Saucy Pet

Posts Tagged ‘train puppy’

Training your dog to come as soon as it is called

Instructing a four-legged friend to come every time it’s called is a really imperative, and likely life saving, part of some successful k9 training system.  All properly trained dogs should learn to respond straight away to your owner’s voice, and also the quicker this lesson is learned your better.

The advantages of training your puppy to come anytime called are understandable.  Firstly, coming when called will assist you regain control of the dog in case of collar break, snapped leash or other similar equipment failure.  That is particularly important when you are out with your pet, especially in an area with lots of traffic.  It can be vital that the pet respond to your voice and return to your side, even in the absence of collar and leash, and even though there are lots of other activities competing for its attention.

Coming while called can also be a crucial skill for all working canine friend.  Whether your dog’s job is herding sheep, guarding livestock, or sniffing out bombs and drugs at the airport, the working pet must be under total control at all times, whether on leash or off.

Regardless of whether your dog’s sole job is being a loyal companion, it can be still vital that he learn this important basic obedience exercise.  After your first obedience lessons, such as heeling, stopping on command, sitting on command, etc. have been learned, this is time to start incorporating your come anytime called lessons into your daily training sessions.

One note about k9 training – it’s all too easy for training sessions to become dull and routine for both handler and k9.  A bored canine friend will not be receptive to learning, just as a bored handler will not be a good teacher.  This is important, therefore, to always incorporate fun things and play into each and every training session.  Incorporating a few minutes of play time before the lesson begins can do wonders for the attitude of four-legged friend and human alike.  Likewise, ending each training session having a few minutes of free play time is a great way to end on a positive note and to help the dog associate obedience training with fun and not drudgery.

Your command to stay and the command to come when called are often combined in obedience training lessons, and they do go naturally together.  Start with the dog on a loose leash, ask the four-legged friend to sit and then slowly back away.  If the pet begins to get up and follow you, return to the four-legged friend and ask him to sit again.  Continue this process until you can reach your end of your leash without your four-legged friend getting up.

After you can successfully reach the end of your leash on a consistent basis, try dropping the leash altogether.  Of course you will want to do this in a controlled environment like a fenced in yard.  After your k9 has mastered your stay command, it will be time to add your come as soon as called command.

Take up the leash again, and with your pet on the end of your leash, say “come” or “come here”. It will be often helpful to use a lure anytime instructing this behavior.  Your lure provides a visible item for your canine friend to focus on.  Educating the dog to come to the lure is a good first step in training the four-legged friend to come when called.

Repeat this procedure many times until your canine friend will consistently stay and then come when called.  After your k9 has mastered coming anytime called while attached to the leash, slowly start introducing the concept anytime the leash is removed.  As before, these training sessions must only take place in a controlled, safe environment, such as a fenced in front or back yard.

A rightly taught, obedient dog ought to respond to your call to return to its owner no matter where this is and no matter what distractions may occur.  It is therefore necessary to test the dog with distractions of your own.

If you have a neighbor, if at all possible one that has a dog of their own, try having her come over with your dog.  Have him, and your dog, stand just outside the fenced in area and repeat the come whilst called exercise with the animal off leash.  If he becomes distracted by the other dog, put the leash back on and repeat the process.  The goal is to have your dog consistently pay attention to your commands, whatever distractions may well present themselves.

training your puppy

Learning to how to train a puppy is all about being organized and taking lots of notes. That may sound very simple and basic but there’s a lot more to it than you think, as it’s a very useful record of what has worked, and will help you identify techniques that work when teaching new tricks. These notes show exactly what works and how your puppy responds to various techniques, and what area he had difficulty with. No matter what you do in life – the fundamentals are the same. And puppy training is no different – preparing a plan is crucial to being successful a lot more frequently than doing it wrong or the hard way. You know it makes sense.

Organizing your plan of attack needs to be at the top of your priority list before you start train a puppy, because it will have a big impact to relocating a young dog or puppy from his happy and playful home to his new and unrecognizable surroundings. It is a very stressful and worrying event for a puppy when parted from his family, and he is thrust into an entirely new environment with completely alien smells and faces to get used to.

Fully grown dogs are not immune to bouts of anxiety caused by the upheaval when moved to new homes. You need to be constantly reassuring your dog when you move him to a new home; he’ll just notice that his friends are gone and he doesn’t recognize anything.

If you can fit it in, take a few trips to meet your pup while he’s still at his “old place”. There will be some familiar ground for him then, when he does finally move to your place. This will mean that when you start, training your puppy the familiarity between you will result in a quicker learning experience. If you really can’t fit in a few visits, you could ask the old owner for something from the dog’s bed, such as a cushion or familiar toy or pretty much anything with the smell of his old home and help reassure him and survive the feeling of having nothing familiar in his life.

The perfect time to bring your new dog home is at a time when you’re going to be at home for a few days to help him settle in and get to know you. A holiday period – a long weekend – or even take a few days off work. Don’t bring a new dog home and then pack him off to a boarding kennel while you take a three-week cruise. You need to have at least a couple of days at home, and help him overcome any separation anxiety he may experience.

As humans, we prepare, decorate and equip the home for a new baby where we buy all the things we’ll need for the babies needs, training a puppy needs to be given the attention to detail. You should do the same for your new family member.

A sectioned-off area in the kitchen or bathroom is the ideal place to start your puppy off, as this will help a lot come house training time too as accidents can easily be cleaned up off the tile floors of these rooms. Normally, the kitchen makes a great new home as we tend to frequent these areas regularly, as this helps your puppy get accustomed to his new home.

In his previous abode, your puppy had the friendship of his littermates. Having left them behind he will feel lonely and insecure – so one of your new jobs is to make up for his loss of friends and keep him happy. Just don’t go spoiling him too much – he can’t be allowed to live by his own rules for his first few days in your home and then suddenly expect him to start following rules that prohibit him from doing exactly those same things. House train a puppy realistically starts the same day that he becomes a member of your family.

It will only make it harder if you don’t control him from the off, simply because your rules aren’t consistent. Whatever works when you start training a puppy works in the just the same way when used with adult dogs too. Being homesick and lonely is not just a puppy issue. When you bring a new dog home he or she will need to learn the rules from the start. All dogs need discipline and affection in equal amounts. However, all your work will pay dividends in the future.