Dog Obedience Training – Are You the Leader of the Pack?

The companionship of a dog can truly be one of life’s under appreciated joys. However, that joy can be seriously diminished if your dog exhibits excessive behavior problems. Aggression, inappropriate barking, jumping up on you or visitors, destroying household items and other unacceptable behavior can usually be eliminated through effective obedience training.

Since dogs are, by nature, pack animals, the are most content when they are assured of their place in the social hierarchy.

If the dog’s perception is that you are not a strong leader, he will most likely assume the role of “alpha” dog. Bad behavior will worsen since, as the pack leader, he will believe that he can do as he pleases without regard to your wishes.

Unless you impress upon your dog that you are the “alpha dog”, your efforts to teach appropriate behavior will most likely fail. However, effective obedience training will teach your pooch that YOU are the leader of the pack and that he is expected to comply with your wishes.

When you begin obedience training try to make the activity fun for your dog. Be sure to reward your dog when follows your commands. Rewards can take the form of yummy treats, petting, giving him a favorite toy to play with or vigorous praise.

Never punish your dog when conducting obedience training. If he associates obedience training sessions with punishment he will do everything he can to avoid it. When you need to correct a behavior problem, try to make it a penalty instead of a punishment. A penalty can be anything from a “time out” (stopping an activity that he enjoys), a quick tug on his leash, or simply ignoring him for a few moments.

Remember that rewards are usually much more effective than penalties. Try to discover what your dog really enjoys and use it as positive reinforcement when training. The old belief that you can use either a carrot or a stick to train an animal should be entirely forgotten. Instead, try of use a variety of “carrots” to convince your dog that obedience is a good thing, and just throw away the stick.

If you are not sure about specific training techniques you may benefit from studying the tactics used by professional dog trainers. There are several terrific training courses and guide books available online that you may want to consider to help you in your quest for the obedient dog.

Published on May 12, 2009 under Dog Training
Tags: canines, dog, dog obedience, dog obedience training, Dog Training, Dogs, how to train a dog, obedience training, train my dog, train your dog

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