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DOG TRAINING
Training pups / dogs requires careful supervision, consistency
and lots of patience. But training or teaching acceptable behavior is essential
for you to be happy together. They make any dog much easier to live with and
also strengthens the bond between dogs and humans. It is wise to instill good
habits and manners at an early age. Always praise him when he does something
right rather than showing anger and instilling pain when he doesn't. Punishing
or hitting can become meaningless if done too often and can make your dog
afraid of you. The only time you should strike your dog is when he actually
threatens to bite. Keep on repeating the commands, correct and manually guide
him to perform the command until he learns each lesson and do it always in
a firm, confident and a no-nonsense voice.
Toilet training :
Dogs are instinctively clean animals who avoid soiling
their own territory. However a puppy needs training which takes time and patience.
Some pups can be housetrained at three months, others may take longer. Take
the pup/dog out early in the morning, late in the night and then after each
meal, wait until he goes and then praise lavishly. This makes it fun for the
dog since it wants to please you. Reduce the responsibility for mistakes indoors
by always watching your dog when it is inside and taking it our as soon as
you can see it wants to go. Cover the floor of the dog's living area with
newspapers at night to make for easy cleaning. Always pick up the dogs excrement
and bury it with the use of a plastic shovel. Leaving it open or near any
water source can cause unsanitary conditions.
Biting:
The pup's jaw muscles are not properly developed, between 4 and 18 weeks
of age. During this time, it is perfectly normal for puppies to use its sharp
little teeth to bite us. They are undergoing a natural learning process and
it is our job to teach them that biting humans is not acceptable. Shouting 'no'
and tapping it on the nose only confuses the dog, all it learns is that
when you bite a human, dart away quickly. Instead do what happens naturally
between two pups in play. When one bites too hard, the other yelps and the first
lets go. Every time the puppy's teeth comes in contact with your skin, let out
a yelp. You will quickly teach it not to use its teeth on you. After 18 weeks,
when the adult teeth push through, there should be no contact between the dog's
teeth and your skin and clothing. No matter how gently it grasps your hand in
its mouth, it is an attempt at domination. Use a loud 'get off' combined with
sharp eye contact and ignore it for a moment thereafter. Do not pet or praise
when it lets go- there should be no rewarding circumstance during any interaction
involving the dog's teeth.
Basic commands :
Basic commands can be taught when your puppy is 12 weeks
old. But wait until he is 6 or 8 months old before enrolling him in obedience
classes. Get a collar and leash before teaching commands. The leash should
be 6 feet long and 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Hold it in a way that you have about
2 feet in reserve. Training sessions should be regular say 15 to 30 minutes
once or twice a day.
Basic training in obedience includes teaching commands like
heel, sit, stay, down, come, no or leave it, drop it and don't jump up and
so on. The first and the most important command you can teach your dog is
to heel i.e walk along beside you on your left side without going ahead or
going behind. Always snap the leash to get him into position. Then go on ahead
with the other commands one by one praising him lavishly while he learns.
Keep on repeating the commands, correct and manually guide him to perform
the command until he learns each lesson and do it always in a firm, confident
and a no-nonsense voice.
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