Use cheese as a treat when you are training your canine companion. Cheese is a nice change of pace for your dog from packaged treats. Dogs generally love cheese and will find it a good treat. Don’t overdo it though, cheese can be high in sodium. Your dog could be sensitive to this.
Young puppies are prone to chewing on their owners’ belongings. You can address this problem by immediately stopping your puppy if he chews on an inappropriate item, and instead give him toys that he can chew on. Praise your dog every time you find him chewing on a permitted toy. Staying consistent with this training method can save your favorite furniture or shoes.
Never yell at a barking dog. While a barking dog is sure to increase your level of frustration, resist the urge to yell at him. Dogs do not understand that you are yelling at them and will often associate your raised voice with the fun of barking. If your dog is barking, calmly distract him with a toy or treat, and when he stops barking, give him his treat.
Check with your community management pet policy. Pet-loving families can run into trouble when they move from a home with a generous pet policy to a place where pets are not allowed. Move to a place where the pet policy allows you to have friends of your family. Don’t abandon them just because the first place you find doesn’t have a pet policy.
Make sure you don’t reinforce unwanted behavior. You don’t want to give your dog treats or special attention during training if he is not performing the task correctly. If you do, they will think you are satisfied and will continue to do things the way they are doing and not get better.
If your dog suffers from separation anxiety, an easy way to train him is to avoid paying attention to it immediately before and after you leave. It may seem cruel to the dog if he doesn’t say goodbye before leaving, but those long goodbye hugs only give the dog a chance to get nervous.
When training your dog to deal with his fear or anxiety-related behaviors, go slowly. Responding to a fear or anxiety response with aggression only leads to more fear and even mistrust. Take your time and give your dog a chance to succeed. You will grow in confidence and reduce fear-induced behaviors.
A clicker and some treats can be a very effective method of training your dog. Because a clicker can be easier for a dog to understand than a voice command, the lessons can be quick and productive. Training sessions should not last more than fifteen minutes, as dogs have short attention spans.