For Your Pets: Mar 7, 2007

Dog Training - With Love And Care!

by Mark

Any pet owner is required to train his or her pet dog before it becomes a situation of embarrassment for you in public. Most people suffer from acute behavioral problems with regard to their dogs - the most common being, biting, scratching, chewing one's shoes and unnecessary barking.

In the midst of such a crisis, all dog owners will surely want to teach their dogs and make them as civilized as they can. This, in turn, will strengthen your relationship with your best friend and help in pouring more love and affection between you and your pet dog.

Here are some simple, easy going tips of how you can train your dog -

It's quite natural behavior for the dogs to bite and chew just like my 3 months old Chihuahua used to do but what a dog owner can do is to teach "obedience" training. It means that, first of all train your dog to "sit", "stand", or bring the newspaper from the doorstep. "Tom" the eldest of my pets has become a genius in bringing our everyday newspaper from the doorstep. This acts as a basic teaching and handling tool for your dog
Effective dog training requires good timing. This is the most difficult thing for most dog owners to learn that is, a specific period of the day (mostly before dinner) should be kept exclusively for training and no fluctuation should occur with regard to that time period.
Learning how to communicate without words is the most important basic skill as dogs cannot understand human language. Certain words like: "sit down" or "stand up" should be stressed upon and pronounced exactly in the same manner so as to make them familiar with those words.
The dogs should be trained so as to greet the guests and stop unnecessary barking. Jack used to growl loudly whenever he would see some guests in our house but now he can well differentiate between a stranger and a guest.
They should be praised for their good work with some words like "well done" or patting their back which should be repeated so as to make them aware of those words or particular gestures.
Many dogs react strangely because they are not taken out for regular walks. So, a dog owner should have the habit of taking his/her doggy for a morning or an evening walk as this will help the dog to be more socialized with the environment and people. Even I am trying to take my Chihuahua for a regular evening walk as she is too shy to meet new people.
Just as we show patience while educating our kids we must have that same patience ready while training our pet dogs because most dogs are moody and by giving a cookie or favorite biscuit in his mouth for every training session, we can demand his/her obedience.
Another way of educating your dog is to arrange for a pet video show in you house. Make it a habit to watch pet videos with your dog just as I did while training Tom. It will help the dog to understand in a more better way. 164th Street Pet Salon is a pet shop situated in New York from where a video was sent to me by my friend. This video worked out a lot
Never blame a sick dog for misbehaving rather it's our duty to take the dog immediately to a vet for a medical checkup
Last but not the least; we should approach them in a more positive and humane way as they are our best of pals and a part of our family.

This is just the most amazing example of a woman who clearly loves her dog and whose dog loves her... they have incredible communication, bonding and connection...

VERY Heart warming!