Dog Training Connection

So, you just got your new puppy, and have discovered you need to learn some barking puppy training! First off, you must realize that barking in itself is not an abnormal behavior.  Canines bark, just like cats meow and people make promises….it’s just something they do when they want something done!  Your new pooch may bark to tell you that they are hungry, or to let you know that there is someone at the door, or that they are pleased (or displeased!) about something, etc.  On each of these occasions barking could be appropriate, and possibly even appreciated by you, the master.  barking starts to become a problem when your dog refuses to quiet down despite your request to do so. Thus the job before you is not to shut your dog up completely but to train him to speak at the appropriate times and cease and desist at your request.

Most barking dogs have a mission, even though we dumb humans may not know what that task is.  They may have learned that every time they ’speak’ they make something happen.  Maybe the barking leads to your mailman leaving, or your neighbor opens his window and yells out something nasty (attention is attention, after all!).  Your precious pooch may really think he’s getting things done!  Unfortunately for your pup (or your neighbors), getting these things done may not be appreciated by us, the master.  We must train our companion that to survive amongst humans you are expected to behave and hold your tongue at times. 

So start your training with a chosen command like ‘speak’ or ‘bark’ and reward him when he woofs a bit.  If he’s not feeling like talking during your training, you may have to condition him to the command by stating ’speak’ or ‘bark’ when he’s actually barking, then telling him “no” or “stop” to get him to cease.  Now once you’ve gotten him to speak on command, tell him ‘enough’ or ‘that’s it’ (whatever command you want to use to cease his barking-not just a generic ’stop’ or ‘no’) as soon as his woofing escalates and immediately plop a cookie into his mouth, he won’t have a choice but to stop!  It’s a good idea to have in mind how many ‘barks’ would be appropriate.  One ‘woof’ is usually sufficient to state his needs- as in “I need to go outside” or “there’s someone in the driveway.”  Practice this routine a bunch, until he responds to each command given consistently.  Then, next time he barks to let you know the mailman’s at your door praise him heartily and then sternly ask him to stop with a ‘enough’ or ‘that’s it’ (remember to use the same command to avoid confusing him)  and give him lots of love.

If he’s overly excited and doesn’t recognize your command  to be quiet, give a sharp tug on his collar and say “Enough” in a  no-nonsense voice. He will soon learn that that’s time to hold the tongue.  This training will take a few weeks to really start working. However make sure you don’t give up before the job is done.  The more consistent you are, the faster he will learn, and the more consistent he will be in the long run.

Barking puppies are in many ways like cranky crying babies.  They require much time and attention to develop good manners.  Also remember to provide lots of play and fun after your barking puppy training session. 

German Shepherd Dog training is a lifelong process that has to begin somewhere! These working dogs love to have a job to do, and their first position should be ‘faithful student.’ A well mannered German Shepherd dog will be a joy to have in your home, and will also elicit much attention from others who meet your new companion.

You should teach your dog two basic things first – sit and stay. The first thing you need to teach your dog is to sit. The key to any training is to find the reward that works for your German Shepherd. Personal preferences may differ, but often these working dogs are highly motivated by praise for a job well done. Some pups may be more ‘food oriented,’ and in this case, a ready supply of treats is a must.

Make sure that you choose a place free from distractions for this training. “Sit” is the best command to use-stay consistent with your commands. Don’t use “sit” one time, and then “sit down” the next. Choose the command you are going to use, and use it 100% of the time.

OK, lets get to the how-to. First ask the dog to sit while you hold the treat (or your empty hand) out in front of his face. Slowly raise it up, so he follows your hand with his gaze. In doing so, he will have to turn his head up, which naturally brings his backside down. As soon as his rear hits the floor, reward him with the treat or a hearty dose of praise. German Shepherds are very smart, and catch on quickly. This means the reward must happen immediately after the desired behavior. If the reward is delayed, the dog may not associate the reward with the sitting behavior, but with whatever immediately preceded the treat.

