Posts Tagged ‘Distractions’
Dog Training: Correct Heel Methods (1)
Once you have reached the level of dog training in which your dog is not fooled by distractions or temptation, you are then ready to proceed to the next level of training – how to heel correctly.
If your dog cannot walk comfortably at your side, there is no way you’re going to teach him anything about being obedient. He must learn to heel properly and focus his full attention to you.
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You will be using a six-foot leather training leash for this phase. During this stage of training, you will teach your dog to walk beside you like a gentleman. He will learn to automatically sit at your side when you stop.
Correct Dog Training Employs No Punishment
The right attitude cannot be achieved if your dog is mistreated or abused. To restrain or choke the dog on a short, tight leash, to hit him in the chest, or to smack his face with the end of the leash while trying to teach him to heel will result, among other things, in a completely negative attitude in the animal.
Starting Position When Dog Training
To begin, you will notice that your leash has a loop in one end. Place your right thumb through that loop. With your left hand, grab the leash at the middle section and place it in your right hand. Notice that the dog is on your left side, but that the leash is held in your right hand.
This will seem a little awkward at first, but your left hand will be doing other things.
Do not form the habit of trying to restrain your dog at your side by holding him up close with the left hand on that leash.
Remember, dog training, do not restrain him. Forget about everything that you were told or read about restraining a dog tugging at your side in the hope that he will get the idea that this is where you want him to walk.
That idea will never occur to him.
There is an important characteristic of an untrained dog on a leash that will become obvious to you during this stage of dog training.
This dog wants to feel a tight leash! If there’s a slack in the leash, he has no way of calculating its exact length. On a tight leash, he can lunge and pull and go through all kinds of twists and turns, because he has the security of feeling where the other end of the leash is.
Therefore, it is very important throughout dog training that you don’t give in to your dog’s wishes by walking him on a tight leash.
Dog Training Distraction Tips
A distraction is anything that interferes with your puppy’s focus on you during dog training. She will be easily distracted by noises, other people and items around the house which will take her attention away from you.
Use a motivator to bring her attention back to you.
In puppy class, the main distractions are other puppies and their owners. I always tell owners to bring their puppies’ favorite toys or treats to fight distraction.
Because of the many distractions in a puppy class, it actually makes a great place for dog training. It will help desensitize your puppy to these distractions as well as to new ones in the future.
When there is a distraction, move your pup away from it in the beginning, if possible.
For example, if you are training your pup near your kitchen table and she is distracted by something on the table, then move her further from the table.
Eventually, after countless dog training sessions, you will be able to bring her closer to the distraction and still hold her attention.
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2 Activities Your Dog Will Enjoy
If we want our dogs to do things for us, we need to know how to make them feel good. Below are two positive inducements that can win the heart of any dog.
Get A Ball: Preferably, use a tennis ball because it bounces and is easily controlled by the owner. In training a dog with a ball, the more powerful the dog’s attraction to it, the faster he can learn how to obey his owner and the more irrelevant distractions he can exclude from his attention.
Praise Our Companions: Our dogs will work well for us if we can make them feel good by being with us. Praise must come from the heart and be deeply felt.
The sound of our voice, the touch and stroke of our hand, should be capable of raising our dog’s spirits to a joyous state.
When a dog is part of a group that heightens his drive, he becomes stimulated to maintain his good work.
Common Puppy Behavior Problems – Barking & Digging
Barking is completely normal for any dog but it should be considered a problem if it becomes excessive. Most dogs will bark at strangers passing by, and this is to be expected. However, you need to teach your puppy that although some barking is OK, too much barking is not.
Allow your puppy to bark two or three times when someone rings the doorbell, approaches your house or walks past your yard. Don’t let your puppy bark frantically until the person eventually leaves the area.
A Simple Anti-Barking Routine
To train your puppy not to bark excessively, be consistent and plan ahead. Ask a friend to come to your home and ring the doorbell. When the bell rings, your puppy probably will run toward the door and bark.
Take hold of your puppy’s collar at that moment, and say his name and then the cue “be quiet.” When he listens to you and ceases his barking, praise him heartily. After several practice sessions, your puppy should start to catch on.
Once your puppy has learned to respond reliably to the quiet cue while inside your house, you can begin the training session outdoors in your yard. Ask friends and neighbors to help you with the training by walking past your property or doing whatever else it is that sets your puppy off on a barking spree.
Remember, too, that bored dogs will bark more than those who are getting enough stimulation. If your puppy is barking like crazy at everyone who passes the house, he may need more exercise and stimulation. That way he won’t feel compelled to come up with his own distractions.
Digging
The instinct to dig is strong in most dogs and often starts in puppyhood. If your puppy is starting to dig up the yard, you need to intervene before your garden begins to look like a mine field.
The best way to control your puppy’s urge to dig is to give him a spot in the yard where he can dig to his heart’s content. This might be a place where you’ve already seen him digging if you don’t really mind that he digs there. Or, you may want to entice him to dig in an area that is out of the way and not visible from most parts of your yard.
If you catch him digging in a place that is not allowed, correct him by saying “NO DIG!” and take him to his allowed spot. If he digs in this designated digging area, praise him to let him know he’s got the right idea.
Even though he has his own digging spot, you may find that your puppy still likes to dig in places he shouldn’t. Protect these areas with temporary fencing (like chicken wire) until your puppy gets in the habit of digging only in his designated spot. Eventually, you should be able to take down the fencing and give him the run of the yard.