One very popular way to train a dog is through the use of dog training dvds, these dvds show you everything you need to know, and the good news is they are that expensive. Sending your dog to dog training schools to get professional training can be very expensive, and not all dog owners have the budget to do this.

Whats good about dog training dvds is you can get dvds that cater for certain breeds of dog. All dog breeds are different and each different breed responds to a different form of dog training. There are lots of dog training dvds on the market though so were to I start.

A good starting point is to do a little research before you buy a dvd, the best and quickest place to do your search is the Internet. There are hundreds upon hundreds of websites each reviewing the latest dog training dvd. Find the dvd that suits you and your dogs needs, then search for reviews relating to that dvd.

The best advice is to read several different reviews on the same dog training dvds, that way you can average out the scores to decide which dvd will give you the most success. Training your dog does not need to be difficult, give it time and keep using the lessons you learn and you will be on your way to owning a dog that obeys your every command.

How to train a Dog lesson 1

Every owner wants a well behaved and obedient dog but it takes training, time and love in order for your dog to become the ‘ideal dog’. One of the first lessons that owners should give their dog is to do their business
outside. Teaching your dog where they can and can’t go to the toilet can be tedious and may require the help of a number of family members but once your dog is fully trained, you will see that the time and effort was worth it.

When your new dog is first brought home a good idea is to leave him in the garden until he goes to the toilet. After this, bring your dog into the house but watch him carefully. If your dog begins to sniff around the house, take him outside immediately. Make a comfortable box at the side of your bed and at night when no-one is able to watch your dog, put him in the box. This is also where your dog should be put in the day when no-one is available to watch him. You should make sure that you take your dog out to the garden right before you go to bed and as soon as you get up in the morning to allow your dog to go to the
toilet. This rule should also be followed if you are going out for the day.

This training may take a few days and your dog may have a couple of accidents along the way but your dog should soon learn that if he needs the toilet, he can wait by the door in order for someone to let him out to the garden.

A second important lesson is teaching your dog to sit. Teaching your dog to sit is a relatively simple piece of training. One way of training your dog to sit is to tell your dog ‘sit’ whilst gently pushing the back of your dog down towards the floor. Once successful, give your dog a lot of praise and this will encourage your dog to continue to sit when asked to in the future as he knows he will receive a lot of attention for doing so.

Another way of teaching your dog to sit is by sitting on the floor next to your dog and holding a toy in the air above his head. In order to continue looking at the toy, your dog will sit down to get a better view. Once again, if your dog is successful in doing this, give him a lot of praise and attention.

Once your dog has mastered sitting on command, your third lesson would be training your dog to lie down. This can be easily accomplished by getting the dog to sit and then gently sliding your dog’s front legs out in front of him until he is lying down, again giving him plenty of praise.

How to train a dog Lesson 15

Although you may find that your barking dog is an effective burglar alarm and brilliant protection, you need the ability to be able to control your dog’s barking. If your dog barks at everything and anything rather than at specific things such as alerting you to something dangerous, a stranger or a fire alarm, then this problem needs to be dealt with.

If you want protection for your home from your dog, the best command to use is the ‘guard’ command as opposed to the ‘speak’ command. The use of the ‘guard’ command will be much more threatening and more of a deterrent to a burglar as the burglar does not know how your dog has been brought up to guard your home. The ‘guard’ command does not mean that that your dog will physically attack someone but your dogs barking alone should be enough security for both the inside and outside of your home.

In order to teach your dog the ‘guard’ or ‘speak’ command, you should tie him using his lead from an item that cannot be moved such as a stake in the ground. Once your dog is tied, stand 3 feet away from him with his favourite toy or a treat and dangle it in the air. By doing this you are teasing the dog and he should then bark. As he barks give him the toy or the treat. Once your dog has done this next stage is to swap the toy or treat with your verbal praise. You should use the ‘guard’ or ‘speak’ command as soon as your dog begins to bark. One important point to remember is that timing is essential, and by watching his body language you are able to tell when he is about to start barking.

Teaching your dog when to stop barking is just as important, if not more so, than training your dog when to bark. To control your dogs barking give the ‘quiet’ command whilst he is barking. If your dog still continues to bark, tell him ‘no’ in a firm voice.

