This is a common question that most first-time Dog owners ask me. Before I answer your question, let me ask you a few instead:

If your answers are mostly in the negative, its time you seriously reconsider your role as a sincere Dog trainer and an ideal pet parent.

Learn how to bond with your Dog with this free mini course.

Get Your Dog To Listen To You

Before you begin any training, you must first establish yourself as the "ALPHA dog" of your family. Your Dog must know that you’re the leader of the pack and it is YOU who is in charge.

Here is a list of simple DO’s and DONT’s that you must follow if you want to be the Alpha:

Once you successfully established yourself as the Alpha, training your Dog and making him listen will be a lot easier than you can imagine. Remember, if your Dog does not learn to "listen", all your training efforts will be in vain!

Does your Dog know his name? Does your Dog look at you whenever you call him by his name? This is the first and the most critical step involved in Dog Training. If your Dog doesn’t respond to his name, you cannot have his attention for teaching him any other commands.

To make sure that your Dog recognizes his name, take a treat in your hand and hold it away from your body. Call your Dog’s name. He is most likely to look at the treat in your hand. Continue calling his name untill he turns and looks at your eyes. Give him the treat immediately. Repeat this exercise by holding the treat in the other hand. Once you’re sure that your Dog has learnt to recognize his name, just call his name and reward him for looking at you by petting or with a hug.

You must understand that Dogs respond far better to positive reinforcement than they do to coercion or force.

Learn how to train your Dog better with this free mini course.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

The post Why Won’t My Dog Listen To Me? first appeared on Puppy Blog.

House training your new puppy is one of the first things you need to do when bringing him into your home. Unfortunatly in the beginning your new puppy does not know where the right place to do his business is. There are a variety of dog training programmes to teach your puppy, but with any aspect of your dog training, the key to success is consistency and patience.

Paper training is used by many people, this involves getting him to do his mess on the paper, and then moving the paper nearer to the door. The downside to this technique is getting your puppy to do it on the paper in the first place, which doesnt always work. Regularly taking your puppy outside, especially before he has an accident, will reinforce to him that this is the right place to do it. Once he has done something outside, lots of praise should be given to him.

Your puppy will soon realise that you are pleased with him. If on the other hand you catch your dog doing his mess inside the house, then he should be chastised for it , using a firm tone in your voice. Of course there are going to be times when you are not at home, or when you are asleep. In these cases the use of a crate can be an ideal solution.

Dogs do not like to do their mess where they sleep or lie, so will try to hold on till let out of the crate. This helps your dog to have more bladder control. Before and after your dog being in the crate, he should be taken outside. As you get to know your puppy better, you will start to notice behaviour patterns ie sniffing around the floor. This can be a sure sign that he needs to go outside. As with any aspect of your dog training, consistency is the key, and with a little patience you should start seeing results. Try not to divert from your programme of training, as this will confuse your puppy and may slow down the results. If you would like more information on dog training visit http://harann95.bezoogle.com/pp/dog-training/

The post Housebreaking your new puppy first appeared on Puppy Blog.

House training your puppy can take several weeks, with some breeds it can take even longer, but is imperative in order to minimize house and den soiling incidents.

The best manner in which to housetrain your puppy is to establish a routine. You should take him outside on a consistent and frequent schedule, having an opportunity to do what he needs to do after waking from a nap, after playing, and of course after eating. It can be beneficial to initially choose a potty location for your puppy, and lead him to this area on a leash everytime you take him outside. If your puppy has an accident inside the house, it can help to place the soiled rags you used to clean it up in the potty location. The odour will lead the dog to understand that this is the right area to relieve himself in.

It is of paramount importance to praise your puppy and make a big fuss of him whenever he uses the potty location correctly, otherwise he will not know that his behavior is appropriate and what you want him to do – you can even give him a treat to begin with, but try not to make a habit of this in case the puppy starts to expect a treat every time he eliminates.

If you catch your puppy relieving himself inside the house, you should interrupt him by making a startling noise, and then lead him out to his potty area to finish. After he finishes in the potty area, once again praise him gratuitously so he understand that this is what he should be doing. Unfortunately, if you’re too late in catching your puppy eliminating in the house, there is little you can do. It’s too late to administer any correction, as animals do not understand punishment with any sort of delay involved, no matter how short. It is, however, very important to clean up properly so the dog does not get the impression that the location he defiled is a good place to use again in future.

The post Potty Training Your Puppy first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Puppies usually require encased small places in order to sense safe and sound. Crating is effective for the reason that puppy can feel secure in the own personal place. Many believe that crating is much like putting the puppy inside prison. In cases like this, you shouldn’t make use of the crate in order to give physical punishment.

Make certain how big the crate is related to your dog. It’s good to obtain a bigger crate when the dog will certainly grow in to it. Make use of a partition board to maintain the crate scaled-down till the dog grows up. Ensure your pet has sufficient space to lay down, turnaround, as well as stand up easily.

