Baku the Dream Eater

Baku the Dream Eater
Baku (source: the noominarium)

Monday, May 1, 2017

Training Your New Dog- The Basics


     Congratulations! You’ve got a new canine companion! Whether you’ve rescued a scruffy stray with unknown parentage, or purchased a pup from a reputable breeder, you’ll need to know how to help your new family member become the best friend he can be.
     
     Lots of people can, and will, give you advice about what to feed your dog, what toys to get, which vet to go to, even what health insurance to buy, but each owner must decide on their own way of training their dog. While studies have shown that you can teach an old dog new tricks, not every dog breed or any age dog will learn the same way. Do some research to find out how your dog breed scores in intelligence and trainability. This will definitely save you some time and frustration later!

     One of the biggest challenges for anyone in training a dog is consistency. With a family of four, you could potentially have four completely separate ways to teach a dog to come when called, which is just going to be confusing for the dog and you. Decide on what words will be used to begin a command, what actions or hand motions may be used to help and to do the command correctly, and what reactions the dog will receive when giving the desired outcome. Saying “Good Boy!” when the dog sits is a great positive reinforcement, but if Mom says it excitedly, and Dad merely mumbles it, your pup is going to receive mixed messages, and may not react the same way when given the same command.

     Choose a time of the day when training will occur, and stick to it. Don’t tire the dog out by giving him commands all day long; dogs will start to tune out key words if they’re repeated over and over ad nauseum, especially if the word is something like their name, or the word “NO”. A good training time frame is 5-10 minutes at a time. Dogs’ attention spans can be rather short, and running them down with repetitive commands will not give you a well-behaved dog, just a weary one.

     Start with really small, tasty treats that any size dog can eat in one bite; this will maintain your pet’s concentration on the trick, not the task of eating a large snack. Small bites of hot dogs or tiny pieces of cheese are great rewards, and your pet won’t be at risk to gain unnecessary weight. Give the treat at the same point of the trick each time, and only give the reward when he does exactly what you want. Finally, praise, praise, praise. A happy voice and smiling face will keep your dog doing tricks and sticking close to you on walks in the park long after the treats have been eaten.

     These tips will help ensure that your dog learns the proper manners, and maybe a few fun tricks along the way!

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