The Basics of Dog Training
If you have recently brought a new puppy into your family, you may be realizing how much work taking care of a puppy requires, and you may also realize that it would be in your best interest to give your puppy some basic dog training. You can either train the puppy yourself or hire a professional trainer to do it for you.
As with anything, there are pros and cons with both of these methods. A trainer can become quite expensive, and you also have to transport your dog to and from the trainer’s location; however, the trainer is experienced in this type of work. On the other hand, if you train your dog yourself, you have the ability to do it virtually expense free, and you can also do it from the comfort and convenience of your own home; however, you need to acquire a bit of knowledge on proper dog training before you can begin.
The three basics of dog training are quite simple. They include the commands sit, stay, and come. A helpful tool for teaching these basics is some sort of small dog treat, such as a dog biscuit. The first, and easiest of the three of these commands, is teaching your dog to sit. The best way to begin is to first choose a place that has little or no distraction for your dog, such as your living room when no one else is around but you and the dog, and the television or radio is not blaring. Then, you should simply show the dog the treat in your hand, and then hold it high above the dog’s head while repeating the command, “sit,” over and over again. Holding it high will force your dog to sit and look up in order to see the treat. If this does not work to make your dog sit, just gently push his bottom down until he is in a sitting position, and once he is, simply give him his treat, some head patting, and some praise. This will eventually reinforce the idea that the command “sit” is associated with a treat and praise.