Bad Habits Archives - Edie MacKenzie

House Breaking Your Golden Retriever

October 20, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Basic Golden Retriever Training

To properly train house break your Golden Retriever, you must stick to a routine regarding your crate, and ensure that he doesn’t spend additional time outside of his crate. When he is outside of his crate, you should watch him at all times. If you don’t keep an eye on him when he is outside of the crate and he has an accident inside the house, you can’t blame no one but yourself as you didn’t correct him the second it happened.

To help your dog learn the right way to relieve himself, you should always praise him when he goes to the right location. You can crate him at night, then take him out when he wakes up in the morning and show him the correct spot. Give him some time, then praise himself once he starts to go. If you avoid accidents, you should be able to train your Golden without any problems. Once accidents begin to happen though, it can be extremely hard to break the pattern.

When you house break your dog, you should never give him any freedom. Getting it right is a lot of work for him, and chances are he’d rather be doing something else. If you are tolerant with him and allow him to make mistakes, you’ll find yourself needing to be a lot more stern to break him of the bad habits that you have tolerated and allowed. If you start when your Golden is young and enforce the rules, he’ll be a happy member of your family in no time at all.

When you house break, you should use confinement as much as possible. Confinement basically means that until you have housebroken your Golden Retriever, he isn’t allowed to freely move around the house. You should always keep a watchful eye on him and make sure that if he’s outside the crate – you know where he is at all times and what he is doing.

If you happen to take your eyes off of him even for a second, he could easily relieve himself on the floor. Once he starts to go on the floor, it can be really hard to break him of this habit. The smell will be there, and he will smell it the next time he is in that area. Each time he smells it, he will instantly go to the bathroom in that same area. The best way to prevent this from happening is to watch him at all times and ensure that he only goes in the area you have for him.

To housebreak your Golden Retriever, you should also allow him a way outside. Normally, a doggy door is the best way to do this, as your puppy can go outside and relieve himself when the time comes, without disturbing you. You should also use puppy pads or a litter box inside as well, so that he always has somewhere to relive himself. During times when he can’t make it outside, he needs somewhere else that he can go.

Housebreaking your Golden Retriever can take you some time, although it will be well worth it once your Golden is properly trained. He’ll be an essential member of your family, and not use the bathroom anywhere he takes a notion. He will only relieve himself outside or in an area that you have trained him. Golden Retriever’s need interaction with people, and if you are going to keep them inside – you’ll need to ensure that they have been properly house broken.
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The Best Basic Training
For Your Golden Retriever

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on
your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train Golden puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when
you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any Golden Retriever to stop barking at
strangers or from begging you to let him back inside – Plus a TON more
step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are
already using.

Check out Chet Womach & Bauer the Golden Retriever’s-
Hands Off Dog Training

Dog Training: How To Make Dog Training A Family Affair (3)

July 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Dog’s do not come into the world knowing polite manners, so don’t expect your own family pet to abide by rules that it doesn’t know yet. Dog training is a process that takes time and repetition. Both management and training will be necessary to keep your dog out of trouble while it’s learning how to behave properly.

While teaching your dog good manners, you’ll also need to find ways to prevent it from engaging in undesirable behaviors that might turn into bad habits.

If you let your untrained dog have free run of the house it will potty in all the wrong places, chew your belongings, steal unwatched food from tables and counters, pull curtains down, dig holes in the flower garden, and maybe run into the road. Dogs don’t know any better than to do these things – until they’re taught more appropriate actions.

Begin by limiting your dog’s access to places where it might secretly misbehave. Don’t allow him to have the full run of your home until it’s completely housetrained and has learned what’s appropriate to chew and what isn’t. Keep the dog in the same room you’re in, so you can watch it carefully and prevent messy, dangerous, costly mistakes.

One Labrador owner that I know came from a successful day of fishing, dropped a dozen mackerel she’d caught on the counter, then fed her young Lab and left the room to change her clothes. She returned five minutes later to discover that not only had her dog finished its kibble, it had also gobbled down all 12 fish!

