Agility Training For Your Dog

By : Stan Radlow
Dog training may not be a science but pretty much every aspect of dog training has been understood and catalogued. If you want to train your dog there are three basic weapons that your dog training arsenal should be equipped with the first is praise, the second is discipline and the final is bribery. Dog training is a combination of all three and a dog cannot be trained by employing just one of the above mentioned. Professional dog trainers understand when a dog needs to disciplined and when a dog needs to be praised. If you are thinking of training your dog on your own, then the first thing you need is patience. Dogs are not unlike children; they can throw tantrums, get depressed and be very naughty.
The right age to start training a dog is usually 12 weeks after birth, before 12 weeks the dog is too young to understand training and the best you can do is let the dog get accustomed to its surroundings. Once the dog is 12 weeks old you can teach the dog some basic commands and also start potty training the dog. Ideally you should start training the dog twice a day for fifteen minutes. However if your dog is impatient and lacks concentration then you should lessen the duration of your training sessions, remember the dog should be isolated and free from any distractions when it is being trained.
Before you start training your dog try and figure out what the dog likes, not all dogs like dog biscuits. You have to figure out what your dog’s favourite treat is. Once you know what your dog likes you can use the treat as a bribe and use it to treat the dog whenever it follows your instructions. Remember that not all dogs enjoy treats; your dog might enjoy petting more, if that is the case make sure you praise the dog and pet it whenever it follows your command.
Before you use a collar and chain on your dog, make sure the chain is not too tight and the dog is not in pain when you are using the collar during training. If the chain is too tight the dog might follow your commands but the dog will become very aggressive as it grows up. Like people, dogs too learn from their surroundings and respond to people the same way they are treated.
The first few commands that you should train your dog in are sitting, down and come. If you are looking for tips and tricks on how to train your dog, you can visit sites like www.masteryourdog.com. Although the general principles associate with dog training are the same, different sites have different methods and techniques.
The best option is to visit a couple of sites to get a better idea, also remember that different breeds of dogs react differently to training and you should look for a site that can offer advice on training that is specific to the breed of your dog. All in all dog training is not rocket science all it takes is a little bit of research and patience.
Knowing when to quit
Although training your dog is not a very difficult task, but sometimes it requires professional help to train a dog. Also if you simply don’t have the time but want a trained dog then a professional dog trainer is a good idea. Professional dog trainers usually require a couple of months to train your dog and are not very expensive. Since most sessions are only about half and hour at most a dog trainer can usually come over when you are available and train your dog. Also make sure you hire a dog trainer that is a member of the APDT (Association of professional dog trainers). If you are hiring a dog trainer make sure that you closely monitor the progress of your dog and explain to the dog trainer what you are looking for.

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Stan Radlow is the author of this article on Dog Agility Training. Find more information about Dog Obedience Traininghere.