Daily Good Dog Training Habits

boundary training curb training dog training games leave it wait

Daily Good Dog Training Habits

Comment  

Training your dog doesn't mean setting aside two hours a day to put your dog through military style drills. Instead, think about how you can communicate with your dog throughout the day to teach him and show him how you want to spend your time with one another. Here are a few simple habits that you can start getting into with your dog that will make a big difference in your best friend's behavior:

1) Feeding your dog is the perfect opportunity to reinforce desired behaviors. For example, ask your dog to "sit" and tell him to "leave it" as you slowly put his bowl of food on the ground. If your dog's bottom comes up off the ground, lift the bowl up. His bottom should swiftly return back to the ground. If not ask him to sit again. Then slowly put the bowl down. If his bottom goes up the bowl goes up. Your dog will quickly realize that sitting patiently for his food will allow him to eat it faster. It will also reinforce your "leave it" command. Once the bowl is on the ground release your dog by saying, "Ok, have it!". Your dog will happily gobble his food down. Once your dog learns to sit patiently for his food, you can also skip the bowl entirely and hide little piles of his food all over the kitchen and/or house. Return to your dog and tell him, "Ok, find it!" and watch him race around the house using his sniffer to look for his food. Your dog will be happy to turn his feeding time into game time.

2) Apply the similar feeding technique to going outside for a walk. Life rewards are very important in training your dog because you do not want your dog to become food reward dependent. Anything that your dog desires can be used as a reward. For instance, if your dog wants to go outside for a walk, he must sit nicely and calmly before his leash is put on. Putting on the leash is a reward. Then ask your dog to "sit" and "wait" at the door. Slowly open the door. If your dog's bottom comes up off the floor, simply close the door. Then ask your dog to "sit" and "wait" again. If your dog is especially excited and crazy to go for a walk, you can use treats at first to teach him this concept by rewarding your dog for sitting and waiting. If you are very consistent with closing the door when your dog's bottom leaves the floor, he will quickly learn that his 'reward' of going out the door will happen more quickly if he calmly waits for your cue. Once the door is all the way open you can release your dog by saying, "Ok, let's go!". Practicing the "sit" and "wait" at the door consistently will teach your dog to be calm and well behaved near the door, which can also be applied to greeting guests that visit your home.

3) Teach your dog "up" and "off" if you allow your dog on your furniture. It's ok to allow your furry cuddle bug on the furniture, as long as you are able to tell your dog when he is invited and when he must jump off. By consistently telling your dog when his allowed and when he's not, you can also control when and where he can jump up for a cuddle. This is also useful when you're at a friend's house who doesn't necessarily want your slobbery best friend on the furniture.

4) Consistently teaching your dog to sit at all curbs is a very smart and safe habit to get into with your dog. It may save your dog from a devastating accident and will teach your dog to stay out of the street even if he gets away from you off leash. The life reward for sitting at the curb is hearing your release command, "Ok let's go!" and being able to move forward in motion again. Always say the same release command and always make sure your dog sits at the curb so that it becomes a habit for both of you. Your dog should begin to sit at the curb automatically and wait for your cue. This daily habit may just save your dog's life one day.

5) Along with your daily walks and off leash runs, dedicate 15 minutes a day to training games with your dog. Mental stimulation is so important for your dog's brain and happiness. It will also strengthen your bond and your dog will think you're the best human in the world. Play a controlled game of Tug-o-War, a fun game of Hide-and-Go-Seek, or a nose engaging game of Find It. Make it a daily habit to have fun with your dog!

These few daily habits will communicate with your dog throughout the day and make him a calmer, more zen dog who is happy to follow your consistent, fair rules. Dogs live for life rewards and to be able to do fun things so use them to reinforce your desired behaviors. You want to show your dog how to live in our human world and you want to teach him boundaries and rules for his safety and happiness.

How to Train Your Dog and Your Man At the Same Time

How to Train Your Dog and Your Man At the Same Time

Comment  

Over the last few years, I can't help but notice the quirky parallels between dog training and man training. I'm not a bra blazing feminist or an over bearing girlfriend and I'm not a yank-and-crank dog trainer. In fact, I don't even believe in 'training' any sort of animal or man. What I do firmly believe in is learning to live with positive energy and live in the Now, so that I can better communicate with all people and animals in my life. Communication, through oral language and body language is a vital part of our life that allows us to live in social groups and also live harmoniously with different species of the animal world. Sometimes those species may be dogs, or even men. Both men and dogs are hairier, smellier and often more simple than women yet we manage fall very deeply in love with them. We love dogs for their loyalty, companionship and playful personalities, and we love men for similar characteristics.

Sometimes however, the communication between women and these other species goes awry causing major culture clash, emotional stress and sometimes abandonment. The culture clash refers to the two different worlds that dogs and people live in, as well as the two different worlds that men and women often live in. These worlds and ways of life all intersect and are often very fluid, however they often clash. For instance, dogs are expected to live under a human's roof, but we often forget that dogs are animals and would naturally sleep under the stars or in a den under ground if they were living as wild dogs. Instead we invite our dogs to sleep and live in our houses, but oftentimes instead of showing our dogs how we want them to live in our culture, we yell and scream at dogs for peeing on the floor. In dog culture, there is no difference between the outside and inside of a house, and carpet may seem like very soft grass. It's up to us as humans to learn how to communicate as clearly as possible cross-species so that we may live harmoniously with positive energy.

As for men and women, our human culture has been made to be very gender specific and since birth we are socially constructed to be Man or Woman. Girls wear pink, boys don't cry. Parent's communicate these 'differences' from the start, but then when girls and boys become women and men in the dating world, these differences in way of life sometimes collide. For example, women often complain that their spouse should just know what they are thinking, but men are not psychics and are often not as analytical as women. Instead of flying off the handle and bitching and yelling at our significant others, there are more positive and effective ways of communicating our thoughts and wants. For instance, if your man always says that he will be home from work at six, but then doesn't get home till seven and you yell at him the minute he steps through the door, he's not going to want to come home any faster. Instead, sincerely and happily be excited when he comes home, especially when he gets home somewhat earlier than before. Give him a big smack on the lips, lots of hugs and whatever else, and then let him have his space and veg. He'll start wanting to come home faster and earlier. I'm not so much a traditionalist, but more so a purist who believes in effective communication and positive reinforcement to live more stress free.

There are no written answers about how to know when you've found the 'One', or whether or not you are in a good relationship because every relationship is different and every relationship has it's benefits and downfalls. There's countless books written about how men and women are different and how to date, how to get married, how to have kids and how to get a divorce. However, there needs to be a manual about how to live harmoniously through clear communication between different species. How to 'train' yourself to communicate your desires, needs and expectations in the most positive and succinct way. So instead of yelling at your man and your dog, you can start to work on yourself to be a more balanced, effective and happy individual who knows how to clearly communicate to your furry animal or man what you expect out of them. That way everyone can live happily, respectfully and peacefully under one roof.