Now let’s discuss about some guidelines on how to make training easier for your dog and you.
1. Start simple.
Start with the most basic training and give your dog a lot of practice to get it right. Don’t expect miracles over night. Make the tasks harder as the days progress but not suddenly. Your dog isn’t a robot. Wait till your dog has mastered the first task before adding a new task to the list.
2. Be consistent.
Make sure that you use the same wordings or actions for the same task. For example, do not use “come” one day and “come here” the next. This will confuse your dog and he will not learn a thing.
3. Use food as rewards.
The best way to make a dog enjoy training is to offer him food treats as rewards after the training.
4. Make rewards sporadic.
Dogs are motivated by irregular rewards. Once your dog gets used to training make sure you treat them only for the best responses. Also vary the amount of treats you give and when you give it.
5. Do not repeat commands.
If you constantly keep repeating commands your dog will feel like it’s not necessary to obey your commands and will ignore you.
6. Keep it short.
Training is most effective when it is given for short spans on a daily basis. This keeps the mood light or else the dogs get the feeling of being drilled and quickly lose interest in training. There can be a number of short trainings in a day but do not let a training session cross more than half an hour at a stretch.
7. Make family members also train her.
For your dog to obey your family members make sure they also are present during training sessions and sometimes participate in the training.
8. Have patience.
There is no point in losing your temper with your dog. Hitting or yelling will not make your dog listen to you. If anything it will make them more stubborn and resentful. They will lose trust in you and consider you as a scary person.
9. Keep practicing.
Once your dog has learned something don’t expect her to remember it all her life. If you don’t practice, she will assume that it’s not important and will not obey the commands. Hence, it is always better to make her regularly practice.
10. Practice the fact that “Nothing in life is free”.
Always make your dog obey a command before giving her a treat or a belly rub or anything she wants. If she ignores the command then do not indulge in her preferences. Drop the toy or treat and walk away. Try again in a few minutes and keep trying till she obeys
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Chapter 5: Basic House Breaking Information And FAQ’s
First of all, we shall look at some frequently asked questions about housebreaking a puppy. This will help you understand the process better.
What is house breaking?
The first question to be dealt with is what is house breaking? House breaking is a schedule to be followed to train your dog about what he or she should and shouldn’t do in the house.
It is one of the most important segments of your puppy’s training. It is basically like potty training a child: training your little pup to defecate and urinate in a designated space in the house or outside the house completely. When puppies are with their mothers, their mothers usually train them not to relieve themselves wherever they rest and eat, but most of them need to be trained once again when you bring them to your home, away from their mothers. Young pups will relieve themselves whenever and wherever they feel like, so you need to change these habits. This process of breaking the pup’s habits of peeing and pooping inside the house is known as house breaking. You can also call it toilet training.
Dogs are very similar to babies when it comes to their waste disposal patterns. They are very predictable and when you observe them for a few days you can figure out at what times they need to pee.
It is easy to house break your puppy if you understand the working behind it. Puppies are trained from birth to be as clean as possible. From the moment they are born their mothers clean them down after they are done with their disposal business. It is deeply ingrained into their brains that they should not pee or poop where they sleep. This is why they never pee in the places where they like to sleep and eat. But this doesn’t mean that they will not pee or poop elsewhere in the house. They will excrete in any corner of the house that they fancy and which is far away from their sleeping and eating area. Most dogs love to pee on carpets or mats because they are warm and dogs assume them to be a form of grass. They are puppies so we cannot expect them to take the effort to go out into the garden if they find a spot that is very similar to grass in their minds.
