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Choosing a Trainer: Two Key Considerations
Although many dog owners successfully train their pets without
outside assistance, some benefit greatly by using a professional
dog trainer. A quality dog trainer can help instruct the dog
while also providing the owner with invaluable guidance...
How to Keep Your Boxer - or any Dog - Healthy...
Feed him a balanced diet. - Give an occasional yogurt treat - Ask your vet about giving Boxers calcium tablets as they could have some problems later on in life! - Keep him comfortable so his immune system can remain strong. - Boxers are...
Identifying & Controlling Your Dog's Allergies
Between 15% to 20% of all dogs in the United States suffer from allergies. As in humans, allergies may manifest in different ways producing varied symptoms in your pet. Knowing the signs of allergy suffering will bring your dog faster relief and...
Shih Tzu - Obedient Shih Tzu Make Better Companions And Are Happier
There are of course many reasons for owners to want a calm,
obedient and faithful shih tzu. For one thing, obedient and
trained shih tzus are happier shih tzus, less likely to get into
tussles with people or with other dogs. Another reason is...
Treating dog arthritis with natural supplements.
Dog arthritis is one of the most common diseases that affect canines; especially large breed dogs (60-90 lbs) the best thing you can do is to prevent the occurrence of this disease with the appropriate supplements when your dog is 4 or 5 years old...
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When Should I Start Training My Puppy?
If you have a puppy, you must start training early, but do it gently.
Your puppy has to have confidence in you before he can begin learning. Remember that puppies are like children - they have growing bodies, short attention spans, and will only learn things when the conditions are right and when they understand what it is you're trying to teach them.
That said, the earlier you start training dogs, the better. More specifically, it's best if you start “socialization” from 8 weeks, simple commands like “come” and “sit” from 12 weeks, and more intensive training at 5 to 6 months.
While some early training can be started as soon as you bring your puppy home, the optimum time to begin obedience training is somewhere around 9 to 12 weeks of age.
Keep in mind that training can cover a broad range of topics – I’m not suggesting that you begin training your puppy at 8 weeks of age for agility competitions! Your training should start off with the basics – teaching him “No!” and beginning house-training.
Socialization skills are next – experts tell us the best window for your puppy to learn socialization skills is between 3 and 16 weeks – that’s the best time to insure that your puppy grows into a well-adjusted adult.
And remember, socialization isn’t about teaching him the right fork to use at the dinner table – it’s about giving your dog the self-assurance to deal correctly with any social environment he finds himself in is one of the most valuable and lasting lessons you can teach him.
A well-socialized dog will interact well with
all types of people and situations, even those he has never been in before. With appropriate social skills, your dog will show little or no fear of most objects, people or other animals, and even if startled, will recover quickly and won’t panic.
Bottom line, a well-adjusted dog is one that is comfortable in a variety of situations and surroundings. He may be excited in a new setting, but not fearful. The key here is to create positive experiences as you expose your dog to more and more new situations.
Even training your puppy for 5 – 10 minutes per day as soon as you bring him home will make a big difference in the social skills and adaptability of your puppy.
Keep in mind that puppies have very short attention spans, so keep your lessons short and fun. How short an attention span? That depends on the age of the puppy, his breed and how mature your individual puppy is – but a good rule of thumb is to keep the training sessions within that 5 -10 minute range.
Depending on your puppy’s age and maturity level, sometime between 3 and 6 months of age you should be moving the training into the area of the basic commands such as Sit, Heel, Down, etc.
It’s important you have realistic expectations about your dog’s capabilities at this point – I don’t expect a puppy to be responding to the basic commands with any degree of regularity until they’ve reached 6 months of age.
For more: http://tinyurl.com/4efaq
About the Author
Author, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!“ which you can read more about at:
http://tinyurl.com/4efaq
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