A proactive approach will give your dog the opportunity to get used to your general household routine and to practice the good behaviors you are teaching it. If the dog tries to slip away when you get distracted, either block the room’s doorways with baby gates or leash your dog to your belt to keep it with you. During times when no one is available to keep an eye on the dog, confine it in an enclosed puppy-proofed area either indoors or outdoors.

Keep Training Consistent

Training can be fun and fulfilling for the entire family or it can be fraught with frustration. Which way it goes depends upon how consistently you and your family keep the dog on track. The best way to be consistent is to decide on a set of rules everyone in the family can follow and get the family positively involved in your dog’s training.

Raising a great canine family companion isn’t a job for just one person. Dog training takes a village – or at least a cooperative family – to raise and train a well-behaved dog.

Is A Professional Dog Obedience Training Necessary?

May 28, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Obedience training for your dog is an important part of responsible pet ownership.

While common puppy behavior problems and housebreaking are discussed in many books and publications, here we’ll discuss your options for basic obedience training and whether you want train your dog yourself or hire a trainer.

Training can begin as early as three to four months if yon train the dog yourself. Most trainers believe puppies aren’t mentally or socially developed enough to benefit from group obedience class until they are six months old.

Any sincerely interested dog owner can train his or her own dog, provided your dog hasn’t already acquired a lot of bad habits.
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Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when you aren’t there to supervise. . .

Learn simple techniques for getting any dog to stop barking at strangers or from begging you to let him back inside – Plus a TON more step-by-step dog obedience strategies THOUSANDS of regular people are already using,
check out –
The Hands Off Dog Training Method

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You and your dog may want to attend a couple of lessons at a good training club. You may also want to arm yourself with a good dog training book.

Wait until your dog is six months old before taking him to a group obedience class, which is a popular option for many dog owners. Obedience groups not only provide an excellent
source of training, but also helps socialize your pet with other dogs.

When you first visit an obedience training class, make sure the instructors treat their pupils kindly – no punishment or yelling should be taking place or be permitted by those in charge. Your local parks department or school district may sponsor an obedience group.

If you’re having trouble finding one, ask your veterinarian.

Professional training is a good option for some larger breeds or for dogs that have acquired bad habits. If you are looking for a professional obedience trainer, find one who favors working with your dog in your own home.

No matter how appealing it may seem to send a problem dog away to be trained, the reality is that this often is a waste of time and money.

The dog may behave perfectly with the trainer and then ignore you once it arrives home. A professional obedience trainer will
equip you with the knowledge and confidence you need to train your dog.

The best way to find a good professional trainer is through a veterinarian or breeder’s recommendation.

Also, if you have any family or friends that can refer you to a reputable trainer then this would be the most ideal option. Arrange for an exploratory meeting with the potential trainer, you, and your dog.

Then, make your decision.

Training takes time and patience and a capable trainer will stress this fact. Length of training depends not only on your dog’s intelligence, temperament, and age, but also on how many bad habits he has acquired.

Obedience training requires you to take the lead, both as teacher and enforcer. After your dog has been trained you must not let him drift back into bad behavior patterns.

Adopting A Shelter Dog & Raising Him To Be Well Behaved

May 15, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

The number one reason dogs are brought to shelters is that they have “behavior problems.” That label covers a multitude of common canine misbehavior’s such as house-soiling, chewing, digging, and general rowdiness or hyperactivity.

If one of those bad habits is what landed your dog in a shelter, you’ll have to be willing to work to overcome it when you bring her home.
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Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when you aren’t there to supervise. . .

————————————————————–
Remember, too, that your dog will probably have been calling a shelter “home” for some time, and the rules of the shelter may not quite correspond to the rules of your household.

Your dog will have been living in a cage where housebreaking was irrelevant and barking was nonstop. He will not have seen furniture or stairs recently (or perhaps ever), and he won’t immediately understand that he isn’t allowed to teethe on your couch and climb on your kitchen counters.

If he’s been living by his own devices for several months or more, he’ll need some extra training so that he learns his manners and can live peacefully in your home.

