Dogs are affectionate, caring, and give you an altogether positive vibe. Their presence in the house makes your space delightful. There is no doubt about these wonderful pets being loving but they can at times become mischievous, particularly if not trained properly. Getting a dog is easy but training will surely test your patience. The way you take care of them, try to give the good quality food, you should put effort into training them for your and their sake. Here are some tips on effectively training basic obedience to your pet.
How to Get Started?
As one of the best training techniques, we recommend positive reinforcement methods. This means rewarding your dog for the behavior you are conditioning them to adopt. It is just like getting a paycheck after working hard for a month. Under any circumstances, do not yell or punish them as it will scare them away and make them afraid of you. You don’t want your dog to associate your presence with negativity and fear. Always treat your furry fellow with love and patience, also while training sessions. Keep in mind that your dog probably won’t change their bad habits within a week. It might take months until your dog learns to listen to you and follow your commands systematically.
Another way to do this is by using a clicker. The sound of a clicker can be associated with the good behavior of dogs and can become a powerful tool for training. You can also use hand signals along with verbal commands. Using hand signals can help dogs better understand what is expected of them. Additionally, it is important to train your dog in different environments to help them generalize their training. Start training in a quiet room and gradually move to a more noisy environment. This will help your dog learn to listen to you even when there are distractions around.
Coming towards rewards, you can treat your dog with anything they like. It can be a food piece or their favorite toy to play with. Don’t forget to show your love and approval of their good behavior. Pet them and praise generously every time they follow your command.
1. Keep it Short
Remember! Always keep the training sessions short. Make sure to end every session at a happy note so that your dog would be excited for any other one. If your pet is not responding enthusiastically to your call, consider increasing the reward or work on making the steps easier for the dog to understand. Keep evaluating training sessions to make them more effective.
2. Take it Slow
We cannot communicate with animals in their language therefore, it is only through our actions that we can teach them to be obedient and become a great family companion. Take things slow when training your puppy or older dog. Don’t try teaching them everything on the same day or one after another. Make them get hold of one command and then move towards the other one. Having so much on their plate will confuse them about what they are expected to do when certain words are uttered. Teach them at a pace that is convenient for them. Don’t forget to include repetitions.
3. Be Persistent
If your dog hasn’t been fully trained yet, consistency is everything. Don’t skip training sessions. Your dog needs to listen to the terms you are teaching them on daily basis for them to get accustomed to it completely. If you miss their training session for a day or two, your pup will be likely to forget how to respond to commands and you might have to start all over again.
4. Teach Your Dog First
When you are just beginning with basic obedience training, we recommend teaching easy & useful commands first.
- ”Come”: Begin this training indoor. At home, get your dog’s attention to the treats in your hand or a toy. Call ‘’Come’’ and run away from your dog. If your dog follows, each time click and treat them. If your dog is not interested, take a squeaky toy, play energetically with the toy, call ‘’Come’’ and show the toy to your dog. Click and treat for coming to you. When your dog is getting better in this exercise, keep increasing the distance between you both. Move to ‘’Come II’’, ‘’Come III’’ and ‘’Come & Hell’’ trick in Dogo App.
”Sit”: Firstly, stand in front of your dog with a treat in your hand. Lift it from your dog’s nose over their head. Use the Dogo App clicker to click. Reward only when your dog sits down completely. If your dog stays sitting, call your dog to you, and repeat the exercise. When your dog masters the command, move to ‘’Sit II’’ and ‘’Sit & Stay’’ to challenge their focus skills.- “Stay”: is another important command that should be taught after “Come” and “Sit.” Begin by asking your dog to sit, then take one step back and say “Stay.” If your dog stays in place, walk back to them and give them a treat. Gradually increase the distance between you and your dog.
- “Leave It”: This command is useful when your dog is about to eat or chew on something they shouldn’t. Hold a treat in one hand and say “Leave it.” If your dog tries to grab the treat, cover it with your hand and say “No.” When your dog backs away, give them a different treat from your other hand.
5. Keep it Fun
Dogs need to be treated with a lot of love and care for them to be happier and healthier. If you want to train your pup basic obedience, make sure to do it with consistency and patience. With a little bit of positive attitude and motivation, you will surely condition your pup to behave better and listen to your cues for their own safety.
While consistency and patience are important when training your dog, so is making sure that the training is fun and engaging. Incorporating games and playtime into your training sessions can help keep your pet interested and motivated. For example, you can play hide-and-seek with your dog to help them learn the “come” command. Or you can teach them to fetch as a way to reinforce the “drop it” command. Additionally, you can switch up the training activities to keep things interesting for your dog. For instance, you can train your dog in different locations such as the park or beach. Remember, when training is fun, your dog is more likely to be engaged, learn faster, and be more obedient.
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