Archive for the ‘how to crate train a dog’ tag
Be Consistent in Your Dog Training
I have had many dogs in my life and it never ceases to amaze me how many people think that there is a magic formula involved in getting a dog trained. There is a lot that goes into guiding and training a dog properly, but my own feeling is that it is extremely important to take advantage of the dogs natural instincts and to provide consistent and fair instruction once the puppy is old enough to take instruction.
Looking For Books On How To Train A Dog? (click on image for ideas from Amazon.com)
You must come to terms with the fact that it will take you a bit of time and patience to get your dog behaving the way you want it to behave. After that, it is a matter of know how to read the messages your dog is sending and then giving it messages of your own that it can understand. There are some dogs that seem to be particularly resistant to learning new things. Or, it might be more correct to say that they have strong wills of their own that they prefer to follow. One important thing to remember when you are training your new puppy is that you must be consistent in your expectations and in giving rewards or corrections. I myself have found that things work out better when I assume control of the dog training, but that is not always possible in every situation. This is not to be a control freak, but to avoid other people in my own household from giving the dog mixed messages which only seem to confuse the dog and the entire situation. This can be an uncomfortable situation if things are not agreed to from the beginning by all people living in the house. If more than one person will be dealing with the puppy, they must all be on the same page regarding how the puppy will be trained.
Whether you are trying to crate train your dog or just get a new puppy to stop biting, you must decide how you are going to go about it. It only takes one person rewarding the puppy for being cute when it misbehaves to make the whole process of training take a lot longer. Before you teach your new dog the rules, make sure that everyone in your home does too.