Obedience Dog Training - How to Housebreak Your New Pup

By Dennis Fisher

Training should begin the moment you bring the pup into your home. Not serious training of course, but basic training in what you consider to be acceptable good manners. With gentle but firm handling your pup will soon learn what is expected of him.
It is important to remember, when you reprimand your pup, the correction must be associated with the unacceptable act. In housebreaking him, for example, it is essential to correct him immediately you find him misbehaving. It is pointless taking him to a spot you find later, pointing to it and reprimanding him in a loud disapproving voice. Or even worse, rubbing his nose in it. Of course he is going to look "guilty". You may gain the impression that he understands what he has done but this is certainly not so.

If you intend your dog to be a house dog, when you bring the pup into your home for the first time it is essential for him to have a place that he can consider "his home". Find a suitable place in the house. Provide suitable bedding of some sort - an old blanket, or towel - and let him know that this is where you expect him to lie.

Housebreaking your pup
A young animal's control of his functions is going to be weak. You cannot expect too much with regard to bladder control from a very young pup. If you live in a home where there is an outside garden, training will be very much easier. A soon as you see any evidence of him wanting to relieve himself, which will be very obvious by his behavior, pick him, without grabbing him. Make disapproving sounds without being too harsh - "No my dog! No my dog! Outside!" Carry him outside and watch him while he does his business. Then praise him enthusiastically. "That's a good dog!"

By watching the pup carefully, especially after he has eaten, the indication that he wants to relieve himself, will be more and more obvious to you. For the first week of two it might be necessary to be very attentive and watch him carefully. But housebreaking is usually not a lengthy process and it certainly should not continue for more than two weeks.
Of course the process can be helped considerably if you feed him at regular times, regular intervals and in specific place. He should also be allowed to drink water at specific times. About an hour after he has finished eating give him his bowl of water.

After he has had enough to drink it will not take long before the water starts to start taking effect. Within a half an hour after he has had sufficient water he will want to relieve himself. With regard to water not being freely available, it should be noted that restricting water applies only to a pup. Adult dogs should have water available for them at all times
If you are still in the initial stages of housebreaking, you can take wait for your pup to show the telltale signs of wanting to relieve himself. Then continue with the process of picking him up before he has a chance to do so. Take him quickly outside.

Alternatively if you have passed this early stage, you can take him directly outside; wait for him to perform, then praise extravagantly. The procedure is slightly different if you live in an apartment and it is difficult to take the pup quickly outside. You can put down several layers of newspapers over a fairly wide area in a certain place in the house - preferably near the back door.

Wait for him to show signs of wanting to relieve himself. Then pick him and place him on the newspapers. Use the same process of praising him when he has finished Place the papers near the door so that he will learn to associate this as the place where is required to go. At a later stage you can even place some of the papers half under the door and half outside. He will soon get used to the idea of going to the door when he wants to relieve himself, even when there are no papers.

Obviously the idea of newspapers on the floor can be very convenient at night. A very young pup will want to relieve himself frequently during the night. It is also a good idea to restrict the pup at night to a certain area in your home, preferably the kitchen or bathroom, rather than let him have the run of the house.
At a later stage, when he has the run of the entire house, he will soon get the idea of going to his own special area or will whine to go outside.

Dennis Fisher has been involved with many breeds of dogs every since his schooldays. Although he specializes in the breeding, obedience training and showing of top quality German Shephers, he has owned a great variety of different breeds. He was Director of training for an all-breed training School and is still active in competitive obedience training.

You will find a great deal of other useful information about the basic training of dogs on the author's website http://www.freedogadvice.com
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Dog Training Aids - Get The Right Tools For The Job

By Andrew Strachan

Dog trainers and their suppliers are endlessly coming up with new and innovative tool boxes for training purposes. These new dog training tools, while attractive in nature, should not be a substitute for basic training knowledge.
The first step in dog training is ensuring your dog is in good health. Gentle collars and relaxed training regiments can be harmful if the dog has unknown open sores or twisted paws.

