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Some people choose a career in dog training simply because it is a popular choice however there are those who are really passionate about canines that their life’s direction has led them towards loving dogs even more.

Do you fall in the category of people who pursue career in dog training just because someone said it is a good thing or you have fallen so in love with dogs that you are left with no option but to fall even deeper?

Back to basic principles…

Dog training is more than a love for dogs; it also requires knowledge and skills in handling and disciplining them and knowing the basics of their behaviors. Dog trainers usually have long history of experience with dogs and interaction with many dog owners and handlers and their pets.

What is your “dog division”?

There are two types of careers in the dog world- the pet service training and the dog training. Both have relatively high demands in the market but there are a lot more opportunities in pet dog training than service training.

The pet dog training usually involve dogs that function merely as pets and as companions for outdoor activities therefore, the usual training involved are obedience training, agility training, potty training and training to eliminate unwanted behaviors like barking and biting.

Service training, on the other hand, involves specified training on services required by people with disabilities and those undergoing therapy. Another division of service dogs are involved in chasing criminals, drug and bomb sniffing, search and rescue dogs and hunting dogs.

These are highly intensive trainings and require the handler to get sufficient preparation to lead the dog in employing its specialized functions.

Understanding of canine psychology

What do you really know about dogs- their thinking, their behaviors and their reaction to stimulus? Training adheres to conditioning the thinking of the dog to make specific responses. You should also know well the fundamentals of associative conditioning.

What about dog training education?

A dog training career requires that you have basic skills in dog training and handling. There are no degrees in dog training yet for there are no colleges and universities offering such. However, there are dog “academies” or “schools” that could provide basic training. However, the best dog trainers are often self taught and have natural inclination to dog handling.

Some have apprenticed with excellent dog trainers while others simply have the knack in training dogs. There are also a number of dog training organizations that could supplement latest information on dog training.

Comparison of working attitude with people and dogs

Dog training involves training the handlers of the dogs as well. Therefore if you are pursuing a career in this field, it is very important that you have good people skills and that you can tolerate all types of people.

There are impatient owners who expect fast learning from their dogs without taking advices openly while there are those who relatively open to suggestions. You need to cater both types of dog handlers and everyone in between. In short, career in dog training is not only limited to dog training but also an experience of people training as well.

Miscellaneous

Dog training is not limited to “training” alone; there are also certain aspects that you should be knowledgeable of like maintenance of proper dog hygiene, nutrition and grooming.

You should also have good knowledge on dog competitions, accessories and training aids. You should also be able to distinguish different dog breeds and their fundamental differences.

You don’t have to be a guru in dog training to be an excellent trainer; you only have to develop certain skills necessary in handling dogs and their trainers and to have sufficient knowledge on theories and the capacity to put them into practical application.

A dog owner should set his mind in the right frame if he wants to train his dog. This would prevent him from violating any dog rules, an act that could really detriment the dog’s interest on learning.

Following the rules of training will also prevent the owner from doing the things that could harm his relationship with the dog. There are certain rules in training that must be followed including the following:

Stay focused

Incompletion of a task usually leads to confusion. Ensure to it that every time you give the dog a command, both of you will follow through it. Refrain from being distracted every time you give a command.

Say you are asking your dog to sit. Once you give this command, be sure that both of you will see the end of it. Do not tug on the collar of your dog and stop halfway and be distracted. Always finish one command first then move on to the next.

The dog should sit completely and not just bend his rear legs. If you do not make this happen, the dog will think that next time you give the command it would be okay for him not to complete the task or to ignore it completely. Always stay focused, this way, you would eliminate the possibility of confusion and maximize the obedience to a command.

Rewards and punishments

Many owners are anxious to let their dogs hear a string of praises or be rewarded with several cookies instead of one whenever a command is accomplished. On the other hand, a lot of owners give too many punishments on a single wrong thing that the dog did instead of punishing him just once. Both could adversely affect the training of the dog.

