If you have been reading the posts here at “How To A Train Puppy.com” then you may have noticed that the link urls were not entirely user friendly. Well, we changed that for you.

In the past the link structure look like this: http://how-to-train-a-puppy.net/?p=123

Not very easy to know what the post is about if you ahve the link, we agree. Now the posts will be much easier to read, like this:

http://how-to-train-a-puppy.net/pet-training-topics/training-your-dog-on-a-leash/

We hope this will make it easier for people to find the articles they need. If you have any requests, please let us know so we can do our best to answer your questions.

Any professional dog trainer will tell you that there is no such thing as an “un-trainable” dog. The real reason for this is because all dogs had to learn their behavior patterns from somewhere. No dog is born knowing exactly how to sit, stay, or come when called. Nor is any dog born with uncanny ability to ignore you and only you.

Because we know that all dog behavior is learned, we also know that if your dog is not well-behaved, then they simply have not learned the right stuff, yet.

Now, this does not mean anyone is a bad trainer, it just simply means your dog is not learning the stuff it needs to learn in order to be properly trained. Unfortunately many people do not realize that sometimes the deck is stacked against them when it comes to dog training.

So here are 7 common things that are working against you when you try to train your dog.

Lack of Pet Training Consistency

If your not being consistent with your training methods, then your pet will not be consistent with it’s learning. Even humans have confliction issues when we are told one thing and then told another way. Your dog needs to hear the same commands over and over again. Repetition alone is not enough, but Consistent Repetition is.

Lack of Pet Training Control

We can only directly control our pets when we are there with them. Once you leave the room you relinquish much of that control and your dog is left to depend on its training. Since the training has not taken yet, your dog does not know what it should or should not do. If there are other people in the room when you left then those people will often try to exert control over your dog in some manner. This adds additional levels of confusion for the dog be trained.

Lack of Pet Training Time

Many people feel they are too busy to train their dogs. This is a society of instant gratification. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does take time to train your pets. It does not need to take weeks or months if done properly, but it will not happen on the first try either. So get used to spending some amount of time to train your pet properly.

Lack of Pet Training Environment

Many people fail to consider how their environment will actually affect their pet’s ability to learn. Sure, we all remember that we like peace and quiet when we are trying to learn stuff. But what about the dog? Well the same goes for them. Find a place that is not quiet, free of distractions and away from the crowd. This will give your dogs’ full attention to you.

Lack of Pet Training Tools

There are many different training tools on the market. These could be leashes, collars, harnesses, or clickers. These tools can often make a big difference when training your pet. For instance, a clicker cannot yell at the dog. It can only click. since yelling at your dog would be bad, your dog may respond better the clicker. This will help to prevent you from yelling and your dog will hear more praise and respond better to you.

Lack of Pet Training Direction

Do you travel across the country without a map? Are you constantly getting lost? If so, then so will your dog. You need to have a well defined direction for your training. Do not simply flip a coin with your dog’s training. Make sure you know what commands you are working on during the training session and what results you expect to receive.

Lack of Pet Training Goals

If you are not sure of what results you wish to achieve, then how will you know if you have achieved results? Sounds confusing doesn’t it? You have to know and track the results of your training session. Use a notebook, pen, and maybe even a stop watch. TRack the time you spent training, the amount of times you issues a command, the distance away you got during a stay. Just track your results. When you have results to look back on then, and only then, can you make a determination of how well your training is progressing.

Many people do not understand how their voice affects what their dogs do. When you are commanding your pet to do stuff, a loud squeaky voice is not the right one to use. Dogs don’t reply well to hesitant, pleading voices, nor to screaming, which might sound to the dog like threatening barking or scolding. Best is a firm, but not yelling tone of voice.

It’s also vital the word being used for the command and the pitch of the voice be consistent everytime the command is delivered so the dog can less complicated learn what the owner means ( siiiiiiiiiiiit does not sound the same as sit, for instance ). Using the puppy’s name before a command guarantees the dog knows a command is coming, that it is for him ( instead of for other dogs, youngsters, or folk ), and he should listen.