When your dog has successfully learned when he should bark and when he should stop, you should try and use these commands at further distances whilst continuing his training. Your dog needs to know and be able to respond correctly to these commands at any distance. Once your dog is able to respond to these commands in the right way, the next step is to untie him and get him used to responding to the commands
when he is free. Both you and your neighbors should benefit greatly from this training as everyone can have a peaceful, bark-free night.

How to train a Dog Lesson 14

Depending on your dog’s personality, he may find travelling a stressful or enjoyable experience. And if your dog finds travelling stressful, you may get upset seeing your dg getting stressed. It is important to do this piece of training early on in your dog’s life. Although you may think it’s cute to have your small puppy sitting on your lap when you travel, you have to remember that this small dog will quickly turn much bigger. Having a large, heavy dog trying to sit on your lap is not so cute!

As with a young child, make sure that your dog always sits in the back seat rather than the front seat. If there was to be an accident your dog may be hurt by the airbag if he is sat in the front. There is also the possibility that your dog may go through the windshield.

Seat belts made especially for dogs are now available and they are an excellent way to keep your dog in the same place and to stay there for the entire journey. They also ensure the safety of your dog at the same time.
Just as you would do for your child, it is up to you to buckle up your dog to ensure his safety.

Once your dog is able to sit, stay and lay down, you will use this commands a lot during the training of your dog. Do not make the first few journeys too long as he will lose concentration and start to panic. As your dog starts to get used to these shorter journeys, gradually increase the distance until he has no problem with riding in the car.

During the first few journeys your dog may start to panic and if this is the case, it is a good idea for you, or a family member, to ride alongside him. This familiar person sitting next to him will help relax and calm him down. Dogs are good at picking up on human’s emotions and so make sure that you do not appear to be anxious about training him otherwise he will sense this and feel stressed himself.

Once you’ve taken your dog on his first few journeys, both you and him will start to relax and the use of a couple of his toys will help him to relax even more. Your dog may start to bark or whine during some journeys and this may be because there is a noise from the car that they can hear but you cannot. Therefore make sure that there are no obvious problems with the car that may start to make noises that will cause your dog distress. After a while travelling will become enjoyable for both you and your dog as your dog is no longer being left on his own and you are enjoying spending time with him.

How to train a Dog Lesson 4

Teaching your dog to come is a relatively simple piece of training. It is best carried out when your dog is hungry as food is a good thing to use to encourage him to obey. Divide his food into several portions and throughout the day use a portion of his food to tempt him to come to you. As you are doing this call his name and use the command ‘come’.

An ideal place to practice this bit of training is in your hallway, as there are few distractions, which is especially helpful if your dog loses concentration easily. Show your dog the food in your hand, standing a short distance away and call his name. As your dog starts to walk towards you, use the command ‘come’.

When your dog is able to respond to this command, give him a lot of praise, calling him a good dog in an excited voice. By talking to him in an excited voice, this lets your dog know that you are proud of him and therefore he is encouraged to act in the same way in the future.

As your dog gets closer to you, kneel down next to him and give him more praise. Give him the food whilst stroking him and touch his collar. Again, these actions tell your dog that you are pleased with him and dogs are always eager to please their owner.

Once your dog responds well to your commands inside the house, try taking it to a more advanced level. Practice teaching your dog to come to you outside where there are more distractions. To ensure that he is still concentrating, keep your dog on a long lead, but make sure that you do not use the lead to pull him towards you. Continue to use treats and keep the excitement in your voice when praising your dog to make sure that your dog is still able to react correctly to your command in different environments.

If your dog starts to get distracted, give a firm tug on the lead to get his attention and then use praise and a treat to get him to return to you. If you find that your dog is still getting distracted, the use of a squeaky toy may be more effective. The noise and color of the toy may draw his attention back to you better and quicker than the use of food does. Remember, you must keep the dog focused on what you want him to do. This is not a play session!

How to train a Dog Lesson 13

An extremely important piece of training that you should give your dog as soon as possible is teaching your dog to walk on a lead. This is to ensure his safety at all times. You should never allow your dog to run of his own free will and you should keep him on a lead unless you are in a secure and safe place.

