Does your dog not listen? Try these tips for maximum success
Use cheese as a treat when you’re training your canine companion. Cheese is a nice change of pace for your dog from packaged treats. Dogs generally love cheese and will consider it a good treat. Don’t overdo it though, cheese can be high in sodium. Your dog may be sensitive to this.
Young pups are prone to chewing on their owners’ belongings. You can address this problem by immediately stopping your pup if he chews on an inappropriate object and giving him toys that he can chew on instead. Praise your dog every time he finds you chewing on an allowed toy. Staying consistent with this training method can save your furniture or your favorite pair of shoes.
Never yell at a barking dog. While a barking dog will surely add to his frustration level, resist the urge to yell at him. Dogs don’t understand that you’re yelling at them and often associate raising your voice when you join in on the barking fun. If your dog is barking, calmly distract him with a toy or treat, and when he stops barking, give him his treat.
Check with your community management pet policy. Pet-loving families can run into trouble when moving from a home with a generous pet policy to a place where pets are not allowed. Move to a place where the pet policy allows you to keep your family friends. Don’t abandon them just because the first place you find has a no-pet policy.
Be sure not to reinforce unwanted behavior. You don’t want to give your dog treats or special attention during training if he isn’t performing the task correctly. If he does, they’ll think he’s satisfied and keep doing things the way they’re doing and not getting any better.
If your dog suffers from separation anxiety, an easy way to train him is to avoid paying attention to him immediately before and after you leave. It may seem bad for the dog if you don’t say goodbye before you leave, but those long goodbye hugs just give the dog a chance to get nervous.
When training your dog to deal with his fear or anxiety related behaviors, go slow. Responding to a fear or anxiety response with aggression only breeds more fear and even mistrust. Take your time and give your dog a chance to succeed. She will grow in confidence and reduce fear induced behaviors.
A clicker and some treats can be a very effective method of training your dog. Because a clicker can be easier for a dog to understand than a voice command, the lessons can be quick and productive. Training sessions should not last more than fifteen minutes, as dogs have short attention spans.