and rewarded for the same.

His ugly behavior is neglected in the form of psychological treatment. The trainer or owner walks away from the dog immediately after the show of bad behavior. Dog is an intelligent animal to understand the difference between the bad and good behavior.

Whatever technique is used for dog obedience training, it is important to know that the training must be consistent. Dogs get easily confused due to double standards employed. If you expect your dog never to jump on the bed, never let or invite him on the bed. Ensure that your dog never reaches the bed.

Obedience training starts on the fundamental issues like sitting, standing, walking, listening to your commands & following those, sitting in the car, etc.

If you own a new dog, you must be able to point out the problems with your pet. Once you determine the dog behavior problems of your pet, you can now begin to apply the dog obedience training to them. If your dog loves to chew on your household items, this is not his fault.

But it is a natural tendency of the dog to chew on furniture. These are common negative behavior of dogs that you must focus on, and to be able to learn the training procedures that is essential for the dog to know that his behavior is not appropriate.

If you did not exert any effort to train your puppy, eventually it grows older, the behavior problem that it possesses will worsen, and this would make it more difficult to train the dog. Many more information on fear dog biting and dog problems, visit - www.reviewsitstayfetch.blogspot.com

Most people consider their dog as a family member. You certainly wouldn’t want to have any of your family living under your roof unless they knew the family rules and your pet is no different.

Of course we all know how cute a new puppy can be but picture that puppy at its full adult size and many owner will tell you that you need to start training at a puppy age. Starting at a young age means no un-doing of bad habits this is a huge benefit, plus a new puppy is much more open to learning.

The trick to begin with is to not teach your new puppy any bad lessons. This can happen in such harmless forms such as wanting your pet to jump on a couch to watch tv with you but not wanting him on the couch by themselves.

By not correcting a dog’s behavior to jump on you it is impossible for a dog to understand that he can’t jump up on other people as well. It is important to keep things simple and rules firm so the pet does not become confused.

Dogs are pack animals and they love to be led and usually look at their owner as their leader. It is important that you assert yourself as the leader so the dog is able to understand who is in charge and is paying attention to the commands.

This means repeating commands till your dog understands them such as: no, stop, off, sit, stand, down, heel, come and quiet. If you can teach your dog all of these then it is fun to go beyond to more complicated commands such as fetch, jump…etc.

All dogs need repetition in order to understand commands. This means that you will need to do 30 minute sessions, or more, daily until your pet understands.

Better yet most owners repeat the commands throughout the day such as making a pet sit to eat before getting their food or having a pet learn to stay down while greeting guests at the door….etc.

The joys of having a dog as a family member far outweigh the months of dog training. By making dog training fun both you and your pet will live a happy “obedient” life :).

Obedience training is one of the most important aspects of raising a dog. In fact, a well trained dog is by far a happier dog! Why? Because a trained dog requires fewer restrictions. The more reliable the dog, the more freedom he is given. Isn’t it looking great, it can be happen with Dog Training Books

Without proper training, dogs will not behave well manner. Actually everyone aware that dogs are social animals. They will soil your house, destroy your property, excessively barking, your yard will be no longer longer beautiful because they dig holes, not friendly with other dogs and moreover they can bite you also. Nearly all behavior problems are perfectly normal canine activities that occur at the wrong time or place or are directed at the wrong thing.

For example, the dog will eliminate on the carpet instead of outside; the dog will bark all night long instead of just when a stranger is prowling around outside; or the dog will chew furniture instead of his own toys. The key to preventing or treating behavior problems is learning to teach the dog to redirect his natural behavior to outlets that are acceptable in the domestic setting.

Obedience training is also an easy way to establish the social hierarchy. When your dog obeys a simple request of ‘come here, sit,’ she is showing compliance and respect for you. It is NOT necessary to establish yourself as top dog or leader of the pack by using extreme measures such as the so-called alpha roll-over.

You CAN teach your dog her subordinate role by teaching her to show submission to you in a paw raise (shake hands), roll over or hand lick (give a kiss). Most dogs love performing these tricks (obedience commands) for you which also pleasantly acknowledge that you are in charge.

A well-behaved, obedience trained dog is a pleasure to own because he can go virtually anywhere without being a risk or nuisance to others.

And don’t we all want a dog who exhibits appropriate behavior in a crowd, good manners when we have guests in our home, is reliable around children, and who doesn’t threaten other dogs or passers-by? If you agree with this article then train your dog with the help of yahoo dog training directory

The bottom line is that dog obedience training truly benefits everyone.

It was a breezy summer evening when approximately 12 dogs from various breeds were all assembled in a small group at a local city park in San Diego, California. At each dog’s side, its owner stood by, attentively listening to the dog training instructor whom was in the middle of the group

“Today’s lesson will teach you how to give your dog the “Down” command.” He went on to say: “Now with your dog sitting by your side, and with a little bit of slack on the leash, loudly say the word ‘Down’ and then step on the leash hard so that your dog is forced to the ground and knows exactly what the down command means. This will show your dog that you are in charge and capable of making him go down whether he likes it or not.”

Like mindless listeners, the entire class obeyed the lesson and literally crammed the heads of their dogs down into the ground by stepping on the leash. By the time the entire training session had ended, it seemed like every “down” command ended in shrieks and moans from every dog. There was mass hysteria while the toy dog breeds fought off the leash and collar and the larger dogs just got confused, not understanding the forcefulness of the lesson.

Any dogs that rebelled against their owners and the leash in the attempt to force them down were asked why the instructor to stay behind for some “special handling”. This special handling only turned out to be a much more aggressive counter-lesson with a rolled up fist and an aggressive action towards the dog.

