There are basically two schools of thought at the moment when it comes to dog training. The one belief is that you need to replicate as far as possible the wolf pack ethos, and the other is that you don’t. We know that all dogs originated as wolves and selective breeding has developed all the different types of dogs we see today. It is assumed that all the basic instincts of the wolf are still there somewhere in your dog. The “pack” school of thought believes that you have to establish yourself as the “leader of the pack” and your dog will follow and obey you willingly. As far as possible they believe in holding themselves aloof from their dogs, encouraging an element of respect bordering on fear. An experiment done with tamed wolves shows that when a wolf gets into trouble or difficulties, even though he has accepted human authority, he does not go to a human for help but rather struggles himself to sort things out.

A dog, on the other hand, looks immediately for help to his human owner. I believe that the relationship between dog and owner is unique, and nothing like that between a wolf pack leader and the wolves. The more loving you are to your dog, the more he loves you. If he disobeys you it is from misunderstanding, or lack of bonding. Get the bond right and the respect will come by itself. He needs to know without doubt what you will not tolerate, and with absolute clarity what you do want of him. In return, you have to know and understand his needs. There is indeed a lot of the wolf still there and you need to respect that. Whatever your personal philosophy is about packs and dogs, your dog training follows a similar route. As early as possible, start working with your dog. Handling, playing and gentle brushing can be done when he is just a few weeks old. Once he starts eating, a whole new leverage opens up to you. Most dogs love food and unless you live somewhere where there is a threat of poisoning, you should encourage him to take food rewards.

Also particular areas of their bodies where they love being scratched, such as between the neck and the shoulder blades. These things can be used as rewards to show that you are pleased with them. Never use them in conjunction with displeasure or punishment, though. Time and again I have seen a dog scolded for doing something wrong and then patted. How confusing is that! You have to find ways to communicate. This is the way you build up a common language with them. Your different commands should sound different. Your tone of voice and movements are more important than the words themselves. Even a really intelligent dog understands relatively few words. But he is a sharper reader of body language than even you are! Be consistent at all times. Dogs, like all animals, don’t like surprises. They like to know what to expect, and for you to be entirely predictable. This is the basic building block of trust. When dogs know, trust and love you and they understand what you want of them, they are almost unbelievably anxious to please. Once this basic relationship has been established, you can go on to whatever discipline of training you prefer. There are many. Basic home dog obedience, protection and police dog work, tracking, sniffing out dangerous substances or trapped or buried people, sheep herding, flyball, jumping and agility, blind dog training and other disabled helper functions, to name just a few.

The post All About Dogs Dog Training first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Successful dog training is the goal of responsible dog owners. It is not only beneficial to everyone in a household or family but also to neighbors, mail carriers, other pets, and children.

The hard part of course is making a decision on what school of thought to use when training a dog. The best thing to do is to just use some amount of trial and error and decide for your self what will work and what will not.

Training Goals

Training your dog successfully may take some time, but in the end it will be worth it. Consider your goals when training your dog, such as the following:

* To build a report of trust and respect between you and your dog

* To obtain the power to control your dog at any time or at any place

* To wean your dog from a very young age in order for it to be properly socialized

* To achieve results while working with the learning instincts of a specific dog breed

There are many other reasons you might want to train your dog. One of them may be simply so your animal does not tear your entire house apart, and another is so he/she does not drive your household crazy!

Types of Lessons

One major area of training involves teaching your dog to obey you. This requires quite a bit of repetition before your dog is able to understand your commands, such as “sit” or “stay” or “come.”

Another primary type of training of course is puppy training. This usually includes such aspects of “breaking in” your beloved pet: Potty training, behavior correction, and boundary setting.

Of course, potty training is often done while your dog is still a puppy. There are a variety of schools of thought regarding this. Sometimes an area in the house is designated for this or the master of the dog takes the animal straight outside.

One of the latest potty training trends is to train the dog to use the bathroom toilet, believe it or not. Sometimes real or turf grass patches are installed in homes, or even a litter box may be used for this purpose.

Behavior correction of a dog usually involves such aspects of training such as preventing the dog from chewing everything in sight or stopping the animal from digging holes. Boundary setting usually involves activities such as teaching your dog to stay in the yard or teaching the dog where he can go in the house or not go in the house. Additional training you may give your dog would serve an entirely different purpose.

Believe it or not, there is ways to make your pet feel more useful. For example, some people teach a dog how to fetch a newspaper or how to spot hunting prey.

Of course, there are more specialized training schools for pets. For instance, companion dogs and guide dogs are available for blind or otherwise impaired or isolated individuals. This would take additional time though.

The post Brief Overview Of Basic Dog Training first appeared on Puppy Blog.