If he doesn’t sit, gently push down over his back hips with your other hand to nudge him in the proper direction. When you have made him sit, praise him and give him his treat. If you repeat the word ‘sit’ as he is moving in the right direction with his back hips, your dog will realize that the command is related to sitting and will obey you to receive his rewards.

The next thing you need to teach your dog is to stay. This part of the training can be a little difficult. Once he’s started to catch on to “sit,” ask him to sit, and then “stay”. I like to use one hand out in front of the dogs eyes as a visual cue for “stay” as well. If he stays seated, and does not move, provide the reward quickly the first time. Repeat this exercise, each time waiting a little longer before the praise and release. Then start repeating the command “stay” as you gradually walk back away from your pup. Maintain eye contact with the dog, and if he rises from his position, say “no” and start over.

Once your German Shepherd has figured out to stay while maintaining eye contact, try walking away with your back to the dog. He will probably get up to follow you. Tell him “no” and repeat the process asking him to stay as you move away. Continue this routine until you can walk away and divert your attention to something else while the dog stays seated without moving until you release him.

Remember, the key to your German Shepherd Dog training is praise, not punishment. Continue to work on these commands every day with your dog, and once the training session is over, remember to have some play time with man’s best friend!

Technorati Tags: dog training, german shepherd training, Train sit stay

Boredom is the prime cause of dog misbehavior.  “What!” you may say…”How could he be bored?? He just spent the last 3 hours de-stuffing the pillows on the chair!!!”   Dogs experiencing boredom may have different types of behavioral patterns.  For example, some dogs will be seen barking continuously and some may be obsessed with digging or chewing up everything under the sun. Some dogs may have destructive biting or chewing habitsand will be seen biting furnature, clothes, rugs, shoes, and anything else within reach. All of these behaviors are indicative that your pooch needs something to do-if you don’t provide something, he will find it himself!  

    Much of the time, boredom can be managed with variety of methods that will distract your precious pooch into good behavior. If distractions are available, chances are, your pup will not do the abnormal or unwanted activity arising out of the boredom.    

    The solution almost seems too obvious- provide something for your dog that will allieviate the boredom!  There are tons of toys available, and one of my dog Chance’s favorites is a hollow, rubber toy that can be filled with a treat such as peanut butter.  Chance spends hours chewing and licking and going after the treat. He also loves the hard, nylon bones.  These are a little more expensive than rawhide initially, but last much longer. 

    These types of toys should be available at all times, and if your pup starts to chew or destroy something he shouldn’t, immediately give a firm “no” and if he doesn’t immediately give it up, give the command to “drop” or “give” and immediately replace whatever the contraband is with an acceptible toy. Once he takes to his own toy, show him lots of love.

     These toys may be kept inside the crate or kennel and can be quite useful if you have a puppy that needs to learn to be alone. Make sure he has plenty of toys and activities that he has already shown an interest in to occupy his time while you are away.

    Providing healthy alternatives is the easiest way to remove the often destructive boredom from your dog’s world! 

Technorati Tags: dog boredom, dog misbehavior, Dogchewing, puppy training

Hi Gang,  I found this great primer on how to train your German Shepherd to sit.

Enjoy!

Oops! The embedded video was disabled! You’ll have to Click here to watch the “How to Teach a German Shepherd to Sit” on YouTube.

One of the most important parts of dog training is using meaningful rewards. All dogs have their favorite treats and preferred demonstrations of physical affection. Some dogs will do backflips for a dried liver snippet; other dogs just aren’t that motivated by food, and would prefer to be rewarded through some love from you, their master.

You’ll probably already have a fair idea of how much she enjoys being touched and played with – each dog has a distinct level of energy and demonstrativeness, just like humans do. The best ways to stroke your dog: most dogs really like having the base of the tail (the lowest part of their back, just before the tail starts) scratched gently; having their chests rubbed or scratched (right between the forelegs) is usually a winner, too. You can also target the ears: gently rub the ear flap between your thumb and finger, or scratch gently at the base.

