How to Train a Dog - the Basics! If you've got a dog that is causing you some problems, then you definitely need to learn how to train a dog! Fortunately, it's not to difficult once you get the basics down.
First off, you need to realize the "Secret" to Pet training.
To effectively train a dog you must train yourself.
Read everything you can on dogs psychology.
Watch videos of people taming bad behaving pets.
Check out books.
Read magazines.
Do everything you can to get the knowledge you need.
So many people just try to train their pets from info they get from friends or on television.
The problem with this is that they haven't actually learned anything and are just trying the "tricks".
Yes, these tricks are necessary for pet training BUT they are not what makes the trick work.
What makes a dog listen to an owner is the owner and how they establish their relationship with their pets.
Dogs are social animals and need to be approved by others.
They seek it in their relationships.
If you approve of everything your pet does, they will feel no need to behave.
They'll realize that they can get away with anything.
So, stop approving of everything.
If they do something you don't like, don't approve of it.
When I first got my pet and tried to train him, I thought punishing was the solution.
If you want to actually learn how to train a dog then you're going to have to realize that punishment is not the solution.
There are two different psychological tactics used for training animals, people, and anything that has an intelligent brain.
One is called positive reinforcement and the other negative reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement This type of training is the most effective and what you do is reward good behavior.
Bad behavior is not punished but is not rewarded.
It is not approved but you do not punish the dog for doing something bad.
Negative Reinforcement This type of training does involve punishment and is not the best method.
It instills fear and anger into your pet.
You do not want to use this as you want to have the best relationship with your pet as possible.
You see, the key is to get your dog to want your approval and get that "Reward" from good deeds.
This is only possible with a healthy and loving relationship with your pet.
How to Get Your Pup to Listen to You If you want to get your dog to listen to you then you need to learn the basics of how to train a dog.
These basics include basic animal psychology and using this as your weapon for training and shaping your dog to be the good, house friendly pet you've always wanted! What do dogs want? What drives them? Sure, they all love to eat a nice chunky, fat, and juicy piece of meat.
Heck, people love that as well! And sure, dogs have their territorial instinctual nature that makes them pee all over the place and bark when they see strangers.
And, of course, if they see a wild bird or squirrel they'll go chasing after it.
But what else drives them? The answer is that these four legged creatures are social animals.
In nature their ancestors, wolves, lived in packs with very intricate social structures.
There were the alpha males that dominated all resources and the other wolf members that knew their status.
As with all social structures, there was a need for approval from the group.
Not having this approval, or being outcast from the group often left these animals resource-less and out to die.
Because of this, it is naturally embedded into their minds the need to be accepted by those they feel are higher up on the social status ladder than them.
This is where we come in.
Us, being owners of the dog, are put into our dogs social group.
The question is where do we stand? If we give our dog everything he or she wants and let them get away with everything they do, do you think they see us as the alpha male that rules the resources? Dogs that are spoiled are just like kids that are spoiled.
They feel that they are getting approved by everything they do.
As a result, they feel there is no need to control their behavior and do whatever they want.
From this type of relationship, it can be hard to get this dog to do anything you want.
The key to changing this is getting your dog to want your approval.
You see, when your dog does something you don't like, do not give him your approval.
Disapprove of the action.
Say "No".
No need for punishment but be sure to let your dog know you disapprove.
Conversely, when your pet does something that is favorable and something you like, applaud their efforts.
Let them know that you approve of their good behavior.
What will happen is your dog will understand what is good and what is bad.
Your dog will understand what it needs to do to receive approval and what keeps it from not getting the approval.
If you set yourself as the dog owner and the owner of the resources and status, your dog will adjust.
But if your dog still feels like it is the one with the power, it won't change.
It will consider you a joke.
This is why your body language is important.
You need to show your dog that you are in control, not them.
Many people have a difficult time learning how to train a dog and there's a good reason for that.
Most people don't actually go out there and research the proven, effective, and actually useful techniques that help dogs go from behaving poorly to having proper social etiquette around people.
These pets of ours are social animals.
It's impossible to deny this proven fact.
Their ancestors, the wolves, hunt in packs and have alpha males and what not.
The structure of their living has this fact of life built into it and has been for thousands of thousands of years.
Dogs are their relatives and as a result have this built into their brains as well.
What does this have to do with dog training you may ask? The reason is because dog training is all about using what your dogs strengths are and complementing them in the dog training process.
It's a little think I call manipulating the acceptance and reluctance of your dog.
You see, dogs are like people because they are social animals.
And what do all people crave? Acceptance.
All people have the urge built into them to fit in with others.
To be a part of a group.
This is why in the past if you were exiled from a group you were basically expected to die.
We are meant to survive in groups and left solo, we often starve or die.
This is exactly how our pets feel.
What we're going to do to train the dogs is hold off our acceptance of them until they start acting properly.
The key is to reward their deeds that are good and to reject those deeds that are not praise worthy.
For example, if your dog knocks over the trash or jumps on the kitchen table, you do not give him or her approval in any way.
You temporarily exile them from the group.
When they do something that is awesome and worthy of heaven status, you give them a nice doggie treat or whatever they desire the most.
This is how you get them to start behaving in a good and effective way.
Whether you are trying to show them how to sit and stay or are trying to get them to be potty trained, the tips are just as effective either way! Be sure, however, not to "punish" your pet as this can have negative consequences that you don't want to deal with.