Teaching Your Dog Obedience

Perhaps obedience is the most important thing that any pet should render to its master. Dog obedience is a great thing to have. Having a defiant dog can create a lot of stress and problems for the owner. Its vital that you have control over your pet. Ruling it with an iron fist is out of the question. Being too strict gets you nowhere. When training one should let the animal know who's in charge, but cut it some slack. Don't be too lax or your pet will think it's the boss. You'll end up with a hard headed dog. nnHaving effective communication skills is the key. Positive compliments does help pets during training. It motivates them to do better and you gain more cooperation from it. Implementing a reward system does wonders. Knowing when to praise and reward your pet is a must. Never praise or give a reward to your dog doing something disobedient. Otherwise it will make it a habit – and you lose control over it. Keeping your pet happy is necessary. Trying to teach an angry or sad pet is very difficult. They tend to not obey any commands. Therefore you must know how to calm them down or make them happy. nnThey are more willing to learn when in a good mood. As much as possible try to keep your dog in that state. There is a proper time to correct or punish it. Be aware though: dogs are lesser mammals. There will be times that it'll just do things that dogs must do. Do not punish them for every mistake they make. You may lose its trust if you do so. Dog training must take place at the right time. Training your pet at a very young age doesn't work. Attempting to do so at an old age will surely be harder; hence the expression “you can't teach an old dog new tricks”. nnYou must be ready to train as well. There must be a constant dog training schedule set. You must have enough time at hand to follow it. Training it whenever you feel like can't work. It must be made routine. In short, the both of you must be ready. Nutrition plays a part in this as well. There must be enough nutrients for you pet to get it through each training session and through out the day. Lacking any essentials could make it tire easily, shortening the duration of the time alloted for training. Make sure that it gets enough water or whatever you choose to let it drink. nnGiving breaks for your pet during training sessions should be observed. Never push your pet over its limit. Don't work it too hard. It can't do anything if it doesn't have the energy to do so. Enough time for rest is important. Dog training is not an easy task - it requires patience and an owner that is has the will and time to carry out the routines. Consulting a professional for more tips on how to gain obedience from a dog may be necessary, especially for those who have no experience at all.