Is This Worth Saving A Few Dollars?

The above story is an all to common practice unfortunately all over the country. Anyone that reads manuals, books, watches videos and dvd’s on dog training, and research can seem to feel themselves qualified to be a trainer. This is not always so. A good trainer is someone who has more than a laman’s knowledge of dog behavior and training.

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It just goes to show you that wherever there is money to be made in any type of field, especially dog training, you’ll always have your egomaniacs and fake “experts” rushing to fill the gap and make a quick buck.

“It may be a simple matter of economics”, as one pet store owner was saying. “Many dog owners come into the store and want to know how to properly train their pets. Although I sell dozens of instructional booklets, they want one-on-one teaching instructions. However, it’s quite expensive to hire a real professional so all they do is search around on the Internet or their local newspaper ads to find a cheap dog training class, which is usually run by someone that does not know what they are doing and for the most part uses aggressive tactics.”

The point here is to let all of you dog owners know that it is much safer to work on your own training abilities by using qualified information instead of hiring the wrong person to do the job. And there are some organizations, such as “Petco”, is nationally recognized animal pet store, that hires professionals to teach obedience and training classes for your dogs each week.

A Labrador can be the perfect choice as a family pet, as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort for proper Labrador obedience training. These cute, playful puppies quickly evolve into big, rambunctious dogs if they are not taught good manners while they are still young.

Training a Labrador doesn’t have to be an unpleasant challenge for you or your dog. This breed is extremely intelligent and eager to please, making it a good candidate for effective obedience training. However, these dogs can also be a bit strong-willed, meaning that if you don’t show your Lab who is boss in the house right from the beginning, he may very well try to run the show himself. Much of Labrador obedience training has to do with teaching your dog respect for the alpha dog in the household – who happens to be you. Once you have established the proper pecking order in your home, your Lab puppy will be much more likely to acquiesce to your authority with prompt obedience.
Labrador obedience training needs to incorporate respect, but it doesn’t do so using harsh, punitive methods – unless you want a dog that is afraid of you and prone to snapping and biting others. Labs respond best to training that is encouraging and positive, and loaded with rewards instead of punishment. Your Lab will enjoy positive training sessions because it allows him to spend quality time with you as he exercises his mind and body to follow your commands and please you. You can begin with basic commands like sit and stay and gradually move onto more complex instructions as you and your dog develop a positive relationship and he learns to follow your instructions.

Consistency is another important key in effective Labrador obedience training. For example, if you want to make it a rule that your dog does not jump on the furniture, you need to be consistent with that rule and never let him up on the couch. Not once. Not ever. Intelligent dogs like Labs will quickly recognize when they can push you and the rules to the limit and will do so whenever possible.
Labrador obedience training with a very young dog should be limited to just a few minutes, and should include lots of praise and rewards. When your dog is first learning a command, keep distractions to an absolute minimum to ensure that you have your puppy’s full attention. As your dog begins to be comfortable with a particular instruction, include some distraction to the training session, like tossing treats around him or bouncing a ball as you give the command. This will help to ensure that your dog will obey you in any circumstance, no matter what distractions might be lurking about. Good beginning commands will include sit, fetch and stay, but lie and come should be close behind those. In the beginning Labrador obedience training sessions, make sure to reward your dog even if he sits for only a second or two. As you progress, you can require that he sits for longer periods or stays put even when you walk away or turn your back to him. These training sessions will pay off with a dog that is well behaved and a pleasant addition to your family.

Before you bring your Lab puppy home from the breeder, it is important to educate yourself on the most effective techniques for Labrador training. Fortunately for the new dog owner, there are many good Dog training books and articles like this available so you and your Labrador retriever can start off on the right foot.

Hunting dog training should be taken very seriously because it requires your dog being desensitized to gunfire that normally accompanies a hunt and still be able to keep its focus on the trainer’s commands. Before you begin hunting dog training there are a few steps that need to be taken such as the trainer needing to provide to the dog a solid foundation that ensures the safety of the dog during a hunt. You may choose to start the training when the puppy is no more than four to six months old by introducing it to whistles, check cords, birds as well as the hunting dog training commands.

Teach The Dog Not To Be Frightened Of Gunfire

In the beginning, you may expose to gunfire your puppy so that it can avoid becoming frightened which will come in handy when it becomes an adult hunting dog. You will then need to provide a foundation for the dog/puppy which best suits the animal when it is aged between ten to twelve months and is taught to work in as well as out of the field, and generally become accustomed to whistles as well as commands given by the trainer. It should also help make the dog develop its pointing instincts and learn to be patient when pointing at the time of the hunting dog training.

You must then, after teaching the dog foundation basics, Training Your Dog to remain steady to shot and wing. Commands such as “whoa” will be taught to the dog and it will also learn the basics of real world hunting situations. Once completed, the dog will have learnt to work off leash in the field as well as outside and will then be able to retrieve to hand, which is teaching the dog to bring back the hunt without damaging the hunt. In addition, this stage of the hunting dog training can also involve teaching the dog to respect another dog’s point as well as to refrain from flushing birds.

Any dog that is descended from parents that were hunting dogs will naturally be inclined to the pursuit of hunting and will have abilities that will help it in its hunting dog training. It is also obvious that the hunting dog training will teach the dog basic skills as far as its normal obedience is concerned and the dog should easily respond to simple commands such as “come, sit, and stay and heel”.

It is also not unusual for the hunting dog training routine to require taking the dog into the field for getting it used to the full effect of hunting in a real situation. It is also normal for the hunting dog training and Leash Training to be performed under different weather conditions and different seasons will see the dog getting used to different game.