Hey Allan Codling here,
When we get our dogs we often look for dog training advice but often in the wrong places. The primary focus that we need to have is on dog obedience training as it is a crucial aspect for dog owners. Dog obedience training methods are the basis for a getting your dog to be well behaved, responsive. With these methods your dog will be able to live in your home with your family, friends and other dogs comfortably.
A lot of dog owners want to just potty train their dogs and forget about the obedience factor. What they do not realize is it is much more difficult to get your dog potty trained without the regular practice of obedience training. It makes it even more difficult to correct behavior problems like chewing, biting, jumping and aggression. It all starts with dog obedience training.
Dogs have what is called a pack mentality which means that they need a leader. It is your responsibility as the owner to build the relationship between you and your dog and get your dog to see you as the leader. Now many people either take this piece of dog training advice to lightly and spoil the dog and let it do whatever it wants and many take it to far and are way to militant with the dog and offer no real affection. Both of these habits are ill-advised. What you need to do is love your dog and shower him with affection, but always maintain your leader role in the relationship and the dog will become accustomed to this and recognize it quickly(dogs are smart, they know whats going on 😉 .
Are you a new dog owner and want to learn how to properly train and care for your dog? We can teach you how! For more information on dog training and additional information on dog behavior and dog health visit http://www.dogtrainingadvicearea.com/
Introducing Training To The Young Labrador Retriever
You can begin some elementary retrieving exercises at eight weeks or so, and your Labrador Retriever will most likely love the game and look forward to it each day. To teach the basic mechanics of the fetch (run out, pick up the object, return the object to the master, and release), begin by placing the puppy on a 10-foot lead.
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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.
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Take a favorite toy or a ball large enough not to be swallowed, dangle it in front and above the dog’s head to gain its attention, and toss it 5 to 6 feet in front of you. Precede your command with your dog’s name. For example, say, “Jake, fetch!” As he races for the toy, follow behind your Labrador Retriever.
Make sure the lead stays loose and does not snap shut and frighten or hurt him (and perhaps permanently sour him on retrieving).
If he picks up the toy, praise him encouragingly. Should he merely eye or paw the toy, make him pick it up by shaking it in front of him, repeating “Jake, fetch!” Once he has grasped the toy, walk backwards to your beginning spot. Coax him to follow you by motioning him toward you using your hands and fingers.
When he arrives back, get the toy from his mouth by commanding “Out!” and gently pulling it loose. Now is the time to give him a lot of praise and affection – not during the exercise, although encouragement can be helpful.
At such a young age, the emphasis in this and all types of exercise is on fun, not on performance. Improvement in response should naturally come with familiarity. As the puppy masters the game, vary it. Keep your Labrador Retriever guessing.
Try to remain in position and not move out toward the toy. Later, you can attach a longer lead and extend the distance of your throw, or throw the toy sideways. Any Labrador retriever worth its name will take easily and eagerly to this game.
It is recommended that you play with the Labrador Retriever puppy often and consciously make an effort to get down to its level. Standing upright, humans can be quite an imposing sight for a puppy. Sitting or lying on the floor, they are no longer towers but friendly companions. Giving a puppy some eye-to-eye attention will go a long way in cementing the human-dog bond.
Because a Labrador retriever make good swimmers as adults, some misinformed people think this gives them the liberty to dunk young puppies into any available pool of water. A Labrador Retriever is a natural swimmer, but the dog needs to learn the fundamentals before being expected to feel at ease in the water.
When a Labrador Retriever puppy’s first exposure to the water is being thrown or forced in, the shock may make it dislike and fear the water throughout life. Many potential field dogs have been ruined by improper or overzealous training.
The first introduction to the water can begin while a puppy is quite young (three months is a good age). A puppy should be able to master the mechanics very quickly, especially if “shown
the ropes” by some older dogs. The owner should always be nearby, should trouble arise. It often helps the dog feel at ease if the owner wades into the water with it on the first dip.
