Train Your Dog: How And Where To Start

Welcome to dog parenting! Now that you’re officially a dog owner, you can now enjoy the perk of owning man’s best friend. However, owning a dog is not as easy as a walk in the park. Your responsibility doesn’t only include feeding and playing with your pooch. It is a dog owner’s responsibility to train your dog not only tricks but good behaviors as well.

But wait – where does one start?

Train As Early As You Can

Proper dog training starts as soon as possible. It would be easier to start training your dog as a pup. This way, they can develop appropriate socialization skills and habits expected of a good dog. It can seem to be overwhelming – especially if this is your first time owning a dog. However, with a little bit of patience, you’ll soon figure out the best way to teach your dog.

Dog Obedience Program

The obedience program is one of the first dog training you need to enforce on your new dog. Without obedience, you’ll find it hard to train your dog other essential things like where to poop and pee, not to chew on things other than their chew toys, etc.

Positive Reinforcement

There are different ways on how dog owners can encourage their fur babies to listen and obey on command. However, positive reinforcement always wins when it comes to dog training.

Dog Games

One way to have fun and still get to train your dog is by using games. Remember that dogs are like little kids. Grab their attention and let them have fun, and they’ll be more than willing to learn. Buy them the right dog toys that will provide them with mental stimulation.

We highly recommend getting a PupPod, a smart and interactive dog toy. Unlike other toys, this one can be connected to your smartphone. It’s an awesome toy that can teach your dog cognitive skills, self-control, patience, and concentration. Plus, you can control the game difficulty so your dog gets smarter with every single game!

Potty Training and Crate Training

There are dog owners who would rather keep their dogs outside of their homes. When this is the case, their dogs tend to poop wherever they want or even inside their cages. However, this is not recommended. For those who would rather keep their dogs indoors, potty training is essential, so that they’ll learn where to poop and pee.

Here are a few tips on how to start potty training your dog

• It’s best to start between 12-16 weeks
• Keep them on a regular feeding schedule (using an automatic dog feeder can help)
• Take your fur baby to the same spot every time to poop and pee
• Praise your dog every time they eliminate outside. A treat or a walk around the block can be a good reward.
• If you find your dog barking, sniffing, whining, circling, or scratching at the door, it could mean your dog needs to go poop or pee

Here are a few tips when crate training your dog

• Give him a crate that is large enough for them to stand, lie down and turn around
• Provide fresh water if you’re going to leave your dog inside the crate for more than 2 hours
• Refrain from using a crate if your dog still poops on it

 Leash Training

As a dog owner, it’s essential that you get to train your dog to walk on a leash. This is not just for their safety and those around you, but because there are areas that have leash laws. Teach them to walk without pulling or lunging on your leash. This will make each walk more enjoyable for both you and your dog.

Socialization Training

Socialization is vital as it is also one of the needs of every dog. Teach them how to properly behave and socialize around new people, dogs, other animals, and unique things and experiences. The more socialized your dogs get, the more you can prevent your dog from developing new fears or phobias.

Clicker Training

An excellent example of positive reinforcement training is clicker training. It proves to be an effective yet straightforward way to train your dog. By using a clicker, you can teach your dog different types of tricks, be it a simple sit, stand, or roll around to more advanced skills.

Basic Dog Training Commands And Tricks

Teaching your dog to basic cues and commands gives you control while giving your dog a sense of structure. This is especially important as it can help you manage behavioral problems.

Here are eight basic dog commands to teach your dog

• come
• with me
• sit
• drop it
• stay
• lie down
• wait
• leave it

When it comes to tricks, here are fun tricks you can teach your dog

• speak
• back up
• wave
• sping
• kiss
• rollover
• play dead

Proofing The Dog Training

This is the last step when it comes to training your dog any new behavior. When proofing your dog, it pays to practice the new behaviors by placing your dog in different situations with various levels of distraction. For example, you taught your dog to stay not in just the spot where you taught them the command, but in different rooms and places as well. This is due to the fact that dogs will typically behave the way we train them at home, but they behave differently in other places.

Make sure to practice the new command in different settings and adding some distractions. Be patient, be consistent, and try to think like a dog. Teach them how to control themselves, acknowledge behaviors that are common in dogs, especially those that are typical in their breed. This way, you’ll find it easier to proof the behavior.

Understand that no dogs are the same. Each dog learns differently and their age, size, breed, and history. Some dog breeds can quickly learn commands, can be trained even by the owner. If you don’t have the time to train your dog, then you can choose to hire a professional dog training to do it for you.

However, just because you had your dog professionally trained, doesn’t mean you can already sit back and relax. You still need to be involved at some level, or else all training will go to waste. Thankfully, there re different ways on how you can train your dog. You can customize the training methods and see which style is a better fit for your dog training needs.