Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Consistency is Everything when you discipline you Dogs

" Today's training methods, used consistently with patience will produce a happy and well adjusted canine companion. "

Once you have determined the house rules for your puppy you must apply them consistently all of the time. If you allow even the smallest infraction to continue, unwanted behavior will surely able to shape the mind of your puppy more easily than while he's a baby. It is always much easier to prevent a problem than finding a cure although it may be difficult because you love your puppy so much, you must take action when necessary. Do not allow affection, or sentimentality, to override your common sense, or his educational needs. You must at all times, take on the role of parent. As soon as you realize an unwanted behavior is developing, act on it. The puppy must do what he's told, it is your responsibility to be sure these things are conveyed to him in a kind and consistent manner.

The Power of your Voice


" The most powerful training tool you have at your disposal is your voice. The mere tone of your voice will be adequate enough to discipline a puppy "

"Spare the rod and spoil the dog" and " You sometimes have to be cruel to be kind" two phrases that hold no place in the training of a puppy let no one convince you otherwise. Present knowledge of canine psychology finds that harsh disciplinary methods of dog training applied in the past are being relegated to history, and with good cause. Today's alternative are no less effective, and carry far less risk of negative side effects if used consistently, regularly, and with patience.
     The most potent training tool you can implement is the power of your voice. Whatever the size or breed of your puppy, it will , as a pup, be small in relation to you. This fact alone places you in a very authoritative position. The mere tone of your voice will oftentimes be adequate to discipline a puppy. During actual training sessions, restraint, correction, and your voice, will be your prime training tools.
    Your voice, in praise and admonishment, will vary in tone and volume. These subtle changes will achieve more for you than all the training aids put together. It is the most ongoing form of communication you can develop with you dog. Use it wisely and it will enable you to achieve great things with your newly acquired canine family member.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Praise and Discipline for your Puppy

Your puppy learns appropriate behavior through successes that should be rewarded with praise and inappropriate behavior thought correction. The severity of discipline applied to a puppy should be minimal - only what is required to suppress an unwanted behavior. Anything more is excessive and unnecessary. The level of discipline can always be increased, but once excessive discipline has been used, negative side effects will occur. Remember, training should be a bonding experience for your and your dog.
From the outset, you must be clear about what behaviors you consider acceptable. Failure to do this can result in confusion and problems as the puppy matures.

For example, many owners encourage a puppy to engage in a tug-of-war game with a slipper after all, you are only playing. However, what you are doing is encouraging the puppy to hold on to things and try to win the tug-of-war game.

Will you be so happy to engage in this when the pup has a vice-like grip on your shoes, or clothing? If you don not want your puppy to sleep on chairs or your bed, don't allow him to do so while he's a puppy. If you do not want him to jump up on people when he is an adult, don't encourage him to do so. This does not mean your puppy shouldn't be allowed to do "puppy things," but exercise care in what you actually encourage him to do. Encouragement is a from of praise. It conveys to the puppy that it is acceptable to this or that. Let him have his own toys- items such as a ball, or Nylabone, things he will not confuse with items you do not want him to grow up regarding as toys. Play appropriate games, but try not participate in games in which he is encouraged to bite on your clothes, body, or anything else.

 If you don't want your puppy to sleep on the furniture be sure to give him his own comfortable bed or place to go to when he wants privacy. Respect his privacy and teach your children to do likewise. If you do not want him eating a bone on your living room carpet don't let him start doing so. Take him the kitchen every time he appears in the living room with a bone; and then praise him when he settles down to eat in in the kitchen.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Learning by Stimuli

All life forms react to stimuli- which is any thing. or action, that elicits a response- in one of three predictable ways. Reaction is either positive, neutral( passive ), or negative. In some situations there is no neutral situation. For example, when walking your dog and you tell him to stop, he either stops or keeps going, there is no potential for a neutral reaction. If the dog stops your reaction will be either positive (praise), or neutral you do anything. If he does not stop, your reaction will be negative you physically bring the dog to a halt. These reactions to stimuli are a vital part of the learning process. Continuing with the example, logic tells you that your dog would rather come to a halt and gain praise halt continue walking and elicit your displeasure.

" Your puppy leans by a combination of observation, hearing, reacting, memory and instinct."

If your dog keeps waling in this situation it may be because he has not grasped the notion that when you stop he is expected to stop in which case you have failed to communicate the needed response to a given stimuli. Or because he is ignoring your stopping action because something ahead is more appealing than the discomfort he associates with your displeasure. However, if you praise the dog one time for stopping, then discipline him the next time, you should not be surprised if the dog becomes totally confused. You must never react in two opposing ways to the same situation. Your reaction to an action of the puppy must always be positive or negative, never both. If this happens, you deny the puppy the opportunity to learn which action is expected of him. You become a poor teacher, and will end up with a poor pupil. There are no untrainable dogs, just lots of owners unable to train them.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Learning Process

Your puppy learns by a combination of the following: observation, hearing, reactions to stimuli, and memory recall, as well as instinct. Instinct is something every animal is born with- a subconscious involuntary ability to react in a given way without having to apply any conscious thought to the matter. It is a safety valve, a means that helps all animals to survive when they have no previous experiences to draw from. Instinct can be overridden by memory because it gives the animal alternative choices based on the consequences of past actions. In the absence of experiences, an animal will always react in an instinctive manner.

" Training your puppy will be much easier once you fully understand how your puppy learns."

Common Mistakes in Beginning Training - Before training your puppy understand that your weaknesses can effect a pup as he matures into a dog. The most common error is to assume the puppy fully understands what you say. He is able to associate certain word sounds to required actions. The toone of the voice, and facial expressions, are also important in helping the puppy to understand the requirement of the word, and its context.



For these reasons, words, used in training should be short, never sentences, Hand signals must always be quite clear and distinct from any other signal that might convey a totally different requirement. Another concern is inconsistency. If a given behavior pattern is or is not acceptable there must be no variation in your reaction to it. You cannot allow your puppy to sleep on a chair one day, but not on the next. You must never call your puppy to you and then apply discipline, having given praise on other occasions. Also, remember you can not discipline a dog in the present for something done in the past, and expect he will associate the discipline with the most recent thing he did- usually coming to you. These common mistakes are the recipe for a confused dog. Unfortunately many owners seem unable to understand these realities, and unwittingly make training more difficult.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

How Your Puppy's mind works

In many societies today pets are held in high esteem considered members of the family. From an early age we are, through fables, stories, movies and books. encouraged to believed the character in them can talk and think as we do. The proof of this can be heard in things many dog owner say.  Example include.: " He didn't mean to do that, " "He knows he shouldn't do that," " He understands everything I say. " Somewhere along the line we forget that our dog is not  human, and therefore doesn't think like one.

In order to successfully understand your pet, you must clear your mind of the tendency to a apply human thinking to your puppy. Instead, accept him for what he actually is- a once wild animal. A successful trainer will merely modify, or channel, your puppy's natural inclinations and behavior patterns into those acceptable in a human society. Luckily, dogs fit in very well with human families because they mirror, in many ways, the lifestyle of the wild dog's social structure- he will merely begin to see the family as his pack.

" To successfully understand your pet, accept him for what he is. "
Remember, when you take a puppy into your home you are expecting him to live by your rules, not those he would live by in the wild. Surprisingly, even today, dogs still rely on instinct more than we would expect. Making your puppy a good family member may take some time, but with patient training and plenty of tender loving care, your puppy will strive to please you.

" Dogs fit in very well with families. She will begin to view the family as her pack. :) "

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