Basic dog training tips; Dog training guidance & Guidelines; training kid-friendly dogs

Family Dog Training Tips
Part of making your family pet as kid-friendly as possible involves teaching them some basic commands and appropriate behaviors. This information will cover the basic essentials of dog training, so that you can get your family pet to better heed your commands and behave according to household rules.

Basic Dog Training Tips:

1. The first step in dog training is to figure out what motivates your mut. Some dogs like balls, others respond to food, and almost all dogs love attention. Different dogs may respond differently to these different carrots, so figure out which one is most effective for your dog.

2. Once you've got your reward, the next step is to ration your motivator. You want to restrict that treat as much as possible during everyday routines and use it to reward your dog when she acts how you want her to. Just make sure you establish a bond with a new dog first-you don't want to start withholding affection as a training tool before your new pet has become accustomed to the home.

3. Before the training session, get your dog excited about the reward. Show them the ball or treat, then do some training work. Reward them and play for a little bit, then do some more training work.

4. As Dog Whisperer Cesar Chavez always says, become the pack leader. Play when you want to, not when the dog demands it. Make your dog follow you, rather than you trying to keep up with your dog. Just like parents when it comes to kids, the dog owners with the most rambunctious pets tend to be those that give in too easily when their dog whimpers or demands something. If you buy a child candy every time she throws a fit, then you'll soon have a fit every time you go to the grocery store. Dogs are the same way. If you coddle them too much and give in to their every demand, they have no incentive to be good or do what you want them to.

5. Break your task into steps. In shaping your dog's behavior, it's sometimes easier to start with small steps and build on them. For example, if teaching a dog to roll over, have them lie down first, then lie down and roll on their side, and finally roll all the way over.

6. Limit environmental distractions. If your dog loves to chase things, it's going to be hard to train them in the front yard if you have a squirrel running up the tree or bike riders strolling down the sidewalk. You want an area as free from distractions as possible; unless, of course, you're trying to train your dog NOT to chase things. In that case, exposure to the thing they have problems with is necessary.

7. Decide what words you will use as commands, and then be sure to use the same commands each time. When one family member is yelling "stop," another "stay," and yet a third "heel" all for the same instruction, it will confuse the dog and slow down the training process. Because we understand the similar meaning behind all these words, it's easy to interchange them and forget that to a dog they are as different as night and day. So sit down as a family and decide which words will be used for specific commands, then stick with them.

Training a dog to obey your child
Many dogs look toward kids as equals rather than pack-leaders. The more a dog sees your child as a master and provider, the better behaved they'll be around them, and the more likely your dog will be to obey your child's commands. So try these simple tricks to establish your child as the pack leader:

1. First, have your child open her hand and hold it out towards the dog. When rover touches his nose to her palm, he wins a treat. Have the child give him the treat. It's a good exercise to get the dog familiar with your child, and to teach him that she is also a master and provider; a source of sustenance.

2. Once your dog gets this trick down, include your child in some of the other training steps during training sessions for other things, so that your dog grows accustomed to taking commands from your child.