Dogs Training

Basic Dog Training

The training of a dog can progress from the simple training of hygiene, through basic orders such as "here", "sit", "expect", "on the floor" and "stay" till the complex training of dogs in classes of obedience for the championship. The most important principles used in the training are similar regardless of what is being taught and this is what dog owners should try to understand. Through the application of these principles, any dog can learn at least the basic orders and most of them much more than that. When a dog can not even learn the basic training, this is almost always the training`s fault, and not the dog`s. However, a small majority of dogs have genuine mental or behavioral problems as a result of their genetic past or serious disturbances at the beginning of their lives. The process of training is complex,the trainer has to realise a specific action from a specific directory at a specific time. To successfully train a dog, it`s important to understand how the conditioning works in the dog`s mind.
Scientists recognize two types of conditioning. The classical conditioning was discovered by a Russian scientist, named Pavlov, at the beginning of the xx century, while he worked with dogs. In his experience,which now is famous, Pavlov noticed that his dogs were salivating when they felt the food`s smell.When the scientist introduced the sound of a bell just before giving them to eat, the dogs began to associate the sound as an anticipation of food and, after a time,they began to salivate at the sound of the bell, regardless of whether being offered food or not . The Pavlovian conditioning is useful for training at home. When your dog shows signs of wanting to urinate, which will happen immediately after a large meal, it must be carefully lifted and carried out of the house. If the dog is taken to the street with enough frequency in this way, he will establish an association between the act of going to the street and the act of relieve himself,just like the dogs of Pavlov linked the sound of the bell with food. Anyway, dogs generally prefere relieve themselves outdoors, which facilitates the training.
The same principle of conditioning can be applied to the method of journal in training at home.A young dog prefers to urinate on a newspaper and not on the floor.Then, move the newspaper, progressively, closer to the door and put it in the street, and finally get rid of it.
Reward and Punishment.The second type of conditioning it's easier to understand because it is based on providing a reward when the dog does a good thing. The principle of this type of conditioning is very simple ,because if a dog is rewarded for a good behaviour, it`s probable that the good behavior is going to repeat again. Similarly, if a dog is reprimanded or punished for doing something bad, is also likely that the animal repeats the undesirable behavior.
The majority of the dog owners remember several occasions in which these techniques were apparently not successful. Usually, this happens because the dog may be confused and in his mind seems to be a lack of coherence in the behavior of the owner. A dog can only relate a reward or reprimand with his last act. Although, a human understands that a dog is reprimanded because the pet had wet the carpet while the owner was out, but it is not reasonable to expect the dog to associate the two actions, only if the first action comes immediately after the other. A delayed reprimand always creates confusion in the mind of a dog. The dog only can associate the punishment to what he was doing at that time.
Although there is place for both reward and punishment in the education of a dog, as a general rule, reward was always the best policy.The most effective canine rewards are words of praise such as “Good Dog!” in an affectionate, enthusiastic tone of voice. The punishment is normally used to prevent a bad act, or as a reprimand for a bad behaviour, but so works if the dog is caught in the act. For example, if a dog gnawes to bits a pair of shoes while the owner is gone and he is punished after the owner returns back home and enter the room where the shoes are, the dog sees this as a reprimand for entering the room. The dog can then get afraid to enter that room, but continues to gnaw shoes. When the dog is really caught in the act, the owner has to think about how to administrate the punishment. The physical reprimand should never be too severe. Just like in the training with rewards,it is useful to associate the punishment with a verbal command such as "bad dog"; later, this order should prevent the dog from bad behaviour.
The punishment can have both beneficial and harmful effects on the general behavior of a dog. A certain amount of punishments evaluated remembers to the animal that the owner commands and reduces thus the probability of a strong affirmation of the dog. Moreover, the use of many punishments may undermine the ideal relationship between the dog and his owner.A dog, often punished, can get very confused because he is receiving punishments, care and love from the same source.
Dog owners should also remember that punishment is not always interpreted by the animal as having the meaning of something that the owner wants. For some dogs, the physical contact involved in most forms of punishment acts could also be a positive stimulus. Although a slap can hurt momently; the fact that the owner is physically interacting with him can be seen by the dog as a part of a game which, obviously, lows punishment effects.
Some people have tried to solve these problems associated with the punishment by using shock collars.This allows a shock to be administered by a remote control. This obviously excludes the problem of the owner being directly associated with the punishment, but causes many problems in practice and is generally considered unacceptable. For example, if a dog receives a shock during a fight with another dog hoping this will stop him from fighting, maybe the dog will fight in a angrier way than before the shock. Since the conventional methods of training are perfectly satisfactory and efficients and the electrical shocks are so unpleasant for both dogs and humans, people should never use these shock collars to punish the animals.
The speed of maturity varies considerably from a puppy to another ,but the informal training, especially the training at home, should start as soon as they begin to move all alone.This is the perfect time to teach a dog its name and then some basic commands.It`s better to choose a short name that can be said clearly, and that can be learned quickly by the dog.
The formal training in registered training clubs is recommended for dogs up to six months of age and can be completed in about three meses.That`s why, the informal training should start much earlier that the formal one, because in the opposite case the dog develops some bad behaviors. Some of them can become aggressives.When we are talking about a small dog, that is not a problem, and in fact, many owners may like that the dog plays like this.But, when the dog grows up,this play may become undesirable, or even dangerous and irritant in extreme cases, such as if a Saint Brnard jumps and puts the legs on top of a small child.Is important to take into account why a dog begins to jump like that.If the owner gives him a lot of affection and love when he does that,the animal, could see that as a reward for the act of jumping.A reward can take many forms in a dogs mind.A dainty is one of the most common used rewards to encourage the dog to do what the owner wants.
If food was the only possible reward, a dog would probably eat in excess during a formal training session.A good alternative is to associate in the mind of a dog expressions like "pretty boy" every time you give him a reward. "Pretty Boy" is going to be seen as a reward for itself.An another great alternative is the affection.Dogs are particularly easy to reward this way,even if affection is a common cause of the act of jumping.
One of the simplest ways of eradicating an undesirable behaviour, as jumping, is stopping or at least minimizing the expected rewards.For example, every time a dog jumps, the owner must ignore it.The dog realizes the message.The owner also can reward him with affection when he is behaving in the desired manner, like staying on the floor quietly.
The commands usually taught in basic training are "here", "sit", "walk", "on the floor", and "stay". The basic commands are taught using the methods of conditioning, reward and punishment, which had been already described.There is not a fixed order in which the commands should be taught, but dogs are frequently trained to walk next to the owners left leg before anything else.Hold the end of the lead in your right hand and the middle of the lead with your left.
Normally,sometimes the dog tries to hurry, particularly when he smells something or sees an another dog.When this happens, the trainer should pull the lead of the dog and give the order "here" at the same time. The dog must learn that is more comfortable walking in the right way and he will also associate the order to the action.
When the dog learned to obey the order "here" he should be taught to follow the order "sit". That can be done in several ways, with or without the use of food as a reward.Begin by pushing down the dogs hindquarters to the sitting position and give him the order "sit" at the same time
However, as an alternative, it may be wise to teach him this command by using, entirely or in part,food as a reward.You shouls reward him with food so when he is in the sitting position.
The order "stay" is a progression of the previous one.Put the dog in the sitting position and then walk in front of him, saying "sit" and then "stay" very strongly, pulling the lead if he tries to move . If this happens, start again.
The command "walk" is a progression of dogs training with lead.Adopt the same procedure now, sending the command "walk" when the dog is in sitting position and giving him a lot of affection when he arrives at you, to make the order seem like a pleasant experience.

