What a Professional Dog Trainer Can Do For You and Your Dog

by
Milton Harris

If you are wondering what exactly a professional dog trainer can do for you and your dog, you will want to continue to read. A professional dog trainer can make the life of living with your not so pleasant dog better. Of course all dogs are pleasant, but their bad habits may sometimes be atrocious. Hiring a professional to train your dog may be the answer to your problems. People hire professionals to do this on a daily basis. Every day of the year, someone is looking for a trainer for their dog. Most dogs have annoying bad habits that they just cannot help.

A professional dog trainer will break your loving pet of those bad habits. No matter how bad those habits might be, a professional trainer can make it possible to live with your pet in peace, once again. When you hire a professional to do the job of training your pet, you should get professional service. Once you have located your professional trainer, be honest with him and let him know all about the naughty acts that your dog performs. Letting him know the problems up front, so that he can work on each and every one of them, will make you a happy customer, and your dog a happier pet.

Finding a professional dog trainer is very simple. Do you take your dog to the local dog park? If so, try talking to some of the owners there that have dogs that behave. Ask them who their trainer was and get as much information as possible from them. You will feel better after knowing that the well-behaved dog in the park had bad habits also at one time. Rest assured that your dog’s habits will be broken as well, and before you know it, dog owners will be asking you who your trainer was.

Choosing a professional dog trainer can sometimes be tricky. Try talking to all of the trainers you are interested in. Maybe even let them meet your dog, and see how he reacts to each trainer. After all, you will want to get a trainer your dog will be comfortable with, because they will be spending a lot of time together.

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Milton Harris, entrepreneur and owner of www.certified-dog-trainer.info and www.home-job-alert.com



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Teaching the Come Command to Your Dog

by
Justine Kay

The come command is a very useful and very important skill as it can get your dog quickly out of a difficult or dangerous situation. If your dog will instantly turn away from what it's doing and return to you, then you have a safety mechanism continually at your finger-tips. As with all training, you should begin in a quiet location with few distractions (probably inside your own home), then increase the distractions as the new exercise becomes more familiar to your dog.
You should have lots of treats ready for this training technique – it is essential to reward your dog IMMEDIATELY he exhibits the correct behaviour. He will not remember what he's just done if you leave it too long, by searching in your pocket or a bag, so you should have the treat already in your hand, anticipating his obedience. When he masters the command, you should give him his favourite treat straight away and praise him.

This exercise is best carried out with two people. (If this isn't possible, a long training leash can be used, along with the stay command.) One person should hold the dog's collar, the other should show him and let him sniff his treat. Then close your hand over the treat and back away from your dog while your companion holds his collar. If your dog already knows how to sit and stay (and he should do!) then use this command while you back away from him to about ten feet distance. Now stop and call your dog's name followed by the word “come”. You must be consistent, always use the same word in the same tone of voice. Later, if you want friends or family to use your dog's commands, you must teach them how to say them and use them correctly. Inconsistency will confuse your dog and undermine your training techniques.

Once you have called your dog's name and the word “come”, your companion should release the collar and your dog will almost certainly return to you. Give him his treat and praise him enthusiastically. Repeat the exercise many times, increasing the distance between you and your dog and even going out of his line of sight. He will soon have learned the exercise and associate “come” with a nice treat and praise.

The next part of the training is to take your dog outside to a quiet location. Your companion should hold your dog on it's leash and run over to you with the dog when you give the “come” command. Once it is clear that the dog is responding well to the command and responding to the positive reinforcement of the treat, you can try the command with the dog off the leash in a safe environment.

Remember to always use positive reinforcement for this exercise – don't call your dog to you to tell him off or to do something he dislikes, like putting his leash back on. If you want to get him back on the leash, you can trick him by calling him to you, playing a little game where he stays close to you, then putting his leash on, so he doesn't associate the command with something negative. Some dogs don't see the leash as negative and therefore you can just call him as normal and give him a treat or praise him.

As with all training exercises, the key to success is repetition, patience, consistency and positive association. Your dog will be a happier, healthier, safer dog for accomplishing this simple task in a variety of environments with differing degrees of distraction until it is an automatic response.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com


Justine Kay is an experienced dog owner and trainer. She is the webmistress at Dog Training Tips where she writes dog training articles and discusses the intricacies of dog psychology.



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Training Older Dog Requires Adaptability

By: Andrea Waggener
by
Andrea Waggener

Training older dog issues require some adaptability. When you’re considering training older dog techniques, you have to keep in mind what senior dog problems your older dog has. Here are some of the training older dog considerations you need to think about: 1. Older dogs may have joint problems. There are some things your older dog isn’t going to be able to do. If, for example, you are trying to teach your senior dog to jump up, if your dog isn’t doing what you want, it may be because the jump is physically difficult for him because he has older dog joint problems. Even simple tasks like sitting and lying down can be hard for dogs. Be aware that your older dog might not be responding because of pain or stiffness. Don’t get impatient with a slow-to-respond older dog who could have joint problems. 2. Many senior dogs have trouble hearing. Training older dog techniques must take into account the possibility that the dog may have dog hearing loss and not be able to hear commands. If you’re not sure if your older dog has dog hearing loss, do a little experiment. Wait until your senior dog has his or her back to you and then say the dog’s name. If your dog doesn’t respond, he likely can’t hear you. To compensate for the dog hearing loss, incorporate hand signals into your training. For example, use a come here motion when teaching the dog to come. Use a flat hand, palm facing away from you to teach a dog to stay. Point to the floor when you want the dog to sit. Make a motion with your hands like an umpire calling a batter safe when you’re telling your dog, no. You may need to use your hands to give praise too. Most training uses treats AND verbal praise for the best effect. If your dog can’t hear the praise you give, it could slow down your training older dog efforts. Choose a hand or body movement that tells your dog you’re happy with him. 3. Senior dogs can have bladder control issues. When you’re considering potty training older dog techniques, keep in mind that your older dog may have problems with his bladder. The potty training efforts will go more smoothly if you take your dog outside frequently. The fewer accidents you allow, the easier it will be to potty train your older dog. 4. Older dogs can have attention-span issues. You know how people tend to get more child-like when they get older? Dogs do too. They can revert back to some puppy-like qualities. One of those qualities can be a shortened attention span. Good training older dog efforts take this into account. Teach your senior dog in small chunks of time. A few minutes several times a day is better than one longer block of time. When you keep these special senior dog considerations in mind, you’ll have far better results when you set out to succeed at training older dog.
Article Source: www.articleonlinedirectory.com
Andrea Rains Waggener, author of Dog Parenting—How to Have an Outrageously Happy, Well-adjusted Canine, offers free basic dog training tips at http://www.basicdogtrainingtips.com.

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