Responsibilities owning a dog

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You don’t think you owe your dog anything, do you? Well, if you don’t then you are dead wrong! Having a dog demands a great deal of duties that you cannot fail to dismiss. The consequences of shelving your duties to your dog can be dire because they eventually tell on you as well as your dog.

Some human beings think that the only thing they have to do after they get a dog is feed and bath it its appalling that they think that way but the fact of the matter is that such folks are ill-informed about what responsibilities they owe their dog. If you just got a new dog, good for you! However, with a dog come great responsibilities like:

Food

Just as the diet of a human being contributes to his mental and physical balance, the diet of a dog can determine the overall health of your dog. You cant feed your dog just anything. You need to feed it exactly what it needs to develop properly. There are several pet stores where you can ask after the best type of dog food for your dog. In addition to, you need to know that dog food is quite exorbitant. If you aren’t financially ready for a dog, don’t even think about getting one because you’ll simply be setting yourself up for a heavy fall.

Medicine

Your dog needs to be healthy to give you its best. You have to take your dog to the vet doctor for vaccinations against various illnesses that they are prone to. Without vaccinations, your dogs immune system will constantly weaken and may eventually shut down causing its death. You owe your dog regular check ups to the vet.

Shelter

Your dog deserves to be in a clean healthy place. Whether your dog is staying in your house or in a kennel, you need to be sure that it is well sheltered.

Training

Last but certainly not the least, your dog needs to be trained. If you don’t train your dog, you will be doing it more harm than good. You should endeavor to bring out the best of your dog through effective dog training.

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Dog training need your active participation

Some individuals notion of training their dog is similar to dropping an errant child in a finishing school and picking him or her back up again after the school has bombarded the child with disciplinary courses. Dog training is far from this. In truth, dog training is a process that need your active participation.

Even if a professional dog trainer will be handling your dog in the initial stages of the training session, you will eventually have to join in. You may not understand the reason why you need to be there while your dog is getting trained but by the time you are through with this draft, you will be more than eager to lend a hand to your dogs training.

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Stages of the dog training session

Knowledge

If you are absent during your dogs training session, you will be unable to obtain knowledge about your dog and how it behaves. Understanding your dog is the key to training it successfully. At a dog training school, you will learn why your dog acts the way it does and how to anticipate its every need. So, even when the professional dog trainer turns the dog over to you, you will not be quite in the dark about how to understand your dogs language and respond to it.

Skills

Ultimately, dog training is a life long process that is sustained through continued practice. When you actively involve yourself in your dogs training session, you learn how to command it and what command to use in various situations. You are the person your dog will relate with after training. A dog trainer will need you to be there so that your dog gets used to the tone of your voice enough to respond to it when you issue out a command. If you don’t engage in the training of your dog, you may have a confused dog on your hands that only knows how to respond to the professional dog trainers voice.

Dog Training tools

Dog training is a process that is made easier with the right training tools. At a dog training school, you will learn which training tools are best suited to your dog and how to use them. This knowledge can make sure that you have a docile willing dog on your hands.

The essence of your presence and participation at your dogs training is for your dog to acclimatize itself to you and your needs and vice versa.

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Things need to certify to start training your dog

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If you are pondering about training your dog, you should know that while it isn’t a Herculean task, it isn’t a walk in the park either. There are several things that you need to make sure are in place before you commence training your dog. The fact about the matter is that dog training involves the balance of scores of factors that contribute to the success of training your dog. If you want to start training your dog, you need to certify the following:

– The age: There is a certain age that your dog will be before it can be trained successfully. If you train your dog too early, you can get stumped because its motor and socialization skills are still a bit tender. The right time to begin training your dog is when it is between three and six months old. If you make the mistake of training your dog later than that, you may not be able to get it to do anything you say because it would have developed its own behaviors already.

– Health: A healthy dog is customarily a trainable dog. You need to certify that your dog is in the best of health before you train it. A dog that has not been properly vaccinated against diseases may be prone to fall sick often in the course of training. Before you proceed with training your dog, certify that it is in a perfect state of health. commonly, dog training schools dont admit dogs that are not fully vaccinated.

– Localization: There is a certain period in the development of a dog where it becomes so attached to a particular place that removing it from there can induce a myriad of difficulties. You need to ensure that before your dog attains this stage that it is moved to the area or location where you want it trained to prevent any resistance on its part. You also need to check that your dog has exceeded the stage in which it is terrified of strangers in order to make the dog trainers work easier.