Teaching your dog to walk on a lead is important because you need to be able to be in control of your dog when you are outside, especially in dangerous situations, for example, crossing the road. They need to learn to walk sensibly on their lead and not pull your arm out of its joint. As with all other methods of training, it is best to begin training your dog inside.

You should allow your dog to get used to the smell and feel of his collar and lead. This could be done by allowing your dog to drag his lead around the house when it is attached to his collar. It is common sense to ensure that the collar fits your dog well. There is no point having a collar that is too big for your dog as he will slip it over his head and it will hurt your dog’s neck if the collar is too small. Even though you know your dog will get bigger in the future, don’t buy a collar that is too heavy as it will cause him discomfort until he grows into it. You can measure whether a collar fits properly by seeing if you can fit four fingers between the collar and your dog’s neck. If you can fit more than four fingers then you need to get a smaller collar and if you are unable to fit four fingers then you need to get a bigger collar.

The first step to training your dog to walk on his lead is to hold the lead and treat in your right hand and use your left hand to hold the slack in the lead. Make sure that the dig is always on your left side. Once you have your dog’s attention, use the command ‘sit’. Start off walking using your left foot first and when he walks next to you use the ‘heel’ command. You may find that your dog tries to pull forward and if you find that this is happening slide your left hand down his lead and gently pull on his collar. Continue pulling his collar until he gets into the heel position. Once he is in this position, give him the treat and lots of praise. Then give the command ‘give’ continuing your praise. Your verbal praise is just as, if not more important, to your dog than treats. Once your dog has mastered how to react properly to your commands, take the training a step further and take him outside. This should help him learn to still react properly to your commands in different environments.

How to train a dog Lesson 9

No matter what your dog does to annoy you, it is unacceptable to physically hurt your dog and against the law! Although some people still think that it is still alright to hit their dog with a rolled up newspaper, this is still cruel and your dog may end up being frightened of you.

Dogs live in a world where everything is a lot bigger than they are. One of the only ways that they can make contact is by jumping up on people. Many people find this frightening, especially when the dog is big. I have heard many stories in which young children or pregnant women have been knocked down by large dogs such as Rotweilers or Labradors. These dogs should have been trained earlier to stop dangerous situations like this occurring.  This is when it becomes the owner’s problem rather than the dog’s problem.

If you like your dog jumping up at you to greet you, you can train them just to jump up at you when commanded. To begin with however, your dog should be trained not to jump up at people at all, especially young children. Just as a rattle could be used to keep your dog from jumping up on the sofa, it can also be used to prevent your dog from jumping up at people. You can easily make a rattle by putting 20 beans or coins in a tin and closing the lid firmly.

The idea of the rattle is to startle your dog whilst telling him ‘no’ in a firm voice. This will usually be enough to stop him, his attention being diverted from jumping up at someone to the noise that the tin is making. Make sure that you leave a prepared can at the each of the doors in your house and as you see that your dog is about to jump, shake the can to make the noise and tell him ‘no’. In order to encourage your dog to respond to your verbal command, when telling your dog ‘no’, only use the rattle on some occasions. Eventually your dog will respond to your verbal command alone and the rattle will no longer be required.

How to train a Dog Lesson 3

Toilet training your dog is something that needs to be done as soon as possible. Although your dog will have a couple of accidents along the way, it is important that you do not use this as a punishment. Otherwise, your dog will become frightened of you and may try to hide the ‘accidents’ from
you in the future. The following method doesn’t create any fear in the puppy which is extremely important.

The first step of this training is to allow your new dog to go to the toilet outside before he has the chance to go inside. This sets a boundary for him as he knows where he can go to the toilet. The next and slightly harder step is to teach your dog where he can’t go to the toilet!

When you first take your puppy into the garden to go to the toilet, make sure that you stay with him. Although this may take some time, and be tough on you in cold weather, this is an important part of training. When you and your dog are in the house, watch him carefully, and ensure that your family members are also paying close attention to him. If you notice your dog sniffing around the house, and acting in a ‘busy’ or restless way, then take him outside immediately and wait for him to go to the toilet.