Ponds or lakes, with their easy entries, are best for training water dogs. The slick tiles and steep sides of a pool are often unmanageable for the dog, and many drownings have occurred when an exhausted dog was unable to climb out of the water. Similarly, a young Labrador Retriever puppy is not strong enough to manage a rough ocean surf, but should be encouraged to play along the shoreline in a sheltered area of shallow water.
Labrador Retriever – The Beloved Companion and Therapy Dog
By far the most common use of today’s Labrador Retriever is as a home companion, a role at which he excels. Surprisingly, the Labrador Retriever was rarely kept strictly as a house pet until several decades after the breed’s introduction to the united States. The initial fanciers of the breed became acquainted with him through knowledge of the shooting game.
When the breed was well established as a sporting companion, his docile, brainy nature won his way out of the kennel and into the home.
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Click Here Now – -and watch Chet’s Free Dog Training Video.
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The Labrador Retriever’s ability to quickly adapt and respond to instruction made the transition quite easy. Today, puppies raised in the home actually become so entwined in the lives of their owners that they often suffer when relegated to the kennel life. (If you are planning to keep a kennel of Labradors, select puppies that are properly socialized but still familiar with kennel life.)
As a companion, the Labrador Retriever is good-natured and gentle enough to accept the roughhousing of youngsters without returning it. If properly socialized while young, a Labrador will share his “home with another dog, providing there is enough affection for all. It is more common for a Labrador to misbehave out of jealousy than out of dislike for another animal.
Labrador Retrievers are long on self-control and loyalty, but they do not make the most avid watchdogs. As a rule, they are not overly suspicious of strangers or highly protective of loved ones, and when natural instincts are not stimulated they can be inattentive to such a task. Always keen for a scent or sound, a Labrador Retriever would certainly give voice at the approach of an intruder, but he might be won over by a friendly gesture or a luscious piece of sirloin.
If left on duty, a Labrador Retriever may wander off in search of a scent that has caught his attention. In short, he is a people-dog. If you really need a watchdog, get your Labrador a German Shepherd friend!
The value of companionship with this breed should not be underestimated. In recent years, obedience-trained Labradors as well as other breeds are being used as Therapy Dogs to enrich the lives of nursing home residents and even emotionally disturbed children.
The process is simple: a group of experienced dog handlers, such as those trained by Therapy Dogs International, bring their dogs to visit, perhaps put on an obedience performance for the audience, and then let animals and humans mingle, if conditions permit. The dogs are all obedience trained and have proven themselves to be extremely gentle and outgoing.
Their job is to make people feel wanted, and it works wonders for alleviating the loneliness and depression that often burden such lives. The Labrador Retriever loves people and the few hours Therapy Dogs share with others enrich both dog and man.
Establishing A Positive Behavioral Training For Your Dalmatian
The key to having a good relationship with a Dalmatian, whether he is a member of the family as an older dog or comes as a puppy from a litter, is in the amount of attention and affection with which you establish boundaries of behavior. They are eagerly responsive to attention, games, praise and positive training. However, they have a sharp memory for negative or harshly corrective actions. They will respond much more readily to rewards for approximating desired behavior than being forced into the position or posture you wish them to assume.
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The difference between holding out a reward until they sit versus pushing down on their hindquarters while pulling up on their lead and commanding them to “sit!” lies in two critical areas. They will more readily and consistently respond to a “sit” command taught through play learning, and they will not start calculating how they can avoid you or avoid sitting, or get back at you for the “pushy” approach. No dog is happily responsive to abusive training practices, but the Dalmatian has a peculiarly sharp memory for affronts. If they have had a bad experience learning how to sit, they are almost certain to resist other obedience lessons which take on the same manipulative tone.
