It is extremely important to be able to train your dog to not bite people unless the dog is being used for defense. This is important because unwarranted dog biting can lead to fines, loss of your dog, or termination of the dog's life. The tips in this article will help you with preventing your dog from biting.
If you want to have a well behaved dog, make sure that you are filling their most basic needs. They need to have water, food, shelter and love. These are essential to a happy and healthy pet, and only then will they want to or have the energy to let you tell them what to do.
With aggressive dogs it is best to begin slowly. Aggressive dogs see themselves as the dominant role in the pack and trying to take that role from them too quickly can result in a negative response from the animal. To avoid bites or difficulty, take small steps in establishing yourself as the pack leader.
Don't force your dog to go into his crate. Instead, profusely praise him when he enters his crate on his own. Young puppies, in particular, might be somewhat afraid of the crate when it is first introduced. If you force them to enter it their fear might turn into terror. Their natural curiosity will eventually override their fear.
Crate training is something that is accomplished over time. First, you should only expect your dog to stay in the crate for short periods of time. As your dog grows older you can gradually extend this confinement, which can eventually stretch out to much longer periods of time without any ill effect on your pet.
Watch your demeanor when you are training your dog. You need to remain calm, but assertive at all times. Do not show anger or raise your voice. If you do this, your dog will require you to shout commands in order to follow them, if this is how he is trained.
When training your dog to walk on a leash, remember that your dog should follow where you lead, not the other way around. Dogs are pack animals, and the leader of the pack always travels in front. You want your dog to see you as the leader, so they need to learn to walk behind you.
If you use treats for positive reinforcement when training your dog, be sure that you use them sparingly. If the dog receives a treat every time it follows one of your commands, it will learn that treats and obedience go together, not you and obedience. If you stop giving treats at that point, the dog will stop obeying.
If you want to house train your dog and teach it to ask to go outside, you should associate a command with going outside. Stand with your dog close to the door, say the command and take it outside. As you repeat this, your dog will go to the door when you say the command if it needs to go.
Be mindful of exactly what behavior you are reinforcing, so stand your ground and don't give into your pet's persistence. A dog will generally repeat whatever action has previously earned him a reward. Thus, if you give a dog food so that it will stop begging at the table one night, you're only making the dog more inclined to beg for food again, the next night.
Never punish your dog, or discipline him, after the fact. If you find that he urinated on the carpet earlier in the day, punishing him now won't help. Dogs cannot reason and have very short term memories, so they will not associate the earlier accident with the punishment at hand.
One tip to keep in mind when training your dog is to be firm with orders and do not overuse your commands. This is important because if you over-saturate your commands, your dog will not be as responsive. Only give your dog orders when you are looking for a response.
A dog owner who attempts to train his or her pet while angry will never be successful. Dogs are extremely sensitive creatures, and they can sense their owners' displeasure. Anger and dissatisfaction with a dog's performance can poison an entire training program. A dog trainer who becomes angry with their pet's performance should take a break and calm down before continuing their training program.
One tip to keep in mind when training your dog is to ensure that you make it absolutely clear to your dog what it is that your are disciplining it for. This is important to avoid confusion and to teach the dog what is desired and what is undesired behavior. An example of what to avoid is hitting your dog hours past and in a different room from where it shredded your couch.
In summary, nobody wants to be bitten by a dog. You are responsible for anything that your dog does, and if someone is bitten by it then you will pay the price. Follow the tips in this article in order to keep your dog under control so that both you and your dog will benefit.
