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DOG TRAINING

written by Joanne Kok, founder of DogTrainster.com

Learning new things can be stressful for your dog especially in the beginning when concepts and teaching methods are new. If your dog refused to eat during the early stages of training, stop the program and have a play session or calm your dog until it is relaxed and begins to accept treats again. This process may require 3 to 4 sessions but it is worth going through it to develop your dog’s positive attitude towards obedience.


Conduct 3 training sessions a day, each session lasting approximately 20 minutes while allowing at least 1 hour rest in-between sessions. In a 2-week period, there should be a total of 30 sessions.


Week 1 And Week 2

1) Teach your dog the “heel” command. Repeat a series of 3 to 5 circles and perform 5 series of 4-step “heels” per session.

2) Teach the “sit” and “release” command. Command your dog to “sit”, let it stay in the sit position for a moment then give the “release” command to release your dog from the “sit”. Repeat this series 5 times per session.

3) For each session, work on a series of 1 exercise and move to another exercise (i.e., work on one series of 4-step “heel”, then a series of “sit” and “break”, and finally a series of 4-step “heels”’).

Although dogs need repetition to learn a skill, you need a variety of exercises to keep them interested as they bore easily.


Week 3 And Week 4

1) Reinforce the “heel” command. Test the “heel” command from lessons learned from week 1 and week 2.

2) Reinforcing the “sit” and “release” command. Begin training your dog to hold the “sit” position starting from 5 seconds and gradually stretching the time to 10 seconds.

3) Begin teaching your dog the “down” command (use treats to lure your dog to teach it the command). Repeat the series 2 times per session in week 3 and 3 times per session in week 4.


Week 5 And Week 6

1) Continue to reinforce and test the “heel”, “sit” and “release” commands. Begin to include distractions when training “heel” and “sit” to train your dog to continue focusing on you even there are distractions.

2) Extend the concept of holding position to build patience by extending the “sit” from 5 – 10 seconds to 30 seconds – 1 minute before releasing the “sit” command.

When you test your dog, you should repeat each test until it passes the test 3 consecutive times.

3) Start to reinforce the “down” command in week 5 by removing the treat and shoulder help. During week 6, begin reinforcing without any bodily assistance. You can reintroduce treats as the reward but do not tempt your dog. Only reward your dog after it has successfully completed the “down” command.

Training sessions may become more stressful for both you and your dog as you progress from the teaching phase and enter into the more difficult reinforcing phase. If you find a particular test too tough for both of you; stop the exercise and continue to practice the skills individually, you can repeat that particular test a few days later.

While the length and regularity of the sessions remain unchanged since the first week, the sessions are becoming less predictable and require varieties to make them as interesting and effective as they can be.


Week 7 And Week 8

1) While continuing to reinforce and test the “heel”, “sit” and “release” commands, don’t forget to reinforce the “down” command as well. In 1 of every 3 sessions, add distractions to your basic commands. Improve “down from a stand” exercise with the “down” command.

2) Extend the time-span of the holding position and begin teaching the “stay” command.

3) Begin combining the different commands when training. Teach “sit” and “down” from your front and testing motion “down” and motion “sit”.

4) Start teaching the “come” command. Put your dog on “sit/stay” position, while walking backwards monitor the position holding skills. Body language plays an important role in teaching this command and sending the wrong signals sometimes causes your dog not to hold the position.


Week 9, Week 10 And After

1) Reinforce “stay” and “come” command. Always practice a short leash recall to reinforce the final finish position. Repeat at least 10 times per session. “Come” is the most important command but the least practiced of all the other commands.

2) Conduct test and reinforce all obedience commands. Practice all commands equally, working on each command as little as 1 or as many as 5 repetitions per series though you should avoid creating patterns.

Make exercises targeted towards your practical obedience application. Include distraction training in at least 1 out of every 3 obedience practice sessions.

You may want to check out DogTrainster's Ebook on "Train Yourself to Train Your Dog"

Dogs

A dog is a man’s best friend. You do everything you can to maintain your optimum health. Doesn’t your best friend deserve the same? Your dog is an active (rather the most active) member of your family and needs the same, if not more attention to health and nutrition as you do, to stay healthy, and live longer.
After all it’s very easy to get lost in s big pet store. The sea of products that we have today, aisle after aisle is very confusing and also time consuming. However keeping your dog healthy need not be a career option for you. All we need to use is a little commonsense and good information regarding the breed and age of your dog.
Let’s divide the dogs into two categories – small & adult.
For Small Dogs & Puppies.Read More

"Canine Health Care"
Dog Health Information Discover How You Can Insure That Your Dog Is The Healthiest Well Groomed And Happiest Dog!
"Is your dog a healthy, happy dog?"

