Having a trained dog is a great thing for you and your dog's happiness. A dog who is well-trained will know how to behave. After training your dog, you will feel more comfortable when you have visitors, take him out for walks, or leave him alone at home. It might take some effort, but teaching your dog tricks and manners is an important investment in everyone's happiness.

Set a schedule and routine for feeding your dog from the very beginning of your relationship. Teaching your dog to realize that when you place its food bowl down, it will be removed within 10-15 minutes, will help it understand that there is a feeding schedule to stick to. Your dog will learn to finish eating before you take the dish away.

Reinforce calm behavior upon your arrival. It is okay to have play time, but when you enter a room your dog should be calm. Don't acknowledge your dog when you enter the room. By doing this, you will be able to create a controlled environment in which you determine when and how play time begins.

You must repeat all new commands. It is not uncommon for it to take between 25 to 50 repetitions of the same command for your dog to learn it. Use the command over and over again until the dog gets the hint.

Never reinforce your dog's bad behaviors. Withhold treats and attention when your dog exhibits any undesirable behaviors. For instance, don't pat your dog on the head if it's jumping up on you.

If you want your dog to follow the rules, keep training it, it needs to be refreshed! Often, people feel that they don't need to continue working with their dog after it has finished training. Pets share a lot of the same habitual learning that humans do. So, it's very important that you review your training with your dog regularly.

Refrain from using higher end training gadgets, such as shock collar devices. They often don't function as well as advertised and are far more expensive than conventional training methods. In addition, shock collars and related devices can actually irritate your dog and eradicate current good behaviors. Generally speaking, these techniques often produce undesirable results.

Take caution when near an unfamiliar dog and offer them a chance to sniff your hands. He'll learn your scent and begin to have trust. Dogs that know your smell are less likely to fear you and more likely to obey commands.

Remember to exercise patience whenever training your dog. This will keep you and your puppy from becoming frustrated or angry. Your dog will do its best, but give your dog enough time to remember orders. You need to remember that your puppy needs to form the association between the word and the behavior you expect.

Most of all, training a dog lays out the dog/owner relationship rules. You enjoy each other much more once those guidelines are outlined. Keep up with the things your dog has been taught during training. If you continue to keep up with training your dog you will curb any bad behaviors that have popped up. When your dog has a solid foundation in the basics, his potential is unlimited.