Dog Training Programs in Action

Two Levels of Training

Here explain step by step proper way to teach each individual exercise to your dog.

You should start the training program while your dog is still a puppy. At this stage its willingness to learn and capacity for learning are at their most pronounced.

An adult dog, also, is still capable of being trained, although it can no longer learn to obey as easily as a dog that is accustomed to do so from the very outset.

Since the exercises for puppies and those for adolescent dogs differ in their degree of difficulty, the following portion of this manual is divided into two parts:

• Training a Puppy, and
• Training a Companion Dog

Teaching Exercises Properly

This training should be spread over the course of the day. Some exercises can be taught indoors, others in the yard or during a walk. New exercises always should be practiced with the dog on leash and without any distractions – preferable in your own home or yard.

Once the dog has comprehended a command, gradually increase the amount of distraction. Now you can also drill the dog in the park, first on leash and later off leash.

Make sure that you give a command only when you are certain that you can correct the dog immediately, if necessary.

Example: Don’t shout. “Sit” at your young dog when it is involved in playing with other dogs. In this situation, it is too distracted and will almost certainly not obey. Then the dog would learn that it doesn’t matter whether it obeys or not.

“Multilingual” Training for Dogs

You can teach the individual commands to your pet in different languages. That means your dog will learn to perform certain exercises in response to verbal commands, auditory signals given with a whistle and hand signals.

Hand signals and whistles signals are very practical and effective, since a blow of the whistle, for example, often is more successful than a spoken command. In addition, the different languages often add greater variety to the training sessions.

Training A Puppy

The best method of training a puppy is positive conditioning. That means you create situations in which the dog does, of its own accord, what you want it to do. You work with the dog without direct force and with a great deal of patience.

In work with a puppy, play should predominate. Drill for approximately one to two minutes, then follow up with an extensive break for play.

Practice with the puppy before it is fed, and do not practice when it is about to have a nap.

It is important to hold regular training sessions with your pet. With a puppy, two to four minutes of training two or three times a day will be enough. Always remember that your dog, regardless of its good qualities, is still just a dog. Your puppy will want to learn the lessons you want to teach it. Be patient with this young dog. Always adapt your training to the speed of the dog’s learning.

EDUCATING YOUR DOG WITH LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING, KATHARINA SCHLEGL-KOFLER