You thought you were bringing home Lassie from the pound, but some days it feels more like you might have brought home Cujo! However, there's still hope! A bit of training goes a long way in reducing bad dog behavior.
Use firm control to elicit desirable behaviors from your pet. When the dog correctly follows your commands, you can certainly give a reward. While you might be pleased, acting too excited may cause the dog to get agitated, lessening your control. Act calmly, expect calmness, and then appropriately reward the dog.
Include plenty of physical activity in your dog's training routine. Just like humans, dogs can become bored easily. Dogs with no enthusiasm will be harder to train than active dogs. When your dog gets regular exercise, he will be much happier and will pay attention more easily. Regularly take a walk or run with your dog.
Chew Toys
Teething is painful, and providing chew toys helps alleviate the pain. Keep items that are potentially more painful out of reach. Give it one of his chew toys immediately. If your puppy seems to be suffering a lot from teething, a frozen washcloth to chew on can give him some relief.
Dogs can concentrate on one thing intensely and you will have to learn to break his attention. Your dog can learn to focus less and less, except for your commands, by using repetition.
Before your dog can learn a new command it will take several repetitions. You might have to keep repeating something to a dog as much as fifty times for it to ‘click'. Continue repeating the same command with patience, and eventually your dog will learn it.
When training, find a verbal clue your pet can understand so they will know exactly when to do as you say. “Yes” is the perfect word to show dogs approval before giving a treat.
Make sure food and outside time are scheduled to help break your dog into being an inside dog. By establishing a regular potty-time every day, you will get your dog in the habit of doing his business at the same time daily. Having a set schedule will teach your dog how to wait until he can go outside for the next potty break.
Try toilet training your dog without there being any accidents. Watch for signals that your dog has to go out to relieve himself. If your dog is pacing or whining, you need to take them outside. Don't put it off when your dog is doing these things. Quickly leash your pet and lead him to an area where he can relieve himself. Whenever your dog uses the restroom outside, reward him or her with lots of praise. They will eventually ask to go outside.
People are often amazed about how easy it can be to train your dog and how quick they see changes. Consider giving some of the ideas outlined above a try, in order to improve the bond between you and your dog.