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An untrained dog can be a real pain in the butt and that is a fact. If you really want to enjoy your dog and all its inherent qualities, you will have to train it or have it trained. There are some don’ts that you should know about in the course of training a dog that will enable you have successful dog training session.

Dog training is a science and theories have been written

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Did you know that dog training is a science? Dog training has created a series of studies around the world with the purpose of deepening mans understanding of dogs and increasing the relationship between man and dog.

Dogs in the course of training have been studied and countless theories have been written on them. The learning theory of dog training is a theory that has been propounded based on the messages that a handler sends out to a dog. The learning theory incorporates four necessary messages that constitute the bulk of the training session:

Messages that a handler sends out to a dog

– Release marker: A release marker is also known as a gift marker and is mainly a message that the handler sends out to a dog to let it know that it has flaunted the desirable deeds and has carried a gift. The release marker is almost instantly followed by a present for the dog, which may be a treat, or something the dog particularly likes.

– Keep going signal: This message is handed to the dog while it is in the process of demonstrating a requisite behavior. Mainly, the keep going signal tells a dog that if it keeps up its action, it will get a present. Words such as come on or good commune this to the dog.

– No present marker: The no souvenir marker is used to let a dog know that it has not showed the apposite conduct and will probably have to commence again. Words such as uh-oh or try again are used to express this message.

– Punishment marker: The punishment marker is used to let the dog know that it has not behaved well at all and will receive punishment. A dog knows that it has erred when it receives this message. Words such as no or off are used to put across this.

These four markers are regularly used by dog trainers to tune their dogs into what they want them to do.

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Dog training respond to hand signals

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When you are training your dog to respond to your verbal commands, you can train him to respond to hand signals also. These can be learned in conjunction with the verbal commands and can be very usual in certain situations. There are a few common hand signals that you can teach your dog.

When you are training your dog, the very first command that you should teach him is the sit command. Teach him the verbal command first and then you can incorporate the hand signal. The hand signal for sit is to start with your right arm at your side, bend your arm at the elbow with the palm facing up. Slowly bend the arm until it is above the dogs head. Do this while giving the verbal sit command. Once he seems to have that mastered, do the motion without the verbal command. If he follows the hand signal, praise him immediately and give him a treat.

Once he has the sit command mastered you can teach him the down command. This command will have the dog lay down with head up and paws forward. This is one of the first verbal commands that has a hand signal. Once your dog learns the down command, incorporate the hand signal into the lesson. The hand signal for down is palm down, fingers together and you slowly lower your hand to the ground. Keep your dog focused on your hand signal as he obeys your verbal command. Slowly, verbalize the command in a softer and softer tone until he is able to do the command on hand signal alone.

The next hand signal that you can teach your dog is the come signal. When teaching your dog to come on command use his name first and then say Come. If he comes right away, praise him greatly and give him a treat. If he doesn’t come you may have to pull his leash toward you while saying his name and the word come. Once he has the verbal command mastered, just add the hand signal. The hand signal for come is the same as the hand signal for a person to come. Bend your right arm at the elbow and move in backward toward your left shoulder in one sweeping motion. Make sure you have your dogs undivided attention when using the hand signal.

Teaching your dog hand signals along with the verbal signals can be very usual if you need to get your dog to obey you in a crowded, noisy area. It can also be usual as your dog grows older and his hearing declines. The most important thing is to never hit or spank your dog. You do not want your dog to associate your hands with pain. Be patient with your dog and before you know it he will be obeying your every command!

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Dog training aspects

The fact about dogs is that they are adorable creatures that can be a handful if they aren’t properly minded. Dog owners have different reasons for training their dogs. A dog may be well trained in one area and be total flop in another. The different aspects of dog training demand that you train your dog extensively to get the best behavior from it. The aspects in which dogs are generally trained include:

– Barking: Some dogs just don’t know when to stop barking! If your dog has continuous barking problem, training it to know the right time to bark will assist. A dog can be trained to bark using dog training tools such as the crate or an electronic collar. On the reverse side, some dogs may not be able to bark at all. In such cases, taking your dog to see an animal psychologist also constitutes training.

