Train Your Dog In Less Time With These Dog Training Techniques

by: LeeDobbins
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The easiest way to successfully train your dog is always to start with some basic dog training techniques. Still not fully understood, the relationship between man and his best friend goes back in time many years. Although many people will say that humans are smarter than dogs, after carefully watching you might wonder if your dog still might have the edge!

In order to avoid human frustration and canine misbehavior, when training dogs consider these factors. Remember that while, dogs understand and respond at roughtly the mental level of a human two year old, their senses are very different from humans. For instance, their color vision has a different response pattern to reds and greens. Additionally, their minds process information different from humans. And obviously, of course, their noses are much more sensitive than that of human. Keeping these thoughts in mind will make the task of dog training much easier.

By instinct, dogs are still pack animals. They are actually descended from wolves, also pack animals, who are social animals and work best within a hierarchy where all members interact with each other appropriately.

Dedicate at least 30 minutes per day (one hour would be ideal) for the first few months of training. Begin when your dog is still a puppy. You can start as early as four weeks with some breeds, as long as you remember the age of your dog and accept his limitations.

All training has similar guidelines or dog training techniques that should be followed, although housebreaking is a bit different, however we will leave the specifics of that to a different article.

One of the first things to do would be to let your dog know that you are the dominant one. There is a hierarchy to dog packs, starting with alpha dogs, then beta dogs, and then down to the omega dog. The human, whether it is a man or woman, needs to always be the alpha male if you want your household to remain calm and your dog to be well-adjusted.

The ease with which this is done depends largely on the breed of your dog, as well as the individual temperament of your dog. Just like people, some dogs act more assertively than others. Tools like leashes, collars, commands, and other training material are nice to have but the thing that influences successful training is your dog's attitude. Don't allow him to take charge of you.

Of course, that doesn't mean that you have to use physical force to assert that you're in charge. Occasionally you'll need to use proper physical restraint, but being firm and confident will usually be sufficient for training your dog.

When they are young, try putting them on their backs with your hand firmly on their chest. When their paws go down they are signaling that they recognize your authority. Sometimes doing this in combination with close eye-to-eye contact helps, since this is the language in which dogs speak.

In the beginning it is best to keep the dog on a short leash to help curb the dog's inherent desire to run and scamper. Time to run freely is an important component of a dog's health and well-being, but, at the outset, this should only be allowed prior to or after the training, instead of during the session.

Use single word commands like sit, stay, down, in a firm tone. Always keep your voice the same or each command but make sure each of the different commands sounds different to your dog. You should avoid using double-word commands like 'sit down' or 'stay down' as these words are similar and can confuse your dog.

When you give a verbal command, make sure your facial expression and tone of voice are consistent and use the same hand signals. Ultimately you can separate these from one another, but initially simplicity and consistency are key.

Don't expect much more from a two-year-old dog than you would a two-year-old human. Neither of them can be expected to understand subtle hints or inconsistent speech. Be persistent and do it the same way, every time. Don't let the same command have more than one meaning. It really doesn't matter if you use the command 'down' to mean 'lie down' or 'stop jumping up on people,' as long as you don't try to use the same word for both.

Being patient, clear and consistent with your dog training techniques will result in an easily trained pet that understands what you want and complies. In short, your efforts will be rewarded with a dog that is a joy to be around!

About the Author

Is your dog a bad boy? Find out how training him can be as easy as 123 with the dog training techniques you'll learn about at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/.  

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