Can You Really Cope With, Or Avoid Common Dog Health Problems ?
Your K9 can’t speak for themself and relies on you to be their eyes and ears for everything in their world.

Together we can be sure your dog has...
The best canine food & diet! The right amount of exercise!
Grooming & looking good! Healthy & Feeling great! 

...more info here

Dogs and LifeStyle

For some these two notions might seem too far apart to present any similarities. But still, more than we know, dogs as object of our love or repulsion, affect our lifestyle.

Each and every one of us has gone through at least one experience that included a dog. Whether sad or fortunate, these experiences exist and cannot be ignored. As every other marking moment emotions triggered by a dog at some point influent our ways from that moment on.

Just for fun I want to show you what I mean by giving a rather unknown example to prove my point.Read More

How Much Time Can a Dog Stay Alone?

If you are going to leave your dog alone for a long period of time then don’t be surprised with the behavior issues he might develop. Being alone, he deals with two big problems. The first one is the physic and emotional discomfort, because he sees he is free and he doesn’t know what he is allowed to do and what he isn’t. Sometimes stress is added because he is afraid of doing something that can get him punished. The second problem comes out of the need of a dog to be permanently around people or other dogs.

If it is a small dog, he should be familiarized to his environment. If a little dog is to be left alone the entire day, then make sure he has enough water and that a big part of the room he is left into will be covered in papers. A small dog needs to satisfy his physiological needs every three hours. Do not under any circumstances leave the dog locked in the doggy house without given him access to water. You should let him stay in a small room, for example the kitchen..Read More

Dog training - Leash and Collar training

There are many different styles of dog training, and finding the one that works best for you is important for creating a dog that is a talented, loyal and faithful member of the family. All successful methods of dog training work to reinforce the relationship between dog and handler, and the foundation of any successful training program is getting the respect of the dog. Fortunately, dogs are wired by nature to seek out leaders, and to follow the direction of those leaders.

This article focuses on one of the most popular methods of dog training – the so called leash/collar style of training... Read More

Dog training – The Basic Commands

There are of course many reasons for owners to want a calm, obedient and faithful dog. For one thing, obedient and trained dogs are happier dogs, less likely to get into tussles with people or with other dogs. Another reason is that many communities require that the dogs living in their neighborhoods be well trained. This is especially true for many breeds thought to have aggression and behavior problems – dog breeds like pit bulls and rottweilers for instance.

And of course, training your dog well will also make he or she a much better family companion, especially in households where there are young children. Many studies have shown that proper dog training makes a big impact when it comes to cutting down the number of dog bits and other behavior problems encountered by dog owning households.

When considering training your own dog, or having someone else help you train it, there are certain basic commands that must be mastered in order for a dog to be considered truly trained. These basic commands include: Read More

Caring for Dogs with Hypoallergenic Conditions

Hypoallergenic dog breeds have special needs because they are usually smaller in size and have temperaments that may be difficult to handle sometimes. When you first bring your new dog home, you should allow it to roam around to get an idea of its surroundings. If you have other pets, you should put them in another room while the dog is investigating the area. Depending on the breed of dog, they may be very scared at first. They may not want much human contact, so you should be careful about handling them too much during the first few days they are in your home. Read More

Caring for Dogs that are Hypoallergenic for Humans

Hypoallergenic dog breeds have special needs because they are usually smaller in size and have temperaments that may be difficult to handle sometimes. When you first bring your new dog home, you should allow it to roam around to get an idea of its surroundings. If you have other pets, you should put them in another room while the dog is investigating the area. Depending on the breed of dog, they may be very scared at first. They may not want much human contact, so you should be careful about handling them too much during the first few days they are in your home. Read More

Breeds of Hypoallergenic Dogs

When looking for a hypoallergenic dog, you will have to decide on a breed of dog and also how the dog will fit into your lifestyle. Many hypoallergenic dogs are small or medium breed dogs. This means that they are small sized or medium sized dogs that require more attention than larger breeds. Hypoallergenic dogs may cause you to have fewer allergy attacks because their hair does not shed, they don’t have an undercoat, or they do not shed a lot dead skin cells, or dander. The following breeds of hypoallergenic dogs are popular with those who suffer from allergies: Irish Water Spaniel, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, and Bedlington Terrier. Read More

SitStayFetch: Dog Training To Stop Your Dogs Behavior Problems

A Dog is A Best Man's Friend ::Dogs and LifeStyle ::Keeping a Dog Tick

Walking Your Dog ::Dog Food Secrets :: Pet Obesity ::Dog Training ::

Dog Training - The Basic Commands :: Dog training - Leash and Collar training :: Stop Dog Agresssions

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