Dog Training Tips for Safety

There are a few areas where your dog's obedience is very important. The best dog training tips start with helping you to understand how to manage unwanted behavior and avoid a dangerous situation.

As a dog owner, your first obligation is to keep the people around your pet safe. You are also, of course, responsible for the safety and security of your dog. He counts on you for that!

Your training must absolutely enable you to keep control over your dog, so as not to endanger others.

My Confession

Can we talk? I am generally very friendly, especially around kids. But, if you are an adult male who smokes, I will want to rip your head off! Don't ask me why. Maybe my abuser fit that description. It was important for my family to learn this about me and teach me to control this bad urge when I am around someone like that!

We acquire our dogs for different reasons. If you have a large dog for the sole purpose of protecting property, some of this may not be for you.

Most of us welcome our pet into our home as a family member. If that is you, these dog training tips can help.

The last thing you want is to have someone else in your family feeling unsafe because of your wild animal!

General Guidelines

Any time you are interested in modifying your dog's behavior, you must be consistent. You must also invest the attention needed over a period of time to get the result you want.

Speaking personally, I always prefer a positive reinforcement approach. I will do almost anything for a treat and once I "get" what you want me to do, it just takes repetition, a little bit every day, over a period of a few days until it really sticks.

It's really fairly easy to understand how to modify our behavior. Just reward the positive behavior and ignore the negative (unless it is dangerous, of course).

The real point here is that for your dog's behavior to change, your behavior must change. Wow, that is deep! Just don't call me Yoda!

Dogs Love to Please You!

Yes, we do! But, you need to understand how we think. We're not really all logical and everything. We are reactive in nature.

Say, "Sit," push my rear down, then give me a treat. Ok, let's do that again. Do that five times every day for five days and guess what? I will sit on command (or, if I see you getting a treat)!

Negative reinforcement, since dogs are reactive, can also be effective. But, you want to limit that type of reinforcement to dangerous or highly undesirable situations.

There is nothing wrong with a strong and sharp, "No," and reinforcing that with a specific action so your dog gets the right idea, given the appropriate situation.

For example, if your dog has the habit of jumping up on people, a sharp tug down on the leash, or you physically pushing them down (without harming them) along with a sharp "No!" will provide the right direction.

Just be sure to only use the negative feedback for those potentially dangerous or highly unwanted behaviors. You want your dog to obey you out of love, and that desire to please you, and not because they fear you.

Beware of dog training tips that tend to have a significant overall focus on negative reinforcement.

And remember, when you do get the behavior you want, reward it!

Timing is Important

Our attention spans are short. So, it is always best to correct an unwanted behavior while in the act.

There are many potential scenarios to consider, but essentially, correct with a stern "No!" quickly followed by an attention getting action (sharp tug on the leash or physical movement/restraint) that is appropriate for the unwanted behavior and, again, without harming your dog.

You do this so the attention directed toward the unwanted behavior is broken. The dog associates your tone and stern action with the unwanted behavior and will want to avoid that.

So, to be effective you must spend time with your dog. Dog training tips that focus on correcting unwanted behavior after the infraction will only frustrate you (and your dog).

Dog Training Tips in Reverse

Some general reminders of things NOT to do:

* Don't yell at your dog. The "Stop, stop, stop, stop..." command is not effective. And, cursing at your dog just makes you look dumb.

* Don't hit your dog.

* Don't confuse your dog by being soft on, or ignoring, the unwanted behavior sometimes and being harsh at other times.

* Don't baby your dog such that he dominates you. You are no longer in charge, he is. Your training effort will be wimpy and no amount of dog training tips will help you.

The Bottom Line

As a dog owner, you have the responsibility to keep those around your dog, along with him, safe and secure. Most can be trained effectively through positively reinforcement.

There are some special cases that need professional attention. You can use all the dog training tips in the world, and you still struggle.

For those situations, my best suggestion is to seek out a good professional trainer. Ask around. Your dog's Doc is often a good source for finding someone qualified to help you.