Training
Found [397] Articles :: Page 18 of 27
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One of the first things that owners want to be able to do is to start taking their puppy out with them on walks and to new places. In order to do so safely it is important to get the puppy leash or lead trained as soon as possible, although puppies will naturally stay fairly close to people when outside of their normal environment. Remember however that puppies will chase and just act silly and should never be taken out of the safe yard area without being on a leash or lead.The first component of leash training is to get the puppy used to all the equipment. Start by finding a good, properly sized collar. If the puppy is going to wear the collar all the time it is essential to get a break away collar that will easily come apart if it gets hooked on something and traps the puppy. A break away collar will snap open, preventing the puppy from possibly injuring itself or even being strangled. [...]
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Most puppies will go through a period of development where they test out their owner's response to barking and whining. With the litter puppies use these sounds to communicate with their brothers and sisters and, more importantly to very young puppies, to their mother. Barking and whining is used as a way to signal to the mother dog that they are in distress, are hungry, are frightened or are lost. While most dog owners want their dog to bark once or twice to let them know someone or something is approaching their property, constant barking and whining can quickly become a problem. [...]
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Puppies will go through various stages in their growth where chewing and biting behaviors tend to be more or less common in all breeds. These are similar in many cases to the chewing and biting behaviors that human infants go through, especially around teething time. Small puppies will also go through a period of mouthing everything. This is part of their way to explore their environment and find out what is good to eat and what is not. While these stages are all normal, they can become problematic when the puppy starts to destroy the house, furniture, clothes and everything else he or she can get his or her mouth on. Biting becomes a more serious issue as often puppies biting is considered cute and even encouraged by unsuspecting owners, but a full grown dog, even a toy breed, can seriously injure a person through biting behaviors. [...]
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Clicker training is a way for trainers to quickly, really virtually instantaneously, provide your puppy or dog with the sound needed for them to understand that they are doing the correct thing. Clickers are small plastic and metal devices that are carried in the trainer's hand and, when pressed, make a "clicking" sound that the dog sees as a positive reinforcement cue.The use of the clicker is based on what is known as "operant conditioning". This means that the puppy learns to complete a behavior that they would not normally do without positive reinforcement. In other words the repetition of the act paired with the reinforcement of the clicker and other rewards encourages the puppy to learn that to get the reward they must keep repeating the behavior when given the command. This is very similar to training a toddler when Mom or Dad gives a treat for putting away their toys or listening to instructions. With the infant Mom and Dad give verbal reminders and cues, the clicker simply replaces those verbal cues with an easy to recognize sound. The clicker is used to immediately let the dog know that they are on the right track, then the reinforcement of a treat or lots of praise and attention follows when they have completed the task. Puppies learn that by hearing the clicker and continuing on with the behavior a reward of praise, attention or a small treat will follow. [...]
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For puppies that are somewhat stubborn, headstrong or have picked up some lazy or bad habits, NILF training is just the technique to get them back on track. For most dominant puppies or breeds that are dominant by nature NILF is also an ideal way to start training and work through training without having to deal with many of the dominance and non-compliance issues you may see in other less task oriented type training methods.NILF, which stands for "Nothing In Life Is Free" is a method of training that requires the dog to perform as per the owner's requests in order to get what the dog wants. This is not a punishment based training method and as a matter of fact NILF training requires no punishment at all, simply a willingness for the trainer to never give in or accept poor or difficult behavior on the part of the puppy. [...]
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It is important to teach your puppy and young dog some basic commands that are used in obedience training or just to have a well-behaved dog no matter where you may choose to take your dog. These commands are simple and are not difficult for most puppies and dogs to learn provided they are given lots of practice and time to learn. Remember that each dog, regardless of breed characteristics, is an individual. Each dog or puppy will learn some things more quickly than others, and some dogs, regardless of what the breed is known for, may just not have the characteristic or ability. Keeping this in mind will help owners from being frustrated with their puppy or dog. Look for the things that your dog is good at or excels at and don't expect them to learn every other trick that you have seen a dog of their breed do. [...]
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Most owners like to have a few "nifty tricks" for their dog or puppy to do on command. It is important to get the obedience basics down first, but then it is a great idea to keep working with your dog to build up a repertoire of extra tricks to keep training exercises fun. There are endless additional tricks and routines that dog's can learn depending on their ability and interest. Matching the type of tricks you teach your dog with their characteristics and temperament is a sure way of making the trick easy and simple for the dog to learn. For example, teaching a terrier breed to bark on command (speak) is relatively simple since they tend to be very vocal dogs anyway. They are also very athletic and can easily be taught to sit up (beg) to get a treat. A large breed such as Great Dane has a very hard time balancing in the sit up position so this trick is likely not a good choice for this type of dog. [...]