As far as food is concerned, it’s not hard to figure out what your dog likes: just experiment with different food treats until you find one that she really goes nuts for. When it comes to food, trainers have noted an interesting thing: dogs actually respond most reliably to training commands when they receive treats sporadically, instead of predictably. Intermittent treating seems to keep dogs on their toes, and more interested in what might be on offer - it prevents them from growing tired of the food rewards, and from making a conscious decision to forego a treat. 

The great thing about positive reinforcement training is that it doesn’t require you to do anything that might go against the grain. You won’t be called upon to put any complex, weighty correctional theories into practice, or be required to undertake any harsh punitive measures. When it comes to positive reinforcement training, all you have to do is ignore the behavior that you don’t wish to see repeated. Not getting any attention (because you’re deliberately ignoring her) is enough to make just about any dog pretty miserable, and thus is a powerful correctional tool.

Contemporary belief in dog training states that we should simply ignore incorrect responses to a training command - that, with no reinforcement from us (yes, even negative attention - like verbal corrections - counts as reinforcement: to some dogs, negative attention is better than no attention at all), the dog will stop the behavior of her own accord. The bigger the fuss you make over her when she does get it right, the clearer the connection will be between a particular behavior(s) eliciting no response at all, but other behaviors (the right response) eliciting tons of positive attention from you.

Technorati Tags: dog training rewards, positive reinforcement

A lot of people ask about “what are the best dog training treats to use?” Well, the short answer is that it depends on your dog.   It’s widely accepted among dog training experts that the most effective and humane way to train your dog is through a process called positive reinforcement training. This is a fancy phrase for what’s essentially a very simple theory: using positive reinforcement rewards the behavior that you wish to see repeated, and ignoring the behavior that you don’t. This method is in direct contrast to some of the now-outdated but once-popular techniques for dog training, some of which were frankly abhorrent: physical pain and intimidation (such as hanging an aggressive dog up by her collar), or inhumane methods of aversion therapy (such as shock collars for barking).

Positive reinforcement works with your dog. Her natural instinct is to please you – the theory of positive reinforcement recognizes that lessons are more meaningful for dogs, and tend to “stick” more, when a dog is able to figure out what you’re asking rather than being physically forced to follow your command. When you use positive reinforcement training, you’re allowing her the time and the opportunity to use her own brain.

To keep the quality of your dog’s learning at a high standard, use meaningful rewards.  tempting incentives for good behavior will facilitate the training process. Food treats and physical affection are what dog trainers refer to as “primary incentives” – in other words, they’re both significant rewards that most dogs respond powerfully and reliably to.

As the comedians say, timing is everything. When your dog obeys a command, you must mark the behavior that you’re going to reward immediately.  In other words, when she gets that treat in her mouth, she understands exactly what behavior it was that earned her the reward. Some people use a clicker for this: a small metal sound-making device, which emits a distinct “click” when pressed. The clicker is clicked at the exact moment that a dog performs the desired behavior (so, if asking a dog to sit, you’d click the clicker just as the dog’s bottom hits the ground). You can also use your voice to mark desired behavior: just saying “Yes!” in a happy, excited tone of voice will work perfectly. Make sure that you give her the treat after the marker – and remember to use the marker consistently. If you only say “Yes!” or use the clicker sometimes, it won’t have any significance to your dog when you do do it; she needs the opportunity to learn what that marker means (i.e., that she’s done something right whenever she hears the marker, and the yummy dog training treats will be forthcoming very shortly).  So be consistent with your marker.

Remember, consistency is also the key with your training commands. When you’re teaching a dog a command, you must decide ahead of time on the verbal cue you’re going to be giving her, and then stick to it. Her rate of obedience will be much better if you choose one particular phrase and use it every time you wish her to enact a certain behavior for you. So, when training your dog to not jump up on you, you wouldn’t ask her to “get off”, “get down”, and “stop jumping”, because that would just confuse her; you’d pick one phrase, such as “No jump”, and stick with it. Even the smartest dogs don’t understand English – they need to learn, through consistent repetition, the actions associated with a particular phrase. 

Coming tomorrow:  How to reward your dog meaningfully…

Technorati Tags: dog training treats, positive reinforcement dog training