It can be difficult to differentiate between when a puppy is sniffing around their new home out of curiosity or whether they are sniffing because they are looking for a place to go to the toilet. At night or when you will be out for a long time, make sure you take your dog outside to go to the toilet before you go and take him out as soon as you get home. Also, get a box or kennel for him to lie down and sleep in inside the house. Your dog will not go to the toilet by the place where he sleeps, it will encourage your dog to go to the toilet outside rather than inside.

All this training may seem like a lot of time, work and effort but the benefits can quickly be seen when your dog is fully trained. Buying and looking after a dog is hard work but by taking the time to train him, he
will quickly becomes a dog that will do anything to please you and who is a pleasure to have around.

How to train a Dog Lesson 12

When your dog joins in with family activities such as playing Frisbee, it is an enjoyable experience for both your family and your dog. Although you and your dog need to know where to draw the line. The method of how best to teach your dog to heel will be slightly different in each situation, due to the difference a dog’s personalities. Whereas one owner may find it easier to train their dog to heel using their lead, another may find it easier to train their dog without the lead. Most puppies love to please their owners and so in the majority of situations, they will listen and obey your commands.

The smell of food is always a good way to lead your dog, so it is essential to carry treats with you at all times during training. Make sure your dog is always on your left hand side at all times to heel, attracting his attention by calling his name whilst holding onto his collar. Hold the treat out in front of your dig as you walk forwards, keeping your left hand close to his collar. Then give the command ‘heel’ in a form voice. Once this has been done, stop walking and bend down next to your dog. Command your dog to ‘wait’ and if he needs a little help, place your left arm in front of his back legs under his stomach. This prevents him from walking forwards.

The next step on from this is to speed up your pace of walking and slowing it down, commanding your dog to act the same. Your dog will learn to respond correctly when you give the ‘heel’ and ‘wait’ commands. Once he has learnt how to do this, you can then progress and teach your dog to turn with you as you walk.
Teaching your dog to turn left and right require slightly different methods. To turn left, use your left hand to hold his collar, gently guiding him to the left. Whilst doing this, use the command ‘steady’, holding the treat low and close to your dog’s nose and you will find your dog will follow. To turn right, the method is a little different. Holding the treat close to your dog’s nose and bending your knees, turn right and repeat the command ‘heel’. In order to follow the smell of the treat, he will need to speed up and therefore will end up turning right.

If your dog is easily distracted, encourage them to concentrate by putting your left hand inside his collar until he moves back to the correct position. Your dog may try to jump up at you when you stop walking and to prevent him from doing this, try holding his collar and holding the treat low, tempt him to stay low with it. Teaching your dog to heel is important as your dog needs to know when to stop when commanded, especially if there is danger ahead.

How to train a dog Lesson 10

The problem of keeping your dog off the furniture is one that is usually created by the owner. When you first bring your dog home as a puppy you may have encouraged him to jump up onto your lap whilst you were sat down on the sofa, thinking it was cute. However, once your dog gets older, and bigger, you may not want him to jump up onto the furniture anymore. As your dog has been used to doing this all his life and has learnt how to jump onto the furniture, it is difficult to teach him not to.

Have you ever been dressed up to go out, sat down on your sofa and then got up covered in dog hairs? It’s not a good look. There’s also the problem of inviting guests round only to have your 50lb dog slouched on the sofa, refusing to move, causing great embarrassment. Even smaller dogs can be a problem when trying to get them off a piece of furniture that they have claimed as theirs.

A simple but effective way of training your dog to keep off the furniture is to use a ‘rattle’. This is really a tin can with 20 beans or coins it and can make a lot of noise! Dogs hate to be startled and the noise the rattle makes works perfectly in every situation. If you are lucky enough to have a dog that jumps up on the furniture whilst you are in the room, use the rattle whilst firmly telling your dog ‘no’. Tell your dog ‘no’ sometimes with the rattle and sometimes without the rattle.

Once your dog has learnt the ‘no’ command, the problem of your dog jumping up on your furniture should end. If your dog is sneaky and jumps on the sofa when you are not around, make a couple of  tin rattles and line them up along the sofa. Then when your dog jumps up on your furniture they knock the rattles,
causing the loud noise and therefore startling your dog. As with training your dog, just like any animal, patience is vital. Although it may take a lot of time and effort, the benefits in the long run are well worth it.