Earning Respect and Trust of Your Puppy While Training

Posted by Deakster on October 31, 2008

Dog training will surely go smoothly once you earn the respect and confidence of your dog. This means that the animal has truly learned to put his trust on you as his trainer.  Once this is established, your puppy will look up to you as a leader and will start to obey your every command. You just simply have to win your puppy’s confidence.   Affection and love for pets should only follow the respect and confidence of owners. While you love your puppy, you should be able to translate that love into respect that your pet must show towards you.

Since you own a pack animal, it only goes that you should act like the leader that your pet will just have to follow. This only happens if the dog or a puppy sees that worth in you.

Without your dog’s respect, he will surely not respond to your command. Worse, he will even defy you aggressively, making things more dangerous for you. If you do not earn your pack animal’s respect, your pet just might become a problem dog coupled with improper training and ignorance as well as bad breeding. So if you plan to have a docile dog, begin your dog training while your pet is still a small pup.

Regardless of how old your dog is, always gain his respect. Of course, this does not mean that you handle your dog too roughly just for him to obey you. Establish relationship with your dog well enough for your pet to appreciate your presence.

During training hours, keep the sessions brief for a series of period so your dog can adapt at the onset. Young puppies need this more because of their short attention spans. A short session will not go to waste if you have the right kind of training where your puppy gets the right amount of learning and fun.

Begin with the heel command since this is the most basic command of all that every puppy should learn. A nicely fitted collar will help you during the training. Choose the right collar according to the size of your dog.

If the leash is on, take your dog for a short walk beside you. Gently pull the leash when your dog moves forward or lags behind. If your dog is still stubborn, give the leash a firm tug, but not to the point of hurting the puppy. Encourage him to walk beside you since this is an easy concept that dogs soon figure out.

After heeling comes halting. This means that dogs should stop once their owner stops walking as well. This training is reinforced with the help of the leash and collar training. Sitting is also an important command after heeling and halting. As the dog halts, he automatically rests and instinctively sits down. Do not forget to praise your dog for obeying you.