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Dog Training Articles and Resources!

Clicker Train Fido to Sit
Dog Obedience Supplies - Essential Ones to Buy
Helpful Labrador Training Tips
How to train a dog not to bark at the neighbours’ dog
Dog Training – Bond Building is the Secret to Success
How to House Train a Dog – Easy Steps
German Shepherd Dog Training Essentials
How to become your dog’s Alpha dog
Stop the Bark
Training the Pause Table
Fast Sit or Down
Basic Dog Training
Training Your Dog to Listen to You
Is Your Dog Potty Trained Enough?
How well is your dog groomed?

Clicker Train Fido To Sit

By MS du Toit

Dog training has over the years developed from the harsh methods of punishment to almost an art or science where precision training is possible using only a small device called a clicker. Clicker training has long been used to train other animals like dolphins.

What is a clicker?
A clicker is what it says -- a small device making a click sound when pressed. It is also known as a reward marker. The click sound marks the exact moment your dog did something that earns him a reward. If you want to teach him to sit, you will click the moment he sits, and then you will give him a reward or treat. To Fido the clicker means “Good dog, you have done this thing right!”
If used correctly, the clicker is very effective because you can catch the exact moment your dog does something right. Your timing must be perfect -- practice your timing by throwing a ball into the air and clicking the moment it turns to fall back.

The philosophy behind the clicker is that the dog gets conditioned that when he hears the click sound, he will receive a treat. He will thus do whatever he knows (which he learnt through repetition) that will result in a click. A clicker trained dog will go through a whole repertoire of behaviours to get a click.

Where to start
Let us say Fido has no experience with a clicker and you want to start training him by using the clicker. First you have to introduce the clicker to him and teach him that whenever he hears the click, he will receive a reward. This is extremely important. Even when you click at the wrong moment, he should still receive a reward, else the power of the clicker will be diminished. Do this introduction by just clicking and rewarding. At this point Fido does not have to do anything. You only want him to realise that the click is a good sound and a yummy treat will follow. It will only take about 10 to 20 clicks for him to realise that. This process is also called “charging up the clicker”.

Moving on
Now that Fido knows how the clicker works, you want to start teaching him desired behaviour. Lets take an easy example: you want to teach Fido to sit when you say “Sit”. Remember: he does not yet know the word “sit”, so you cannot expect him to sit when you say the word. So just keep quiet. Take a treat in your one hand and clicker in the other. Hold the treat-hand in front of Fido’s nose (do not allow him to take it!), lift your hand slightly up and backwards, luring him into the sit position. Click the second his bum hits the ground and give him the treat. Repeat 20 to 30 times.

At this point you can start adding the word “sit”. The sequence should be: Luring Fido into “sit” and at the same time saying “sit” – Fido sits – click – treat. Repeat that sequence about 20 to 30 times. You can now test him by giving the command before luring him into the sit position. Chances are good that he will immediately sit on command and you would not even have lure him into position. If he gets it right, give a bonus treat and make a big fuss. Congratulations! You have just taught Fido to sit on command!

What’s next?
The above is a short description of the basic training method using a clicker. You can teach your dog any trick or obedience command by following that outline. Some tricks and commands are much more complex and you should break it down into smaller steps first and combining them later. This will be described in later articles – so be on the lookout for those.

Tips for successful dog training
  • Set up your dog for success by keeping training sessions short.
  • End your training on a high note, while your dog still wants more.
  • Use really yummy treats and be generous.
  • Always treat after a click.
  • Do not train when you are in a bad mood or not feeling well!
  • Be consistent with your clicking, your praise and your rules.

MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog Training Review Page.
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Dog Obedience Supplies - Essential Ones to Buy

By Grant Davis

Choosing the right dog obedience supplies can help you control your excitable dog, whether you take him to a dog obedience class or try your own hand at teaching your pet obedience. Contrary to popular belief, disciplinary items are not the only necessary items for obedience training. There are a wealth of preventative items and encouraging items as well.

For instance, treats are some of the important dog obedience supplies, and they are generally overlooked because people fear that treats are a detriment to obedience training. That is not at all true. In fact, the exact opposite is true. It is important to reward your dog when he goes something right. Treats are the best way to do this. In their own way, dogs are extraordinarily brilliant. It will take your dog very little time to realize that every time you tell him to sit and he does it, he gets a treat. He will quickly come to the conclusion that sitting gets him treats, that staying gets him treats, that heeling gets him treats, and so on.

Collars and leads are also essential dog obedience supplies. Harnesses are preferable over collars, because owners can be firmer when giving orders without worrying about harming or choking the dog. Moreover, harness are more conducive to asserting dominance with your dogs. Of course there are also electronic training collars, in which case a collar is necessary over a harness. There are also anti-bark training collars, which as you may guess teach dogs not to bark when they should not. They are also a means to curb excessive barking.

House breaking aids also key items when it comes to dog obedience supplies. House training a dog can be a very tedious process, but if you go about it the right way, it can be extremely easy. There are potty pads, which can be used not only to teach house training, but also provides a safe place for the dog to go in the house. The general idea behind potty pads and products like them is that you as the owner first train your dog to go on the papers, then gradually move them closer and closer to one or more doors in the house. The dog thus starts going closer to the door to do his business. Ideally, when you eventually remove the potty pads altogether, your dog will start scratching around the door or otherwise signaling that he needs to go outside and do his business.

If you need more information about dog supplies visit our Internet store where we also have a section on dog obedience products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grant_Davis

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Helpful Labrador Training Tips

By Richard Cussons

If you want to have a dependable and obedient Labrador, then Labrador training should not be taken for granted for it is only through proper Labrador training that you can truly enjoy having a Labrador Retriever as an additional member of your family. Despite their reputation as a very mellow pets, Labradors can be quite problematic if not handled and trained properly.

To help Labrador owners with their Labrador training, below are some tips useful to achieve successful Labrador training:

The alpha position in the pack.
Having descended from wolves, dogs thrive in packs. In wild settings, the strongest one often assumes the leadership role. But since they are in family setting, you must convince your Lab of the people pack, and you as the owner must assume the role of the alpha, the leader of the pack. Failure to do so would mean losing control over your four-legged friend.

Before the basic.
Labrador training should start early, about a week or two after a puppy is born. This early training however, doesn't involve training the basic commands such as sit, stay and so on. Training at this stage of a puppy's life should focus on simple associations and later on socialization when the puppy is around three weeks old. Socialization period includes social investigation, playful fighting and playful sexual behavior. These things are essential to help puppy develop social relationship as he grows.

The basic training.
At around eight weeks of age, puppies can start learning the basic obedience commands such as sit, stay, down or come. Other tricks can also be taught depending on the dog's stamina, concentration and physical coordination.

Communication is the tool.
What better tool can help owners with their dog training than good communication? It is the owner or the handler's responsibility to communicate to the dog what behaviors are correct, desired or acceptable and what behaviors are undesirable and should be avoided. If the handler/owner cannot communicate with the dog, he will not know that the dog is confused, happy, nervous and so on. The emotional state of the dog is important in Labrador training.

Appropriate training method.
There are various methods in training a dog, the most widely used is the positive training method. This method means using reward to increase good behavior that is being exhibited. Advocates of positive training method believe that this method should be applied rather than punishing a dog physically in the hopes of decreasing bad behavior. But if your dog doesn't respond to positive training quite well, then you should try other training methods.

Richard Cussons has written articles of various breeds including Labrador Retriever. Discover tips on Labrador dog training at labradorsavvy.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Cussons
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