Bring in your pet to the crate very first. Allow your pet examine around it. He might use or simply sniff all-around it in the beginning. He’ll gradually turn out to be comfortable with the structure. Get started on by putting the dog within the crate for twenty minutes at any given time. In the event that your dog begins to complain, you ought to disregard it. Placing a protective cover over the surface of the cage likewise helps. It helps make the crate appear more enclosed. You may also place a toy or even quilt inside with him or her.

Right after 20 min, get him out from the crate then straight outdoors to toilet. Compliment your pet in the event that he is doing. Get him back inside later, and also have fun with him for around 30 minutes. After that put him back again in the crate. In the event that your dog does not go in, throw a goody inside. Compliment whenever he gets into and close the entranceway. Attempt another 20 minutes. Puppies are generally confined for just one hour for every month old they’re furthermore 1 hour. In case your puppy is 4 months old, he ought to be ale to develop to 5 hours.

Certainly not abandon young puppies within the crate for extended than 8 hours. They should be discrete at regular times to workout and also go to the potty. Using a schedule is the greatest ways for a new dog. He’ll go to understand what is anticipated as well as abide by small hassle.

The post House Training Your Puppy to Use The Crate first appeared on Puppy Blog.

The best time to begin training your puppy is at the very beginning. It is easier to learn the right way to do things the first time than to have to unlearn bad habits first.

The first thing you will need to do after buying your puppy is to take it home. The safest way to carry your puppy is by using either a harness that attaches to the seatbelt or to use a dog carrier. A puppy who is unused to those devices might feel uncomfortable at first, and cry, or express a desire to sit on your lap. This is a dangerous practice and should not be encouraged. Use the doggy seatbelt or car seat in the beginning and your pup will soon get used to it.

When you reach home, the all-important puppy house training should begin. Fortunately, in most breeds there is an inborn instinct to eliminate away from where they live. Even the youngest of pups will often take some steps away from its mother before doing its business. Dogs are creatures of habit so as soon as you get home, begin taking the puppy to a spot where you want it to eliminate. Give it some time to walk around and explore its new environment. When it does its business, praise it for doing the right thing. Eliminating outside can be frightening at first, because that is when a dog is at his most vulnerable. To a puppy who is used to being inside, the great outdoors can be overwhelming at first, so don’t be surprised if it runs for cover. Gently take your puppy back to the right place, and reassure it that you are there for it. Take it back to the same place frequently, and give it time to sniff around. When it smells the odor of its last elimination, it will feel inspired to repeat its earlier performance. Again, supply plenty of praise.

Do not punish you pup for making mistakes. That will only make it afraid of you. Pushing the dog’s face into its feces is a dangerous practice. It can make it impossible for the animal to breath or cause an infection. When it has an accident, clean up the urine, or pick up the feces and take it outside, showing the dog where to put it. (After your demonstration, of course, you will want to throw the waste away). The use of dog repellants is not recommended because they can cause nausea and vomiting.

When walking your dog you will want to use a leash to keep it safe. This puppy training should begin with a six feet long leash attached to a collar or harness. The use of a choke collar is discouraged, because it causes discomfort. You should be able to get two fingers between your puppy’s neck and the collar. The width of the leash depends upon the size of the dog. A small breed such as a shih-tzu or Chihuahua can probably use the narrowest leash your neighborhood pet supply store has to offer. A German shepherd or a Great Dane would obviously need a much thicker one. First attach the leash to the puppy’s collar (choke collars are not necessary) and have the puppy stand to your left.

Say “Sit,” and gently push down the puppy’s rear end until it is sitting. Reward the puppy with praise or a treat when it is sitting. The next command to teach is “down”, and it is taught in the same way.

Say the command and pull the puppy’s front paws until it is in a “Sphinx” position. Reward with a treat or praise. This is puppy training is especially good for large breeds, since it can be used when smaller dogs are around to reassure them that your large dog will not harm them.

To teach the pup to walk with a leash, say “Come on.” Then gently pull the dog along, on your left side. Reward the puppy with praise or a treat when he does walks along beside you without pulling. This kind of leash walking can be used where there is a good amount of room around.

When you are walking your dog in a crowded place, such as an outdoor fair, you will want your pet to know “heel.” Say the command and gently pull the puppy next to your heel. Reward the dog when it obeys.

The last command on our agenda is “stay,” which is useful when you have guests over who are afraid of dogs, or if you want to open the door to bring in the groceries and don’t want your dog to run off. Give the command and then walk off a few feet. If the dog tries to follow you, put the puppy back to the same place, give the command again, and walk off a few feet. Start by staying away only a few seconds, return, and give the dog a reward. Gradually increase the time as the dog learns.

Remember, puppy training should be a good experience for both of you, because you will be this puppy’s caregiver for the rest of its life and it will be your companion and friend. When you are both comfortable with the basics, you might want to teach your new friend some tricks. That puppy training will be the subject of future articles. Have fun.

Learn more dog training tips at Dog Training MD

The post How To Begin Puppy Training first appeared on Puppy Blog.