Archive for November, 2009

Everyone in the house will be so excited to bring a new puppy home. Reality hits once everyone realizes that it may take a team effort to train the dog with patience and love. Potty training your dog is one of the first tasks, and this alone will call on your to muster up all the patience and effort you have.

If you are trying to potty train your puppy too soon, you’ll probably realize it. You will not have much luck until the puppy is around 2 months old. An important consideration in training your puppy is that you need to establish a routine that will help teach the puppy when it is time to go outside and potty.

Determine how often you think your puppy needs to go out. Establish a time range like every 30 minutes or every 45 minutes. Then stick to your schedule to train your puppy. As they grow older, the time between potty outings can grow farther apart. It’s also a good idea to take the dog out before a meal so that you are not interrupted for a potty break during your meal.

Establishing a training routine and sticking to it will help you train your puppy more quickly. It’s hard to accomplish without a schedule. The sooner you establish a training schedule with your puppy, the better you will feel about your puppy and the more at ease the puppy will become.

Some people feel that establishing a routine is just too excessive. The reality is that it is a fairly simple thing to do, and it will help get your puppy trained. It is the best way for your puppy to learn. Just like potty training a child, your puppy will need to see and complete the process a number of times before it actually “clicks” that going outside means time to potty.

Sometimes you have to try to determine why your puppy doesn’t want to go outside. This is difficult, but not the worst problem you will face. There are other issues like puppy whining and barking. Take one thing at a time. Don’t give your puppy sensory overload. Get him accustomed to pottying outside first. This will be your most pressing task.

Find out how to potty train a puppy fast. Visit pottytrainpuppyfast.info to get more information on puppies and dog training.

Is your dog sensitive to sounds or is it timid around other dogs. Then agility training can provide the right environment and a good structure to build the necessary confidence in your dog. The classes are great places to learn about the training and sport. But it can still take a long time, before the dog is ready to leave your lap or the hiding under the chair.

A timid dog is only ready to learn from inside its comfort zone. So the best place for training is probably the home, where it feels safe and the learning can be done in small increments.

But how do you train your dog at home? You need two things: guidelines and equipment. You can find multiple websites with information on agility training. Other options are books and videos with details, visual aids and lesson plans for both beginners and experts.

There is a wide range of equipment that can be both helpful and useful for dog training in your home. So you have to look at the location and available space, before you choose the equipment. Do you have a large yard? Well, good for you. But most people only have a small yard, where they have to setup the equipment every time. Or they might have to train in the garage or basement; or even in the living room.

When you are training a timid dog the equipment has to be sturdy and safe. A pause table is a good starting point for dog training. Buy a 12″ high pause table, which is good for dogs in all sizes. Set it up in a familiar area, if your dog is shy. You can leave it in the house or yard for a couple of days, if your dog is the barking type. Then it can smell and inspect it in its own pace. Always remember to use baby steps training an insecure dog.

Use treats or your dog’s favorite toy to encourage it to get up on the table. Be patient because it may take more than one lesson. If the dog looses interest, try something new; e.g. place yourself on the table holding the dog. If it is not possible, have it on leash when you are sitting on the table. And only treat it when it comes to you. Never do it, if it is pulling away.

Later you might want the dog jumping on the table using a cue like Table, Stay on the table and Come when you are calling. Build your distance to the table slowly, so you do not push the dog to hard.

If you follow the above instructions, you can introduce new obstacles that can give your dog a new success. When it success a new piece of equipment, its confidence will grow.

Martin Elmer is the editor of Hundefan – a website about hunde artikler. Here you can also read about hundedaekken.