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Free dog training tips

By Ty Brown

As I work with my dog owner clients I find myself saying certain things over and over. When that happens I realize that I've got a valuable tip. When I realize that, I add it to this list. These are a handful of free dog training tips that I add to from time to time. Enjoy.

1. Never use a dog crate as punishment. You want his crate to be a refuge for him, not a place to be ‘grounded’.

2. Never call your dog to you and punish him. If you punish him when he comes to you he will soon want to stop coming to you.

3. Desensitize your dog to his training collar. Have him wear it at different and varied times. If he doesn’t know what his collar is for, he won’t get ‘collar wise’ and learn that he only has to obey when he is wearing his training collar.

4. Don’t yell when training your dog. Use a calm, normal voice and back it up with proper training techniques.

5. Teach your dog to come when called. If you haven’t yet taught him this exercise and he escapes from you, don’t chase after him. Run the opposite direction. This will kick in his ‘prey drive’ and he will be more interested in chasing after you than running away.

6. When you first bring your dog home have him wear a leash at all times when supervised. This way, if you have to correct him for chewing your shoe or going to the bathroom on your rug, you can grab his leash quickly instead of trying to chase him down.

7. When choosing a training collar, use a pinch or prong collar instead of a choke collar. A pinch collar looks much more violent, but because of the design it is actually much more humane than a choke collar which is known to cause damage to vertebrae and trachea.

8. Use a leather leash. Cotton and polyester are very hard on your hands.

9. Teach your dog the ‘down stay’ exercise. This is where you have him lie down and stay there. This exercise can fix many unwanted behaviors from begging at the table to being rowdy in the house to annoying guests who aren’t ‘dog lovers’.

10. If your dog digs in the backyard try filling his holes with his own stool and covering them back up. Do this when he is not watching. When he goes back to dig his old holes and finds his stool he may be repulsed. If he does this several times with the same result he might soon believe that every hole is filled with his own stool. This trick works a majority of the time.

11. Don’t forget to praise! Too many people get caught up with what their dog is doing wrong and forget to praise him for what he is doing right.

12. Find out what motivates your dog. Is it treats, or a ball, or lots of praise? When you find out what it is use it often to teach him to come every time when called and to come quickly and happily.

13. Got a new dog? Don’t like the name he came with? Change it. Say the new name and give him a treat. Repeat often. Say the new name and clap your hands and pat your side to encourage him to come to you. When he gets to you, give him lots of praise. Repeat often. Give him a couple days and he will respond to the new name.

14. Keep a spray bottle filled with water handy. A quick couple squirts can help curb behaviors from excessive barking to jumping to chewing.

15. When you feed your dog set his food down for 15 minutes. If it isn’t all gone in 15 minutes take the food dish away. This helps to establish dominance by making you the person who can both give and take away food. It also helps picky eaters as they learn that if they don’t hurry up the food will soon be gone.

16. If you have dominance issues with your dog don’t step over him. If you are walking and he is lying down in your way nudge him out of the way with your foot. Subordinate dogs move when the dominant member comes by, so make yourself the dominant one by obliging your dog to move out of your way.

17. Keep your dog off the furniture and the bed. Some dogs view height as a connection to dominance, the higher you are the more dominant you are. Keep them grounded and it can help to maintain proper roles in your home.

18. Dont' give your dog a command unless you are in a position to enforce it. If you get in the habit of commanding your dog without means to ensure that he complies, your dog training commands will have no meaning to your dog.

19.Remember, your dog is a dog, not a person. Treat your dog as a member of the canine family.

20. Never lose your patience when you are training your dog. Dogs are able to sense that you are losing control and will not respond as well to your training efforts.

21. Use a specially designed spray to clean up "accidents" your dog has in the house. If even a trace of that scent is left it will be a scent anchor and will likely draw your dog to go to the bathroom in that same spot again.

22. Feed your dog in his crate. This will help to form a positive association with his crate.

23. Many dogs don't like to come to their owners because they feel that they will lose their freedom i.e. the owner will put the dog on a leash, put him in a crate, take him elsewhere, etc. When you train your dog to come to you use highly motivational techniques. When your dog does come to you, immediately release him so that he can run back and play. This way he will learn that he doesn't always lose his freedom by returning to your side.