Train Your Dog More Effectively With These Tips

If you take the time to train your dog the essentials, you are building a foundation for a lifelong enjoyable relationship with your pet. You can even teach an old dog a few new tricks with the right strategy. Here are a few neat dog training pointers.

If you have gotten a dog or puppy and you have crate trained them you should always try not to keep them in there for more than four or five hours at a time unless it's overnight or it's just a once-in-awhile thing. If you have to have them in the crate for longer periods of time, a dog probably wasn't the best option for you.

Play with your dog often. In order to train your dog efficiently, it is important to develop and nurture a bond between the two of you. Make sure you are taking the time out of your day to play with your dog. It will be fun and stress-reducing for both of you.

When training, be specific about what you want your dog to do. Using vague commands like "no" tend to be ineffective. No only tells him that you didn't like what he did, but not why. If you say "no" when he jumps on the couch, he may think you wanted him to jump higher. Use specific commands like stay and sit for better results.

Puppy chewing is a natural and necessary behavior, but it can be redirected. A puppy's chewing is one way that he explores the environment around him. Provide your puppy with clear leadership and a lot of human interaction and stimulation. Also, provide him with fun chew toys. This will help stop him from chewing on the things that he should not be chewing on.

Start training your dog as early in its life as possible, but not younger than about seven weeks. This helps build an early bond between you as the owner and trainer and the dog. However, starting too early will simply overstress the dog; a very young puppy won't learn anything from training sessions.

Avoid training devices which are high end such as shock collars. They often do not function well as they say they do and are a lot more expensive as opposed to conventional methods of training. They can also discourage good behaviors as they inhibit your dog's behavior too much. Generally speaking, these techniques often produce undesirable results.

Get in the habit of only giving your dog a direct command one time. It will seem easy to just repeat it over and over until he responds, but don't do that. Instead, revisit the training until your dog understands that you expect him to react the first time you say something.

To stop your dog from biting, you should express pain every time it bits you and then ignore your dog for a few minutes. When your dog bites you softly, reward it by responding to their nipping and playing with your dog. Make sure your dog understands the difference between biting and soft nipping.

When your dog understands the benefits and rewards of learning the tricks you teach it, the desire to learn is often as rewarding as the reward itself. Your dog will be happier, and so will you.