By: Kelly Marshall
Submitted: 2009-08-14 04:34:01 | Word Count: 515
When you bring a dog into your home, whether it is a sweet and lovable puppy or it is an older dog that you have adopted from the shelter, you have a responsibility to make sure that it is well taken care of. Taking care of a dog involves a lot more than just giving it good food and vet care; you should also be aware that training your dog is an important part of taking care of him as well. Take some time and make sure that you are familiar with three major secrets that can help you train a dog of any age or temperament. The more you know about how to train dogs, the easier it will be to train your own.
Keep It Short
When you want to make sure that your dog is getting the point, don t let the session stretch on too long. When you are teaching your dog the basic commands of sit, stay and come, make sure that you keep the training sessions limited to short periods that don t stretch much past fifteen minutes or so. This doesn t mean that you can t pick up again after a short break, but when you keep it short, you are going to prevent the session from getting boring. If your dog is having trouble, by all means cut the session short, play for a while and then get back to it; this can keep your dog from getting frustrated.
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Praise and Lots of It
When your dog is learning well, remember to praise him for it. One thing that many people do not realize is that their dogs are significantly more focused on praise than they could ever be on negative feedback. Take a moment to consider what your options are going to be when you are thinking about training your dog effectively. The more time that you spend praising your dog, the better he will understand that he has done something good. Without positive reinforcement, your dog will be much more confused and your results are going to be much more mixed than if you give him praise.
Prevent, Not Punish
When you make training all about punishing your dog for things that he has done wrong, you are going to make things much rougher for yourself and for your dog. Remember that part of your training should be making your dog enjoy himself and it should be able to make him want to follow your commands. Rather than reprimanding your dog for doing something wrong, stop him before he does it. This can help you keep your dog free of bad habits and it can make training much more enjoyable for both you and your dog.
When you want to take good care of your dog, remember that the more time that you spend working on improving his behavior and making sure that he obeys your commands, the safer he is going to be. Take a moment to keep these training techniques in mind and to make sure that you know what you need.
