Permanently Training Your Dog

Owning a dog is probably among the best experiences a human being could possibly have. It can also become a nightmare if you let the dog behave in anyway it wants. Bad habits are easily developed, and dogs are no different to children in this aspect. You’ll have to train the dog to cooperate with you, whether it’s feeding, walking, playing, sleeping or toilet training.

Having a well-trained dog can be a great pleasure, but getting there is not very easy. It is a journey that you and your dog have to make together - trite as that sounds, it is true. First of all, make sure that everybody in the family has something to do with the dog, and is familiar with it.

Next, make sure that everybody agrees on exactly what the dog’s role is going to be. There are a few questions that need to be settled - where will the dog sleep, what are the places in the house the dog is not allowed in, when will the dog be fed, where will it be fed, who will take it for walks? For the dog to develop an attachment for everybody in the house, and the other way round, it is a good idea to involve everybody in these things.

Once all the details are worked out, stick to it and make a routine out of it all. Dogs are habitual creatures and when they know what’s to be expected, they are more secure and happy.

The dog’s feeding times are significant to it’s proper training. While an odd treat is alright, don’t encourage it. Appoint fixed times for everything. Having a fixed schedule is the best way to train a dog correctly, because the moment you deviate from the routine, none of the messes can be blamed on the dog.

After the fundamentals are established and the dog is properly trained accordingly, you can move on to teaching it simple tricks and improve its obedience. Give the dog a treat when it does something right and shower some praise.

Every time your dog does something right, encourage and pet it, and let it know that it did something right.

A dog will make mistakes during the training period, but don’t lose your temper at that. You can’t train a gentle loving creature like a dog by putting in fear to it, so focus on treating it with love and respect and you’ll have a well-trained dog forever.