dogtrainingplusmore.com Blog

How To Train An Aggressive Dog

2006-03-17T08:59-05:00

When it comes to aggressiveness in a dog this can be a very serious problem. There are new laws in many areas that state dog’s owner can be charged and the dog put down if the dog bites someone. Of course with some serious dog training our dog can learn to enjoy people not turn on them.

There are many reasons why dogs are or become aggressive. Maybe the dog feels his territory is being compromised, or he feels threatened. A lot of aggression comes from lack of confidence and insecurity. Simple obedience will not solve your dog’s aggressive problems only some serious dog training will do the trick. Aggressiveness doesn’t just mean biting; it means barking and lunging at people as well. This type of behavior needs to be addressed as soon as possible to prevent anything serious from happening to someone or another dog.

Your vet can recommend you how to go about finding someone who can work with aggressive dogs. Training aggressive dogs is a specialty and unfortunately could cost you a fair amount of money, but the end result is well worth it and you don’t have to worry about losing your dog. Most obedience and training schools won’t take aggressive dogs as most of the places run classes with other members and won't let them be endangered. The best thing you can do is to take him to a proper dog school. Look in your yellow pages for one.

Always check the techniques used by schools on how they train aggressive dogs as training an aggressive dog can be dangerous some places may use out of date methods which could be harmful to your dog, although this isn’t always the case it is always better to be safe than sorry. I wish I could say it was easy to train your dog not to be aggressive but it isn’t.

At the end of the day what counts is that your dog stops attacking and he starts loving. An aggressive dog can bridle the relationship that you have with him therefore you and your dog aren’t having the best time together as you are always worried about him biting you, other people or other dogs. I recommend that you do what it takes to get the problem handled!

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. For more on dog training go to http://www.dogtrainingplusmore.com

How To Train A Puppy Properly

2006-03-08T08:30-05:00

Having a new puppy in the home excites everyone especially children but make sure you got the puppy for a good reason and not just on a spur of the moment feeling. Like they say dogs are for life not just for Christmas. A puppy can bring lots of happy memories and times but they have a lot of training and work involved to, they are not all fun and no work!

A puppy’s temperament depends on where the puppy has been brought up and what type of breed he is. German shepherds, Rottweilers, bull dogs and boxers are all guard type dogs so tend to be very loving and protective. Border and bearded collies tend to be herding dogs and reared on farms and tend to be quite enthusiastic and never sit still (be aware because they are reared on a farm they may be a little bit nervous around modern day technologies, such as bridges, loud noises etc). Labradors, gun dogs and pointer are all hunting dogs so expect them to be full of energy and laughable moments. Of course these are just general expectations every dog has its day…and its personality!

Training a puppy is something that can be achieved in a matter of weeks depending how much time and attention you spend on it. You don’t need to train for hours and hours a day, a few minutes several times a day is all it takes. The first thing you need to train your new puppy in is obedience, commands like sit, come, heel, stay and fetch are basic enough for them to learn. As they get older you can incorporate commands like paw, roll over and play dead! Training a young puppy is not as hard as you may think as they are like a blank sheet of paper waiting to be written on. The way they are taught and what they are taught will stick with them and will influence them later on in life, although training isn’t forever so you need spend a few minutes every day just to keep reminding them what to do.

There are not so nice consequences involved when puppies aren’t trained, for starters your house will constantly be a teething ground for them and your furniture will have massive holes in it. Puppies are like babies and need to be taught the difference between right and wrong, to do this you need some puppy dog training!

Many handlers experienced or in-experienced are turning towards training products and aids but training can be done without these methods. Just a bit of good old hard work! A puppy may take several months to training but when it is complete the rewards will be well worth it, but don’t forget to stay up on your training for several minutes each day or your dog will slowly forget and you’ll have to start all over again, with an even bigger task, training an older and sometimes bigger dog!

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. http://www.dogtrainingplusmore.com

Why It Is Essential That You Train Your Dog

2006-02-14T09:48-05:00

Effective dog training is essential for both a pet’s safety and the quality of life for both dog and master.

After struggling with training a dog, you may feel tempted to give up. Giving up on training an outdoor dog, for instance, can be a real temptation. You may believe you’ll still manage to have reasonably enjoyable interactions without going through the hassles and challenges of real training. Perhaps you believe the dog will learn on his or her own, over time, how to behave. Training is difficult and can seem like such an effort that surrender may feel sensible.

It is not. Effective dog training is not a mere option. When one considers its immeasurable benefits, it becomes nothing short of mandatory. Allowing a dog to live untrained can pose significant risks. The costs associated with these risks are so severe that rational decision making requires one to opt for training, regardless of the costs in time and effort it may require.

Initially, training can be the difference between life and death for a dog. An untrained dog, for instance, cannot be recalled effectively if he should wander away. He may encounter any number of dangers in his wanderings—many of which could result in serious injury or death. In critical pressure situations, a well-trained dog can be controlled and protected. The untrained dog is left only with his instincts and lessons learned through the proverbial school of hard knocks. In a world populated by an infinite number of potential dangers, this is often not enough.

Training, then, is less of an option for a responsible pet owner than it is an obligation. Any pet owner should consider training the animal a basic responsibility that cannot be overlooked. The dog’s very life, after all, could hang in the balance. It is unthinkable that any responsible pet owner would look past that consideration and still decide that training was simply not worth the effort it requires.

Second, a dog’s quality of life is improved significantly by training. He will understand how to please his human companions, giving him a sense of purpose and enabling him to access the social interactions dogs naturally possess. He will be able to go through life as a friend and companion, instead of being treated as a mere nuisance or ignored. By learning to behave to his owner’s satisfaction, the dog is able to increase his own satisfaction. Leaving a dog untrained makes it difficult for him to understand how to get the positive human attention and reactions he craves and may curse him with a life filled with unpleasant exchanges with people as he unknowingly misbehaves.

Third, the dog owner’s quality of life is improved dramatically by dog training. This occurs on multiple levels. Initially, the owner and dog are able to develop a close relationship, which brings with it numerous rewards. The owner is also able to avoid the frustrating experience of having to care for a pet that doesn’t know how to care back or who is unfriendly and prone to errant behavior. Additionally, the owner is able to avoid the liabilities created by an untrained dog. The owner can avoid the destruction, inconvenience and even dangers posed by an untrained pet. Instead of being a constant source of irritation and guilt, the well-trained dog becomes a source of pleasure and pride.

It is easy, under some circumstances, to believe that extensive and effective dog training is not worth the significant effort it may require. However, this perspective, if acted upon, will actually create a situation necessitating more effort than training would have ever required. By committing to effectively training a dog, the owner makes an investment of time and effort that will pay out in a variety of ways.

Settling for anything less is highly inappropriate and cannot be adequately discouraged.

Good training will protect a dog from danger and will enable him to live a pleasant and fulfilling life. It will also make the owner’s life more pleasant and can result in a greatly rewarding relationship with the pet. Effective dog training is truly essential.