Never over do the rewarding or punishing of the dog’s behavior. If you are using praises as reward, do not over praise the dog. Single “good boy” praise will do to recognize that you are in favor of what the dog has done. This should be said immediately after the command is accomplished.

In the same way, a single pulling of the check cord will be enough if the dog did not follow your command. This would send him the signal that something is wrong.

Overdosing the dog with either rewards or punishments will distract him from learning. He would only remember the praises or the punishments and not the thing he did or he did not do.

End with a positive note

For every training session, make it a point that the training will end with a positive praise. This would make the dog look forward to the next training since the last session fulfilled her need to please you. Also, ensure to it that the last command was accomplished correctly so that the dog is oriented properly to following commands.

Never lose your patience

Often when trainers don’t get the results they want, they get impatient with the dog. Then they do something really stupid that could spoil the training.

Training should be an enjoyable experience for you and your dog. If it starts to make you lose your temper and your dog a lot more disobedient, you should try to assess your pitfalls.

Dog training is really a difficult business. If you are not prepared for it, you could get help from dog training classes and instructors.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all dogs are trained? There’ll be no chewed off furniture, no scratches on the walls, no dog poop on the carpet. The problem is, hiring a dog trainer can be rather expensive. And hiring one is not a fool proof guarantee that your dog will “learn” what was taught to him.

What most dog owners do nowadays is to do the training themselves. And this is where dog training aids prove to be useful.

One of the most common tools is the dog lead or leash. These are made up of different materials like leather, cotton web, nylon and chain. Experts advise the use of leather leashes because of its durability and ease in use.

It doesn’t cut or burn the skin and is comfortable to use. Aside from these, it is lightweight and does not produce much noise unlike chain. Leather leashes may come in different styles and designs. It is sold in various lengths as well, the most common of which is 6 feet.

Together with the leash is the collar. This may tighten or loosen, depending on the dog’s movement. Slip or choke, collars are usually made of leather, and come in a variety of designs like rolled, field and braided. In choosing a collar, make sure that it fits the dog well. It must not be too tight or too loose.

Instead of a leash, you may also use a 15-foot line. This is used to control the dog from a distance.
Other aids include bait bags and pouches. These are used to make it easy for you to hand out motivators like treats and food while training.

After some training time, your dog may show some signs of improvement. At this stage, use of the leash may not be required anymore. This is when some dog trainers use leather pull tabs and shark lines. This is also used in cases where the dog needs to undergo agility training. The dog may feel that he is off-leash, but you are still able to control and correct him by giving the tool a slight pull.

Another aid used in training dogs for specific jobs is the whistle. Because the sound can reach far distances, this aid is ideal if training is done in large spaces such as farms and forest areas and in noisy areas.

This aid is usually used when training dogs for hunting or gathering herd. Scent bands and dummies are also used together with the whistle. Dummies such as grouse, quail and pheasant wings are used to hold the scents. The scents make the dummies smell like real fowl.

Other aids include halters, harnesses, bells, clickers, pads and ring gates. With advances of technology, there are also new electronic aids available. Among these are electronic collars and invisible fences. While these tools may seem complicated, with enough information they make great training aids.

Training the dog yourself has its own rewards. With the proper orientation on how training is done and the proper dog training aids, your dog can sit, stay and roll at your call. You need to allot some time and space for training.

It may be difficult, but the bond that training creates between you and your dog is one of the most important benefits that training does.

Once he gets used to this, you should lock her in. you could walk away from him or watch him as he cams down inside. If he shows any signs of protest, you should not let him outside. Instead, let him settle down first then let her leave after. Do this for exercise for a couple of days until she has learned to enter the crate and leave it on her own.

Many people protest against crate training a dog because, according to them, it is similar to solitary confinement. However, with the benefits listed above and a number of other benefits that are not mentioned here, anyone could conclude that a crate could benefit both the owner of the dog and the dog itself.