To reinforce the command, the dog always gets some sort of reward or reinforcement ( praise and usually a treat or toy ) when it performs the action in the correct way. This helps the dog to understand that he has done a good thing. Many working breeds of dog are no longer trained to a voice command at all, they are taught to obey a mixture of whistles and hand signals.

Deaf dogs are completely capable of learning to obey visible signals alone. A lot of obedience classes teach hand signals for common commands as well as voice signals, these signals can be helpful in quiet eventualities, at a distance, and in complicated obedience competitions.

The particular command words are now not critical, though common words in English include sit, down, come, and stay. In reality, dogs can learn commands in any language or other communication medium, including whistles, mouth sounds, hand gestures, and so forth. This can become a blessing if your pet refuses or has problem with one word, you can actually replace them if needed.

Remember that both HOW and WHAT you say to your pet will make a considerable difference in your pet training.

Anyone who knows who Bruce Lee is, and who really doesn’t know who he is, would likely know he is often held with high regard as being one of the best martial artists of all time.

But what would he be able to teach us if here were a dog trainer instead?

Well, take a moment to know what he did as a martial artist. For those who actually do not know, he founded his own martial art known as Jeet Kuna Do. Without going into a long winded seminar about marital arts, the main point here is that he created his own techniques.

He studied other martial arts, such as Kung Fu, Karate, and others and learned what aspects of those martial arts worked and which ones did not. He then kept the ones that worked and excluded the non-working methods from his training.

Ahhh. Training. Just like martial arts training, pet training requires many of the same principles. You must be

• consistent
• train properly
• train often
• you must train what works
• you get rid of what doesn’t

Each person is going to train their own dog their own way. No one way is truly perfect for all owners or all pets. While not everyone will become the world’s best pet trainer, ever person has to take some active role in training their own pet.

Whether your pet learns to behave or your pet learns to misbehave, both are based on how you do, or don’t, train your pet.

I have not invented a “new style,” composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from “this” method or “that” method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds.

- Bruce Lee

Lee, Bruce (September 1971). “[1] Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate”. Black Belt Magazine (Rainbow Publications, Inc.) 9 (9): 24.

Before you really start taking your pet training to a serious level, you will need to make one more really important decision.

You need to decide what exactly you want your pet to learn.

Some basic commands, such as sit, stay, come, down, should be taught to all dogs. Any dog will benefit from a consistent ability to follow these commands. As these are the foundation commands of having a well behaved dog.

But what other types of pet training are there? Would your pet enjoy them?

Many dogs love to have purpose. This is what makes training so good for a dog. They receive praise and treats for doing good and learn that the more good stuff they do, the more they are rewarded. Your pet is likely to be no exception to this rule.

Many people just do not realize that training your dog does not need to stop at a basic level. As you continue to train your pet, and as they continue to get better, consider taking your pet’s training to more advanced levels. Some advanced training techniques can be quite rewarding for both owner and pet.

Several other types of pet training fall into advanced training these often include

• Pet Long Distance Jumping
• Pet Agility Training
• Schutzhund Training
• Frisbee Toss Training
• Protection Training
• Search and Rescue Training
• Canine Helper Programs for Handicapped
• and many other programs.

Advanced training does not even need to be something as serious as search and rescue, but should be something both of you enjoy doing. We have one dog that loves to help us carry in wood during the winter. When we head to the wood pile, he grabs a piece and carries it inside for us. He enjoys it.

Other programs, such as Service Dogs Amercia, or the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program, are always looking for volunteers that have socially behaved dogs. These dogs are often requested to visit elderly homes or sick children in the hospital. Which is often a very enjoyable and heartwarming experience.

The only limits to your dogs training potential come from both you and your dog. If you do not wish to train your pet to advanced levels, then by all means train the basics until your pet is well-behaved, sociable and a loving pet. On the other hand, keep in mind that there are many other options that you and your dog could pursue that might be rewarding to you and your pet.

This does it for this training series. Come back often as we continue to provide canine training tips for the average person.