Novelty In Dogs Training

A training should always begin with a play session to allow the dog prepare for work.Nowadays, people discovered a very original way to train a dog - the training in the water.
Not all dogs are made for the water. Portuguese water dogs, retrievers, and spaniels tend to be drawn to it.However, it can be taught to any dog.The actual trainig takes place both on land and in the water and should begin only after puppies are taught to heel, stay and come when called.
As puppies, most dogs are more willing to try new things. Find a shallow pool or the beach, and play fetch with your dog in small depths.You can train a dog to retrieve people and save possible drowning victims as the training continues.
In water training, the dog and the trainer should work together, as a team , to build trust, wich is fundamental.But this happens only if you now your dog, and can read him like an opened book, that makes possible to anticipate his reactions, his muscles may become overstressed if training is administrated too quickly.The lessons most progress gradually.The true rescue training begind when the dog reaches 15 months, because exercises become more difficult, the dog must climb to reach the water ,he may be submerged by large waves while he tows heavy crafts.
Make the training sessions short. This keeps you and the dog from getting bored with a repeated action.The frequency of training should be selected according to the dog`s motivation.
The trainer should use different tone of voice, depending on what he`s expecting from the dog.A sharp tone should be used for the command to stop.In the other hand, trainer should encourage the dog to continue working in a playful manner.
An ocean rescue dog possess a lot of characteristics that make him suited for his job, such as : strength, stamina, resistance to the cold, calmness, determination and availability.
This kind of training has its risks too.A dog may experience psychological and physiological problems during the training.In addition, forcing a dog to do things that frighten him can create inhibitions and it might take several months to rebuilt the confidence between the dog and his trainer.Here is an advice : play helps eliminate a dog`s fear and timidity.

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