Many people think that a Dalmatian has nervous temperaments, excessive energy and are hyper. This generalization is unfair to the breed, because good temperament has been a specific focus of breeders for the last twenty years. There is little question that in any planned breeding program, you can select for bad temperament just as you can select for good temperament. Parentage, pedigrees and the variety of genetic possibilities force breeders to contend with that possibility. It is one of the conscious considerations in every breeding decision.
There is no question that a Dalmatian get excited when someone comes on the property or to the door. They want to be the first one there to check out the visitor. Proper training will take care of any barking or control problems in this area, but guests who are greeted in this manner, especially those who have heard that Dalmatians are “hyper,” could easily confirm what they have heard by the excitement they first see. Hopefully, they will stay long enough to see the excited greeting followed by the normal pattern, which usually includes acceptance followed by settling back down for a snooze under the table.
If Dalmatian puppies have been raised in a calm environment with their mother; if they have been touched, petted and handled regularly by the breeder; if they have been properly vaccinated and wormed; if they have been weaned to a good quality puppy food; if they were taken from their litter by their new owner no earlier than seven weeks of age; and if they were introduced to their new home life with kindness and thoughtfulness, then chances are good that you will not see any behavior abnormalities in your Dalmatian.
How To Test A Shelter Dog
It’s hard to know how an unfamiliar dog will react to your attempts to become his leader; if you catch a very self-protective dog off guard, he may bite. It doesn’t happen frequently, but don’t take the chance, and make your assessments in other ways instead. He’s going to be a little bit out of sorts when you first take him out of his cage. Give him some time to get used to you and to work out his excess energy. Don’t make loud noises or sudden moves; just let him sniff and greet you, and then take him somewhere where you can really get acquainted.
Never grab an unfamiliar dog; he may interpret this as a threatening gesture and respond by snapping. If you’ve brought your kids with you to the shelter, ask them not to touch the dog until he’s gotten accustomed to you and until you know that he is trustworthy.
Crouch down and pet him and play with him. Does he accept and enjoy your affection, or does he act suspicious of you or ignore you altogether? Does he trample and nip you, or does he avoid you? Look for a dog who plays and cuddles with you enthusiastically but not obnoxiously or fearfully. Take a walk around the room. Does he trot after you, or does he seem relieved to see you go? He should follow you happily without attacking your legs. If you have a toy, toss it for him. Does he show interest, or does he turn up him snout at your attempt at a game?
Keep petting, talking, and playing with him. If he growls or snaps at you or curls his lip, move on to another dog. Unless you’re an experienced dog trainer, you don’t want to mess with an aggressive dog. If he doesn’t appear dangerous but is nevertheless very rough or mouthy, he still may be too dominant for you.
If he slinks around and avoids looking at you, he’s probably a submissive dog who will need a lot of positive reinforcement. Some dogs may cower or shake when you try to pet them; many interpret this as a sign that the dog has been hit or beaten. However, adult dogs often shrink away from human hands simply because they were not properly socialized and have never gotten used to being touched and petted.
If a dog seems wary of your touch at first but begins to accept your affection after a few minutes, chances are that he’ll be able to come out of his nervousness pretty quickly with good training and lots of love. Bur if he remains nervous and terrified, it’s probably going to be a real challenge to turn him into a happy and comfortable pet, and he’s better left to someone who’s had lots of experience working with undersocialized or abused dogs. If he’s lethargic and draggy, there’s a good chance that poor health is to blame. Look elsewhere. You don’t want to adopt a dog who may be sick. Be on the lookout for a dog who’s cheerful, responsive, and confident.
Do you have fun playing with him and paying attention to him? Often, when owners who are having troubles with their adopted dogs, their biggest problem seems to be that they just don’t like their dogs very much. Do not adopt a dog if you’re not crazy about him! Spend as much time as you need to get to know as many dogs as you can; make more than one visit if necessary. But don’t forget that a dog who catches your eye one day may be adopted by someone else or even euthanized the next, so you’ll have to judge for yourself how long it’s safe to wait.