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bad habits after living with you for a short time, or you've adopted an adult dog who came with
some obedience difficulties. Never fear. There is no time like the present to begin obedience
training with your dog, and we are positive you will both benefit greatly from the effort!
We'd like to begin with a simple Do & Don't list that can be applied to all the areas of
dog obedience training. These are general rules that are musts for a happy owner and a happy dog.
DO
Use stroking as positive praise
Use short, firm verbal commands
Keep obedience training sessions brief
Use treats and rewards to recognize that your dog has obeyed a command
Tell your children what words will be being used as obedience commands
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DON'T
Slap, hit or kick your dog
Scream at your dog
Make obedience training sessions long ordeals
Use electrical collars or devices designed to injure your dog
Let your children use violence against your dog
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House Training
One of the nice things about adopting adult dogs is that many of them will already be house trained.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and it is true that some dog breeds tend to have more
trouble being perfectly house trained. When adopting a puppy, house training is always the first
goal for any responsible dog owner. Don't expect your puppy or new dog to be instantly accident-free.
The stress of moving to a new home and trying to fit in with a new family is enough to upset
the tummies of even older dogs, and accidents will happen. However, by responding with appropriate
obedience commands from the start, you can quickly train a dog to understand when and where it
is appropriate to go the bathroom. Read our full House Training article here.
Barking Dog
Whether it's the sharp row-ow-ow of your Pomeranian, or the bass woof-woof of your St. Bernard, any
dog who barks incessantly quickly becomes a pain in the neck. Though barking is a natural canine
behaviour used to communicate feelings or warn of approaching strangers, your dog needs to learn
that not every situation warrants crazy barking. Again, some breeds tend to be prone to more
barking, but every breed of dog can be trained to limit the amount of noise they make in your
home.
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*Be warned that if you teach your dog that barking gets him what he wants, your dog will
have successfully trained you to be an obedient owner!!! To avoid this silly catastrophe, read
our full article on How to Stop Your Barking Dog
here.
Chewing Dog
Chewing is one of those normal canine traits that pet owners could do without (as could our sofa,
our bed, our slippers, our antique quilt). Dogs have great teeth, and many of them delight in
sinking those ivories into anything they can get a grip on. A dog owner has got to be on the alert
to put a stop to this destructive chewing habit. Obviously, most of us work away from home at least
five days a week. So, what do you do to get your dog trained in your free time so that his Mon-Fri
job isn't demolition work? Read our complete article, Chewing Dog, here.
Aggressive Dog
The above three topics deal with obedience training issues of comfort, convenience and sanitation. But
dealing with aggressive dogs falls under a completely different heading and is a matter of personal
and public safety. At Good Boy Dog Training, we continue to be stunned by the fact that Americans
purchase dogs based on the fact that they ARE aggressive - pit bulls, rotweilers, akitas, etc. We
are not open to arguments on this. Even if you love the look of a breed, our unwavering opinion
runs something like this - we love the look of Mountain Lions, but that doesn't mean we believe
we have the right to own one as a pet! We feel that the breeding of these dogs should be banned
in the U.S. We are especially horrified that state and federal government bodies are not doing more
to ban the breeding of pit bulls after the tragic deaths which have recently filled the media. Over
a million dog bites are reported in this country every year. That's no joke. As we see it, the point
of owning a dog is to enjoy the companionship of a friendly and loyal animal - it is not to prove
that you are macho or a certified lion tamer. Some aggressive dog behaviour can be dealt with
by obedience training and sufficient owner education, but some can not. We urge you to read our
complete article, Aggressive Dog, to find out the difference between a trainable dog and an untrainable
one.
We want every dog to have the best possible experience with its human family, and it is up to the owner
to provide the discipline, love and praise necessary to create a reasonable and suitable environment
for a happy dog. We hope that all of the obedience training articles and resources you find here on Good Boy Dog Training
will give you the tools you need to form a bonded, joyous relationship with your dog.
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