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There are many different times that changing a routine or training program may become important for both the owner and the dog. Lots of breeds, especially those breeds that are naturally very intelligent, somewhat dominant or even very headstrong need to frequent changes in routine to prevent them from becoming bored, non-compliant or simply disobedient. Usually these behaviors are a result of the dogs not being mentally challenged and showing their frustration to their owners. Breeds that typically use these types of behaviors can include Jack Russell Terriers, Poodles, Corgis, Schnauzers, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Akitas and other breeds that are known for high intelligence. These breeds love a challenge and if they aren't finding ways to use their mental energy productively, they will find ways to use it destructively. [...]
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Training a dog with hand signals works well for some breeds and dogs, but not as well for other dogs and breeds. It is important to keep things in mind if you have a toy breed or a breed that has partially obstructed vision due to long hair on the face or even a dog that has poor eyesight, hand signals may be more challenging to teach. Dogs that are highly distracted and puppies that are not able to focus will usually need additional training before starting hand signal training. Some breeds are very easy to teach hand signals and these typically include the gun dogs and herding breeds that have a natural instinct for a particular type of work or activity as well as an ability to understand hand signals and respond. [...]
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Each type or breed of dog has been bred and developed to fill a particular niche for humans. This may be a very general job such as a companion dog's role, or it may be very practical such as a breed that has been developed as a gun or hunting dog, as a working dog or as a herding or flock guardian. Each breed, regardless of its size or abilities, has a special type of event or competition that they could, with work and practice, start to compete in. Some competitions will require that the dog be a registered purebred, while other events, typically the hunting and working trials, will be open to all dogs regardless of registry or lineage. Other events may be sponsored completely by one breed association and may be restricted to dogs that are registered through that group, club or association. [...]
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Having a well-behaved dog in a vehicle makes traveling with the dog simple, easy and enjoyable for everyone. Unfortunately many dogs are so poorly behaved in vehicles that they actually become safety hazards for the driver, resulting in the dog having to stay home of further expeditions and trips. This doesn't need to occur with a bit of simple training that will teach your dog how to behave in the car. [...]
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Teaching advanced level dog tricks is not an exact science, rather it is a way of the owner looking at the dog's natural behaviors and being able to train the dog to use these behaviors on command. For example, if you have a dog that naturally wants to sit up and beg or even walk on their hind legs, start working with the dog to do this activity, resulting in an amazing "trick" that your dog will now do on command, but in fact was doing already just without the command.Good dog trainers and those that are able to teach advanced level tricks make the tricks fit the dog, not necessarily the dog fit the tricks. They will also take into consideration the intelligence and trainability of the individual dog as well as the breed. [...]
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All breeds of dogs have the potential to become aggressive if not socialized, properly trained or treated appropriately either as puppies or as adult dogs. Some breeds are also more prone to aggression than others and in particular more prone to being dog aggressive. Dog aggression is defined as a particular dog being violent or vicious to other dogs, without provocation nor while in defense of its family or property. A dog that is trained as a guard dog is not aggressive, it is defensive and protective, but does not attack unless someone or something is invading its area or territory. Guard dogs are trained to bark and take an aggressive stance before actually moving to the attack as a last resort. [...]
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One of the reasons the African Boerboel is increasing in popularity all over the world is its reputation as a wonderful family dog that is good with children. This doesn't mean, however, that a Boerboel can be left in a room with small children without supervision. This breed may be known as kid friendly, but new owners will still have a bit of work ahead of them to make sure both dogs and kids can play together safely. Whether you're concerned about integrating a Boerboel into your family, you intend to expand your family in the near future, or are concerned about visiting children, here are a few tips to make sure your Boerboel and children will get along. [...]
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The African Boerboel is still considered to be somewhat rare outside of its native South Africa, but the breed is quickly growing in both number and popularity thanks to its reputation as both a wonderful family dog and an effective guard dog. Not only does the Boerboel tend to respond well to all members of the family, taking directions not just from one master but from all the people in his household, but this tireless watchdog will change from doting playmate to fierce protector as soon as he perceives a threat, going to any length to protect his family. It is for this reason that the Boerboel is much loved for his ability to be a fearless watchdog. [...]
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Training
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