If he’s a young puppy, especially if he was taken from his mother and litter-mates too early, he’ll need a lot of socialization from you and your family so that he grows up to be a normal, well-adjusted dog. You’ll have to teach him the things he should have learned, but may
not have, during his first few weeks of life: how to play, how to respect authority, how to accept correction and praise.

It’s never too early or late for a dog to learn all these things. While it may take somewhat longer to train and socialize a shelter dog or puppy, you’ll find that the training process will bring the two of you even closer together and help you learn to appreciate and respect each other right from the start of your relationship.

One thing your adopted dog does not need is your pity. There are a lot of adopted dogs who get away with shameful behavior because their people feel sorry for them. And we know many humans who use their dogs’ uncertain histories as excuses for all their problems. But dog needs your understanding and leadership, not your indulgence.

That is the lesson here: if your dog grew up on the streets, that may explain why he has no qualms about shredding your curtains, but it doesn’t give his license to do so. If he was or have been unkindly treated by someone in her past, that may explain why he initially mistrusts people, but it doesn’t give him the right to growl or snap at them. It’s going to take a magical mixture of forbearance and toughness on your part to help him adjust to the world outside the shelter.

Puppy Training Made Easy

April 23, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

When you bring a new puppy into your home, it is important to begin training right away. If you wait to start, your puppy may pick up bad habits that will be hard to drop in the future. Although you may want your puppy to learn how to sit on the first day, those tricks will have to come behind potty training, biting, and chewing.

When your puppy learns the meaning of “no,” training will become much easier.

————————————————————–

Training Tips To Get Your Dog To Obey!

If you’d love to discover EXACTLY how to get your dog to stop urinating on your carpet and actually ring a bell when he needs to potty. . .

Train puppies to NEVER chew on furniture or expensive rugs – even when you aren’t there to supervise. . .

————————————————————–

Although it’s not necessary to physically punish your puppy, you must remember to be stern, no matter how cute your puppy is. Puppy training doesn’t always have to be unpleasant.

With the use of praise and rewards, training can be a fun bonding experience for both of you.

The first step in training your puppy is teaching him the word “no.” The sooner he begins to understand “no,” the sooner he will understand everything else.

During the first couple of weeks that your puppy is in your home, you may be tempted to make excuses for his behavior.

However, if you don’t teach him where to go to the bathroom, and certainly where not to go, he will never learn.

It is understandable that you want your puppy with you at all times, but carpet should be avoided like the plague until he has been completely housebroken.

Treats and rewards will speed up this process, puppies need motivation just like humans.

Your puppy wants to please you, so when he sees how happy you are that he didn’t potty on the floor, he will want to do it again.

As long as you are consistent with your training, he will be consistent in his understanding and progress.

You will be amazed at how sharp those little teeth are the first time your puppy uses your finger as a chew toy. Depending on how hard he bites you, it may really hurt.

This is a problem because he does not mean any harm, he’s only playing, and your first reaction is going to be anger. Many times your first reaction is to hit back, and this is never the answer.

In the same way that a child who is abused regularly, your puppy will not obey you because it makes you happy, he will obey you because you terrify him.

This is not a healthy relationship and it can be avoided by simply firmly scolding your puppy verbally as opposed to physically. The result to this technique is a mutual desire to make each other happy.

When you bring a puppy home, you may need to do a puppy version of child proofing your house. Puppies teeth just like babies do, and they will chew on anything they can get their hand on.

This includes your favorite pair of designer shoes. It is important to show your puppy that you are upset about his behavior without scaring him by throwing a hysterical fit. Introduce him to the world of chew toys that are colorful, tasty, and inexpensive.

This way, your shoes are safe, and your puppy can always find something to chew on.

He will enjoy having something that is exclusively his, and you will enjoy wearing your shoes sans holes. Puppy training can be simple and enjoyable if you are prepared for what’s to come before it happens. Your puppy is a lot like you, and he’s not trying to make you angry by biting you or chewing on your things.

He simply doesn’t know any better, and it’s your job to teach him.

This author is a HUGE fan of puppy dog training

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Basic Golden Retriever Training

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