The Most Important Dog Training Secret for New Puppy Owners

Recently, I wrote an answer to a puppy training question on yahoo answers. People say that some of those questions are really dumb. And they may be right, but really dumb questions can raise excellent issues that impact all of us dog lovers.

For example, the questioner wrote: "But we went to puppy training class so he remembers SOME commands." My response: Why doesn't he respond to ALL the commands taught in the puppy training class?
Puppy Learning (your dog) and Puppy Training (you)
Clearly, the commands learned in the class were not reinforced in the case of the yahoo answers questioner.

Let's take a look at this issue from the standpoint of the way a dog learns. Do you show a puppy how to sit 10 times and then expected him to know the verbal command and the hand signal? And then you stop training him?

Puppy learning (your dog) and puppy training (you) are ongoing processes. For example, I was gone for a week when we brought Simon home from PA. When I came back, Alvin (6 months at the time) wasn't responding to simple obedience commands. No one had bothered to reinforce "Sit," "Down," "Stay," and "Come" while I was gone. He hadn't forgotten them; he just wasn't used to doing them.

The Puppy Training Secret

Okay, it's not really a secret, but I needed to get your attention. It's more like common sense. I had to jog Alvin's memory - every day. I remembered the dog trainer mantra from the It's PAWSible! Dog Training and Puppy Training DVD - incorporate the commands into daily living and make the dog work for his rewards.

Of course you need to reinforce basic obedience training with short fun sessions on a daily basis, especially when you're teaching a new command. But the real secret to teaching dog obedience is to make it part of everyday activities.

But how to you make basic obedience part of your daily routine? Think about the times you interact with your dog(s) during the day and see what commands you can incorporate into your interactions.

Examples

1. You're bringing your dog in from outdoors. Ask him to Sit and Stay, and once you've walked through the door into your home, ask him to Come. Same activity going out the door, unless the dog really has to go!
2. Before you put his full food disk on the floor, ask for a Sit or a Down.
3. Your new puppy is shadowing you all over the house. As he's following you, stop, say Come, and lavish a lot of praise.
4. Alvin gets an occasional ice cube to supplement his drinking water. I get him to lie down, put the ice cube a foot in front of him, and say "Leave It." Once he looks at me, I say "Okay," and he gets the ice cube.
5. Simon (14 weeks) is leased in the house sometimes because he's not fully housetrained. So we practice the Stay and Come commands a lot.

I'm sure you can think of other situations where you can use the obedience commands. Once you've done these reinforcing activities for a few weeks, they become part of the routine. You will find that it'll make life easier for you and you will have a well-trained dog in no time. As a new puppy owner myself, anything that makes life easier is a gift!
valmillsy

FREE Dog Training Ebook - Resources and References

This picture of tranquility is NOT the result of training, just too much lunch.

Afternoon Siesta featuring The Boys

For those of you who'd rather see the resources in my free dog training ebook and not review 17 pages of text, here's the list of resources by section. I've used all of these for training Simon and Alvin.

Foreword
Gives credit for the title of the ebook to trainer Beth Ostrowski-Parks in the It's PAWSible! Dog Training and Puppy Training DVD

Introduction

Training Foundation: 8 Concepts to Understand Before You Begin Dog Training
Kindom of Pets Secrets to Dog Training
(the bible and reference manual)

HouseTraining
How To Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days (Revised)
Kindom of Pets Secrets to Dog Training

Obedience Commands
It's PAWSible! Dog Training and Puppy Training DVD

Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Victoria Stilwell's It's Me Or The DOG
Kindom of Pets Secrets to Dog Training

Advanced Commands
Kindom of Pets Secrets to Dog Training

valmillsy

Are YOU Training Your Dog or Is HE Training You (1 of 6)?

Alvin Showing Me How To Leash Train

This is the first in a series of blogs about dog training:

Introduction (you are here)
Training Foundation
HouseTraining
Obedience Commands
Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Advanced Commands/Tricks

When you hear or read about “dog training,” it might suggest teaching obedience commands like “Sit” and “Stay.” Or it might suggest puppy housetraining. Or teaching a dog tricks. Or specialty training like guide dogs or the police canines who sniff out drugs.

Dog Training as an Ongoing Process
All of these types of instruction fall under the category of “dog training.

It’s an ongoing process and never ends.

Either you are training your dog from the day he arrives in your home or he’s training you. Hopefully, it’s the former activity.

Why Dog Training is So Critical
I did not think about dog training as an ongoing process until I saw the movie “Marley and Me.” Soon after, I got a pup and realized that unless I took control of his education, he was more than likely to show signs of behavior problems. Also, I’ve seen animal-lover friends face serious behavior issues with dogs whose training was sporadic.

At this point, I believe the major reason dog shelters overflow with unwanted canines is owner lack of commitment, especially regarding training. Obviously, in these economic times, some people cannot afford their dogs. But the majority of dogs are given up because owners fail to understand the amount of time and effort a dog requires. Untrained dogs are frequently left in a shelter or abandoned.

Types of Dog Training Covered Here
Because I want a well-trained dog in my present and future, I decided to research what was available for certain types of training. I am continuously searching the Internet, talking to people who have dogs, watching trainers in action, and evaluating training DVDs. And I am determined to use what I learned. Any recommendation I make in this blog is a product I’ve used myself.

By the way, I’m NOT discussing specific training methodology (dog whispering, clicker training, reward training). How a particular type of training gets performed (methodology) is not talked about except in passing.

I consider the following types of training/information under the umbrella of “dog training:”

Training Foundation
HouseTraining
Obedience Commands
Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Advanced Commands/Tricks
Specialty Training (example: guide dog, performance training)

In future blogs, I will recommend specific aids based on my research and application for each of these training types, with the exception of Specialty Training.