Make Your Dog Obey You With Some Simple Tips

That little puppy that looked so adorable at the pound has started to do some not so adorable things around your house. Your cute little puppy is peeing inside, rather than outside. Hes also been chewing on your shoes and jumping all over you. The good news is that the vast majority of dog behavior issues are easily lessened by consulting a professional dog trainer.

Reinforcement is a key element in dog training. Reinforcement only works, however, when it is executed with the proper timing. Excitedly saying, "Good girl!" just a few seconds too late has little positive impact on the dogs future performance in terms of the desired act. Reinforcement for desired behavior should be immediate.

Show your dog that you love them and are proud of them. Its easy in dog training to focus on the negative and try to show your dog that what they are doing is wrong. Make sure that you also work to accentuate the positive and praise them when they are doing well.

When working on teaching your dog a command, keep training sessions short. It is much better to train your dog for 5 minutes, 3 times a day, than all in one 15 minute session. This will keep your dog focused. Before your dog gets bored, end the session. This will keep him interested and wanting more.

Exercise

If your dog barks and growls at strangers in your home, do this: leash your dog, make him sit, wait until his attention is on you, and hand the leash, in full view of the dog, to your guest. Then wait until the dog is calm again, with the guest giving commands as needed. This teaches the dog that your guest ranks above him in "the pack" and he must accept them. When the dog starts to react again, repeat the exercise.

Your dog requires at least one hour of exercise every day. Taking care to see that the dog exercises enough makes their training work go more smoothly and reinforces the importance of good behavior at all times. A dog who has received plenty of exercise is happier and more responsive.

If your dog is digging up your yard, they may be bored. The biggest cause of destructive behavior in dogs is boredom. Simply putting them out in a back yard does not necessarily mean they are getting exercise. Try making sure they have some activity by taking them for long walks, or if you must stay home, a long game of fetch. Your dog will be too tired out to bother digging.

Nutrition

Its a good idea to keep in mind the number of treats you are giving your dog throughout the day. Giving him too many will add unneeded calories to his diet and cause him to become overweight. The number of treats a dog gets during training can rack up pretty quickly, and a lot of owners overlook this part of their canines diet.

Your dog will need a diet high in nutrition to maintain his vitality and health. This means that you should be picky about what you feed your dog. Making your own dog food can help to reduce fillers that do nothing for your pet, while increasing the crude protein to a healthy and more beneficial level.

Many people are surprised to discover just how easy it is to significantly lessen canine behavior problems. So try some of the advice we mention and youll soon discover, just as many happy pet owners already have, that with just a little bit of work, and a lot of consistency, your dog will be much happier and better behaved.