Introduction to Dog Training

Edited by Thomas Goldman

 

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Introduction

This guide presents comprehensive information on a wide variety of dog training topics, relevant to almost all dog and puppy owners.

Firstly, let me assure you that it is possible to train your dog.

With the information presented in this guide, you will learn everything you need to know in order to instill good behavior and obedience in your dog.

If you have already tried to train your dog, and failed to some degree, don’t be disheartened.  It’s not your fault that until now you hadn’t found the correct dog training information you needed.

Don’t worry, everything you need is right here!

Millions of others have started with disobedient and problematic dogs, or just normal unruly puppies, and learned how to solve all these problems, so you can too with the information here.

Training your dog is a long and rewarding process for both the dog and the owner.

By teaching your dog to obey you, you are significantly increasing the quality of life for both dog and master.

AS with every healthy relationship, both parties need to develop an understanding of who is the boss, what their expectations are, etc.

Imagine being able to take your dog out for a walk without being jerked around on a leash and telling your dog to ‘stay’ and knowing that you won’t have to keep your leash handy.

Imagine letting your dog play with the kids and knowing that no one will need a bandage or disinfectant later.

When it comes to dog training, psychology is simple.  Good behavior needs to be rewarded, and bad behavior needs to be corrected.

By rewarding good behavior, your dog will learn to enjoy obeying you, and to associate good feelings with good behavior.

Similarly, your dog will learn to avoid bad behavior and all the headaches that could cause you, and indirectly your dog.

Rewards are pretty easy – either by giving praise and attention to your dog, giving a thorough petting, giving a treat, or similar.

Care should be taken not to overdo it.  Rewards are rewards, not bribes, and if you resort to using rewards as bribes, your dog may learn to never do your bidding unless you have tasty treats on hand.

If you find that you don’t like the idea of over-feeding your dog, you can use a technique called ‘clicker training’. You’ll need a child’s toy that produces a loud clicking sound.

The idea behind clicker training is that you should feed your dog some treats and every time he gets a treat give a loud ‘click’.  Your dog should eventually start associating the sound of the click with getting a treat, and from there, associate a click with good feelings.

All these ideas and techniques will be explored in great detail later in this guide.