Reward Your Dog When Obedience Training

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Reward Your Dog When Obedience Training
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Rewarding your dog is the best motivator when
training. It is well known that using rewards and
other positive reinforcement when obedience
training a dog is the most effective method and
achieves the best results.
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You can make obedience training fun for the dog
and yourself too by making a game of it.
This makes both your dog and you, as the
trainer, more willing andmotivated to give it
your all. Incorporate a period of play at the
start and the end of each training session to
ensure that the session ends positively. Teaching
your dog to heel is the most basic of all the
obedience commands. This refers to having the dog
walk along with you on a loose lead. Heeling is
generally the first obedience behavior taught to
a dog, and it is easy to teach this using reward
training.
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Begin the training by getting your dog a good
training collar and lead. Make sure the collar is
strong and fits the dog properly. If you dont
know how to fit the collar, ask a dog trainer or
the pet store manager when you buy your training
equipment. As you start to walk with the dog, be
aware of the dogs position in relation to your
own. If the dog begins to get ahead of you, pull
gently on the leash. This will engage the collar
and provide the dog with a gentle indication that
he should slow down.
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You may have to apply more pressure in the
beginning until your dog learns to accept the
discipline. If the dog falls behind, slow down
and encourage the dog to come forward. Use a lure
or the dogs favorite toy to teach him to walk by
your side. If you keep the lure at the position
youd like the dog to be, he will learn quickly
to walk in the correct position.
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Always give your dog lots of praise, treats,
toys, and other rewards when he or she does what
is expected. Dogs learn best when desired
behavior is rewarded in a positive manner.
Positive reinforcement means that when a dog does
what the trainer wants, the dog receives a
reward. This can be a pat on the head or a treat
or toy of some kind. If the dog shows even the
slightest attempt to please you, especially at
the beginning of training, you should lavish
positive reinforcement on him or her.
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It is much less effective to attempt to train a
dog through reprimands and punishment. Dogs
become discouraged and confused by too much
punishment. You may have to reprimand the dog
sometimes to correct a potentially dangerous
behavior. For example, chasing cars or biting
must be punished, but the reprimands must be
direct, short and directly linked to the bad
behavior. After the immediate danger is over,
training should go on, based on the reward method
as before.
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Dogs must learn to associate rewards with
good behaviors and reprimands with
undesirable behaviors. It is difficult to change
any negative associations once they have taken
hold. Its easier to train the dog properly in
the first place than to try and retrain him
later. You should teach your dog to associate
behaviors like coming when called, heeling, and
sitting on command, with the happy and fun
times you shared during training.
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To Learn More About Dog Training, go to
http//howtohousetraindog.com/go/dog-traininghtt
p//howtohousetraindog.com/go/theonlinedogtrainer
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