With appropriate and sufficient training, crate training your puppy or dog will make him see it as his haven instead of an enclosure that makes him feel unsafe and lonely.

Den or crate training is based on the instinct of the dog to find some security with nesting places that are isolated from all distractions. For dogs, den serves as their home. Through proper introduction and selection of the right techniques, the dog will not be threatened by its appeal to punishment.

Benefits of using a crate

a) For occasions when the dog cannot run around freely, placing them in a crate will be a good choice for controlling their movements.

b) The dog will feel relatively safe inside the crate especially when located in places where they are most vulnerable.

c) They would have a place for solace when they wanted to rest or when feeling under stressed where no one could bother them.

d) A crate could also be used to limit dogs with problem behaviors.

e) It is also a good place for puppies that are still untrained and might
cause some troubles inside the house like accidents and biting.

f) This could also be good for dogs with separation anxiety.

g)  It could secure the dog whenever the owner has to bring him outside.

h) It increases his confidence due to the security it provides.

i) Could enhance training by giving the dog a direction for routine activities.

Size of the crate

The crate should be large enough to accommodate the dog on all fours, to let him lie down comfortably and to give him enough space to turn around without hitting the walls. However, if you also intend the crate for travel, the carte should be larger than the aforementioned size.

If however, you are using the crate only for training, it should follow the guideline that was just mentioned since a larger crate would give him enough elbow room to do unwanted things in specific areas of the crate.

How to introduce the crate to the dog

The best time to introduce the crate to a dog is when you feel that they are ready for it. After buying the right crate, you could place it somewhere in the house where it would catch the dog’s attention. Let him explore his crate first for the first week with the door removed.

If he does not show any sign of interest, try leaving some of his favorite treats inside. After a couple of days, try feeding him inside. This would condition his mind that the crate is for him and he could safely do some activities inside it.

We are often awed at watching fine bird dogs in movies and in action. They make outstanding bird dog work and never fail to heed their owners’ commands. Then we think- How could this be possible? Could bird dog training bring out the best in my dog?

The simple answer is yes, but you have to invest hard.

There are several dog breeds that could be trained into excellent bird dogs. Training them in obeying commands could be a good starting ground. Training professionals acknowledge the fact that dogs need to understand the language they are using in order to make the dog respond to the command. In this type of training, there are just three main commands that should be mastered by both the owner and the dog. They are the whoa!, come! and heel!.

The Whoa! Command

The most basic command is the whoa! command. This instruction suggests to the dog that he should stop and try not to move further unless he is told to do so. If the dog follows this command completely, it would show clearly how obedient and respectful he is to his master. Complete obedience is shown by obeying the command no matter how far the distance is between the giver of the command and the dog.

This command is also useful for dogs that are going too far ahead, when the dog is flushing the bird on his own and the owner wants him to stop, and when the dog wants to play around with the bird. It would also be easier for the owner to come to the dog and reward him for a job well done.

The Come! Command

This command simply suggests that the dog should approach you as commanded. The uses of this command are rather simple. Say for example, retrieving would be a lot easier if the dog would come to you the instant you tell him to do so. Also, there are dogs that are a bit stubborn and would decide to go off in different directions. Giving this command will help maintain a good distance between you and your dog in case he decides to do things his way.

The Heel! Command

If you want your dog to walk by your side, the heel! command is the most effective tool. It is normally matched with another one-word command such as “okay” or “go” to signal his release. This will let him know that he has performed favorably and he is again allowed to hunt for you.

Whenever the dog performed well, never fail to give him a tap, a treat or a praise to acknowledge his performance. Fine dogs are born with the instinct to please their owners. If you can let your dog see that he is pleasing you with his performance and you want him to repeat it, the best thing you can do is to reward him. Overtime, he will learn to repeat the same desirable action so long as you allow him to.

Bird dog training is not easy. This is the reason why there are too few dog birds around. However, if you really want to turn your dog into a really good bird hunter, you should be ready to invest some time and patience in perfecting the three basic commands used in this training.