– Potty training: A dog needs to be house trained if it is going to stay in the confines of the home. Trust me, waking up to find your dog left you a package in the middle of the kitchen floor can spoil your day. House training methods vary from dog owner to dog owner. While some dog owners may use tissues or a litter boxes others may use a crate.

– Chewing: Dogs need to be trained not to chew. It can be frustrating to have a dog that nibbles everything you have from your bathroom slippers to your cushion pillows. obtaining a chew toy or a dog toy for your dog forms part of its training as it learns not to chew your stuff.

– Obedience: This forms the main part of dog training sessions. A dog that does not know how to listen to its masters voice can be a troublemaker. All dogs need to learn how to obey their owners and therein lies the secret to having a good dog.

– Tricks: Some dogs are trained to perform tricks like shaking hands with a stranger or standing on their hind legs. Training a dog to conduct tricks may be for entertainment or even as a source of income.

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Don’t make the mistake of buying plush toys for your dog to chew on because it won’t be able to tell the difference between a plush toy and a plush pillow. In selecting chew toys for your dog, buy a few that are the same in size and color in other to help your dog keep track of them. Buying your dog a myriad of chew toys can confuse it and defeat the aim of distracting it from chewing your valuables.

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Dog training has been a big part of my life. My dog got lost when he was a puppy and developed issues when we took our nightly walks. Because of a popular dog training show on at the time I got the knowledge that helped me rehabilitate my dog and the inspiration to become a dog trainer.

Positive reinforcement dog training is widely accepted among the vast majority of dog training experts.

Understand and break dog aggression

While many of us look at our dogs as cute and cuddly companions it is also true that we can also create a monster without even realizing it. Aggression in dogs is on the rise and the truth is there are a reported million dog bits reported every year. The very same cute and cuddly companions we know so well are also the very things we fear when we are victims of these aggressive dog behaviors.

Now I know that many of you are wondering how such a cute and innocent animal can cause such devastation and we ask ourselves the very same things when a murderer is caught, or a robbery is committed. One of the most important things we as humans fail to truly understand is dogs are not property. They are a part of the family and should be handled with care.

Stages to Remember:

Here are a few stages in the puppies life that are vital to their development just as our children have stages that they need special care so do our pets:

8-14 weeks- This is a critical time in the puppy’s life. It needs human contact and gentle care. Constant interaction with people to be socially stable will be important later in their development.

6-14 months- This is another critical time in the puppies life when they must be introduced to visitors of the home (i.e. adults, children, and other dogs) at this stage the puppies are becoming more protective of the home and more territorial. It is important that you keep them social with other dogs and people.

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Dog aggression can happen for several reasons. The most common is lack of socialization. However too much socialization or spoiling the dog can cause them to act out when they do not get their way. To keep the dog in its place the adults must show dominance over the dog or puppy at all times. Slacking up once or twice may give them the opening or signal they need to move forward. Dogs are pack thinkers by nature and when they are part of your family they see you as part of their pack. If you do not establish dominance early they can “takeover” the family by going after the most submissive family member including the children. Aggressive dog behavior should never be tolerated!

Some dogs are more aggressive by nature so matching them up with people who have the wrong intentions or desire for the dogs can increase their aggression drastically. Many breeds like: Doberman dogs and Rottweiler’s tend to be more aggressive then a Labrador or Golden Retriever by nature and how we raise them can increase their aggression as well.

Where a dog is raised, the environment or conditions can also play a part in their aggression.
For instance if a dog is raised in a “Puppy Mill” it is much more likely to be aggressive if not sold before the age of 8 or 9 weeks because they usually lacks the proper socialization required to interact with other dogs or people

How can you tell if your dog is becoming too aggressive:

• If your dog is protective over food (i.e. snaps or growls)- this is known as dog food aggression
• If your dog chases moving objects (i.e. cars, bikes, etc…)
• If your dog gets fearful when around strangers- this is known as dog fear aggression.
• Overly barks or growls

If you think your dog is becoming aggressive, there is an excellent dog training book many people find helpful written by a professional dog trainer. You can also consult a dog obedience trainer. A professional can ensure your safety as well as the dogs in cases like this to help you re-establish your dominance in the home.

A good first start may be taking a look at the dog training book to help stop aggression in dogs. Professional dog trainers can stop aggressive dog behavior but they are not cheap and you may find the advise given in the dog training book to help a great deal with raining an aggressive dog.

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