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Submitted by jlinder last April 14th 2009, 04:04 AM

An untrained dog can cause a lot of difficulty for you and make your blood pressure rise. He would soil your carpet, bite and chew on your furniture, bark excessively and may even bite you. You must remember that a dog is after all an animal and will behave as such, following its instincts unless you teach him otherwise. Training your dog for obedience lays the foundation to solving all these problems by redirecting his natural instincts and showing him the acceptable behavior in a domestic setting.

The second important thing is to establish your superiority over the dog so that it is a well-understood matter as to who is in command. You don’t need to be tough or violent to establish your superiority. Simple commands that the dog loves to obey will incidentally establish that you are in charge.

Dog training should be fun for both you and your dog. It should start in the privacy of your home and should be complete before you go into public places or when others are visiting you. Start by making it a part of your (and your dog’s) daily routine.

Attending a training program can help you in understanding the basics. Enroll in a local training school if you can. Make sure that the trainers know their jobs well. You can also take help from websites, books and video tapes, but these can only supplement your learning as there are certain things like timing that are difficult to obtain through books or video tapes. Once you have the hang of it start with your dog. Dog training can happen at any age, so whatever the age of your dog –whether he is a puppy or a grown dog – you can start training him; and remember you need to keep at it, because dogs can change their behavior too.

One of the problems that you are likely to face in taking tips or training is the seemingly conflicting advice that you are sometimes going to get. Most of it may not be really conflicting, but it could certainly turn out to be confusing. Your best bet is consistency – stick to the method or advice that suits you best and hold on to it.

Training should be liberally mixed with rewards – for good behavior. Praise your dog for good behavior. Reprimand him only when necessary – this will make your reprimand have greater value than if you do it all the time, in which case your dog’s going to get used to it in course of time and learn to ignore it.

Use repetition. That will help you establish communication with your dog. Use words that can be associated with certain acts like sitting, standing or eliminating. Let your dog understand what you’re saying by the repeated use of these words. This will eliminate the problem of communication, make your dog understand what you’re saying and also establish your chain of command as the dog gets used to obeying these commands of yours.

Obedience training is not just for the competitions. It can help keep your dog well behaved, happy and perhaps even save his life. It can come in real handy in situations where the dog is let free such as the leash coming off suddenly in a crowded street. It also builds a relationship between you and your dog. Moreover a well-trained and well-behaved dog feels more secure and enjoys greater freedom, because you will have the confidence in him to allow him around more freely.

Training is a continuous process. The dog and you should both enjoy it. Keep the harsh part to the minimum. Take time and make the effort wholeheartedly so that your dog knows what you are expecting of him. As a general rule, dogs like to be with people, and they can be with people only if you train them in social skills. That makes it enjoyable for you, your visitors and the dog.

Effective training requires time. The more time the dog spends in the family the more opportunity it gets to learn – to make mistakes and be corrected. Remember to make these corrections gentle as far as possible and to reward correct behavior immediately thereafter. Unlike human beings, dogs cannot be told what they did wrong in the past and why they were punished. They have to learn at each moment. This makes it very important to learn to communicate with your dog. This can be done most effectively by firm commands, appropriate tone and rewards, and if necessary some punishment. You must remember that your goal is to have a well-behaved socially acceptable dog. The dog also would love to learn and comply given an opportunity. All that you need is patience and a bit of perseverance.

Finally, remember that sometimes problems of behavior may arise from physical problems, just as it does in humans. If you find sudden changes in behavior pattern, get your dog checked by a vet, rather than get violent or lose your patience. You’ll be happy that you did, because violent reactions from you only aggravate the problem