Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Dog Training Career: What Is Involved?

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A dog training career may be just right for you, if you love working with dogs. Dogs of all ages, from puppies to older dogs, need training, and their owners often don’t know how to train them. They look for a professional dog trainer to do the job.

If you are thinking of a dog training career, you might want to start by practicing on your own dog. If you are good at training your dog, you might be good at training other people’s dogs. But if training your dog leaves you frustrated and drained, then becoming a dog trainer might not be the best career for you.

When you are training dogs, you are actually training the owners more than the dogs, so you need to be good with people to consider a dog training career. People are not at their best when they are frustrated or embarrassed by their dog’s behavior. Will you be able to deal with these distraught owners calmly, while at the same time tending to their dogs? Give this some thought.

Consider volunteering to help out at a dog training class at your local shelter. You will get a feel for what is involved in a dog training career. If you are good, the teacher may let you teach a segment of the class. This will be your trial by fire. If you do a good job, then you can move forward with your training.

You can prepare for a dog training career in several ways.

1. Attend a school specifically for those interested in a dog training career. There are many schools and seminars available. Be sure to get lots of hands on training.

2. Become an intern or apprentice to a dog trainer in your area. This way, you can learn dog training on the job.

3. Become a certified dog trainer. Do a search on the internet for dog training certification programs.

Once you have the proper education in dog training, starting your business should be easy. Decide if you want to work with individual clients in their homes or offer dog training classes. It is a good idea to offer a combination of both. By advertising your dog training classes, people who want individual help training their dogs will hear about you too. Soon your dog training career will be off to a great start.

Check around in your area for facilities where you can hold the dog training classes. Often the local humane society will have space for classes, or you could check with dog day care facilities. In warm weather, you may be able to hold your classes outdoors.

Advertise your services by leaving brochures about your training program with veterinarians, dog supply stores, and pet shelters. This way, your advertising will not cost you much.

Congratulations! You have followed the steps above and have a thriving dog training career. You love dogs and are working with them every day. For a dog lover and a natural teacher, you have found the ideal business to be in.

Visit Doggiewoggie: All About Dogs at http://doggiewoggie.com/ to learn more about dog training.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Is Reward Training or Dog Collar Training the Best Dog Training Method To Train Your Dog

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Copyright (c) 2009 James Mahoney

Reward training is considered by many dog training professionals as the most modern method of training a dog, but reward training is probably a lot older than other methods of dog training. It may be that reward training for dogs has been around as long as there have been dogs to train.

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It is believed that the early humans used some informal kind of reward training when taming the wolf pups that eventually evolved into modern dogs.

Reward training or positive dog training generally consists of keeping the attention on what the dog is doing right, is usually recognized as not only the most effective method, and as a method that a positive experience for the dog, but also the most modern method of training a dog, but reward training probably is likely older than the other dog training methods, and probably goes way back thousands of years.

It is quite conceivable that reward training for dogs has been around as long humans have interacted with dogs.

The earliest known domestic dogs go back to the domestication of abandoned wolf puppies the early humans took in from the gray wolf several tens of thousands of years ago. These early domesticated dogs were trained to do task for humans that included acting as a guard animal, or to herd animals.

Early humans probably used some kind of reward training when they started taming the wolf pups that would eventually evolve into modern dogs.

This unique connection existing between dog and man continues up to today. Dogs now usually perform many tasks for their owners, like herding, guarding, hunting, and rescue work or special assistance.

Many advocates of reward training are far less enthusiastic about other methods of dog training, such as those that involve the use of the traditional leash and dog collar training method.

However, as far as many other experts are concerned, the best way to train any individual dog is usually a combination of leash/collar training and reward training.

Something that complicates thing a bit is that a training method that works well for one dog may be totally not be appropriate for another dog.

Some dogs will only respond well when it comes to reward training but not very well with dog leash training or even dog collar training. It the same time there are other dogs that can respond to leash/collar training but may not be motivated by reward training.

It is believed that most dogs will tend to fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

Clicker training is considered to be one of the most popular forms of reward training used today. While clicker training may not be the correct form of training for every dog, it can be a really effective method of training many dogs.

How clicker training works by teaching the dog to associate a clicking sound with a reward, like a treat.

You can actually teach your dog the learn without any physical compulsion or correcting at all. The clicker is just a toy-like device used in the initial stages of dog draining.

The trainer clicks the clicker when the dog does something good, and is followed immediately by a treat. Over time, the dog will soon learn to respond to the clicker alone.

Positive reinforcement using treats and unlimited praise is the all important key to proper dog training, whether it is with reward training, or dog leash or dog collar training, because it is effective at getting your dog’s respect and attention.

Both you and your dog will benefit, since in time you will have a faithful companion you can be proud of.

J. Mahoney is the owner of Dog Trainers Ideas.com. Just feel free to visit http://www.dog-trainers-ideas.com , where you will find a resource providing you with advice on all aspects of dog training, house training and dog health. If you want to find more info on Reward or Dog Collar Training, visit http://budurl.com/rewardtraining2 .

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Are Dog Training Collars Humane

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Are dog training Collars Humane?

You may ask yourself if dog training collars are humane. Many people are still under the impression that electronic dog training collars are uncaring “shock collars” that are used to harm dogs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The latest technology has not only enabled electronic dog collars to humanely train dogs, but these devices have safety features that will not allow them to be used to harm dogs.

Training a dog

It is not only hunters that need to train dogs. All dogs, if they are to live with humans, need to be trained. Dogs are very social animals and live to be included in the pack. This is the knowledge that you need when training a dog.

Using an electronic training collar only makes the dog get trained quicker than if you were using other means. If you are hunting and trying to train a gun dog, it is imperative, for the safety of the dog, that he is trained as quickly as possible so that he does not cause any harm to himself and learns to listen to commands.

Whistles and Commands

You can use whistles and commands – and should – when you are training your dog. But when you use them together with electronic dog collars, you make them twice as effective. You can get your dog trained in record time when you combine whistles and verbal commands with the electronic dog collar. The dog will quickly learn to associate the sensation from the collar with the behavior that he is exhibiting.

Of course, in addition to using the electronic dog collar, whistles and commands, you have to be sure to praise your dog when he or she does the right thing. When used in combination, both negative and positive reinforcement have a tremendous effect on dog training efforts.

Humane?

Some people will say that using an electronic dog collar is not “humane.” But they will also balk at yelling at a dog as well as using a dog whistle. Those who believe that only positive reinforcement is needed to train a dog are living in a dream world. Unfortunately, there are many people who are afraid to train their dogs not only to hunt, but to behave in general. What usually happens is that the untrained dog becomes too much of a burden to bear and ends up being given to a shelter. In some cases, the dog may end up getting injured or killed because he has never been taught to listen to commands. Such as “stop” when he is trying to cross a street in front of traffic.

A dog depends on his owner to train him and make him into a social animal. A well trained gun dog will not only make a wonderful hunting companion, but will also be a fun pet for the entire family to enjoy. Using an electronic dog collar only expedites the training of the dog and does not do him any harm. The sooner your dog is trained and knows what is expected of him, the more relaxed both he and you will be.

Geoffrey A. English is the Founder of GundogsOnline.com, the internet’s premiere online magazine dedicated to hunting dogs. Visit their site if you are in need of hunting dog supplies such as dog collars or bark collars.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

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