Clickers
One of the best ways to gain a dog’s attention is through a clicker device. This is a hand-held device which fits into the palm of a hand. Loud ‘click-clack’ noises are emitted when a button is pressed and released. The main function behind this is preserving the trainers’ voice from repeating commands over and over again. The audible sound is detectable by dogs even in common surrounding background noises.
The clicker can be used to attract a dog’s attention. The common uses are as a reward or ‘begin’ sound when the dog exhibits a desired behavior.

Leashes and Collars
The dog leash market covers everything from two-foot control leashes to 30 foot extendable and retractable nylon cord variations.
A two to four foot leash is ideal for near training situations such as training to ‘sit’ or ‘stay’. An extendable leash is ideal for when trainers want to obey their dog. Regardless of the distance between dog and trainer, the trainer should always maintain the ‘alpha male’ position and thus always lead.

Like leashes, dog collars come in many variations. Be sure that all snaps, buttons and nylon material is in quality condition. This makes the collars suitable for even large dogs. Adjust the collars to allow the dog enough room to move its head around but not enough room to easily slip through and escape.
This trainer does not endorse the use of spike collars. These can easily damage a small dog and instill fear in large dogs. All breeds of dogs have strong neck muscles. One sharp tug of a choke collar however can bruise or damaged this area. Worst case is causing a collapse of the trachea. One common mistake is placing the choke collar on backwards. For these reasons, choke collars are counter-productive and often dangerous.

Vests
Much like leashes, chest halters and full vests strengthen a trainer’s hold over the dog. There is no excess pressure placed on the dog’s throat while the trainer maintains the hold advantage.
The only drawback to a vest training device is that no dog experiences discomfort from pulling. Therefore training is limited with this device to positive reinforcement behaviors. In fact, chest halters actually encourage pulling by the dog. This is discouraged behavior.
When extra control over a strong willed dog is needed, collars and leashes will not effectively serve this purpose.

Muzzles
Muzzles are effective in dealing with short term barking and biting control issues. The only drawback here is that the dog does not obtain another means in which to stop barking. Unless the muzzle is always present, the barking will continue to be an issue. The muzzle takes the training place of voice commands such as ‘no bark’.
Other devices exist on the market such as no-bark collars; electric fences and chemical sprays. However, these are used more as control devices than effective training tools.

Above all, the most effective training tools can not be found on the market. There is no substitute for giving your dog simple love and respect. Treating the dog like the loving part of the family will produce desired behavior quickly and more effectively than any training device.
Article by Andrew Strachan. Find out more dog training aids and dog behavior training advice at http://www.types-of-dogs.com/training/
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Dog Training Tips You Can Use To Teach Your Dog

By Mendy Stern

Regardless of the age of your dog it is never to late to train them. However, when possible, you should begin training a puppy at 6 to 8 weeks old. In this article we will look at dog training tips that you can use to train your dog or puppy. First of all positive reinforcement is the best way to train your dog. Positive training leads to your dog wanting to please you and it will learn a lot faster. Dogs are like children in that they want to please you, but they need to be taught how. As soon as they know how to do this they will feel a part of your family.

By rewarding your dog with positive praise, and a treat, they will learn to listen to the command you are trying to teach. Each treat could be a piece of small chicken, or a tiny treat the size of a dime.

You do not want your dog eating off your table so teach them to lay down in their bed when it is time to sit down at the table to eat. Dogs need to only eat their own dog food.
When teaching your dog to stay, go down, and sit, you want to use a lower firm voice. But for the come and heel command do this in a friendly voice. Just make sure that all are firm but friendly commands. By using a different voice they will know you are teaching them something.

It used to be thought when a dog had an accident you rubbed their nose in it or you hit their nose with a newspaper. Do not do this because it is wrong. When you learn something you want positive praise and so does your dog. When your dog has an accident take it outside and show them were they should go.

The wrong way to train your dog is to punish them. You will scare them and they will be afraid of you and not learn what you are trying to teach them. To help your dog learn keep training them everyday day and give those little treats.
When your dog follows a command make sure you use positive praise and a treat so they know you are watching them and that you are proud of them. Hopefully you can use these dog training tips to teach your do what you want it to do.

Copyright (c) 2007 Mendy Stern
For more information on puppy dog training visit our website. For more information on Mendy Stern and Doggy pads visit Doggypads.com
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