This video offers a few tips for choosing the right dog from the shelter: Research the breed. Make a list of the qualities and traits you are looking for in your pet. Visit the different shelters to select the right dog for you. Listen to the advice of the shelter staff. Be gentle with the dog when you bring him home and give him a chance to adjust with the surrounding before training him. How you train an older dog is really no different than how you train a puppy. Start housetraining from scratch. Never trust a new dog and leave him unsupervised, even if the previous owner says so. Keep him crated when you aren’t at home and keep a close eye on him whenever you’re around. Be sure to socialize your dog. Start slowly and don’t correct your dog harshly. Use new words to teach the same command if the dog doesn’t respond to the command e.g ‘here’ instead of ‘come’ or ‘nai’ instead of ‘no’.
Additional Training Options
You can start some advanced training after your dog’s first year of training. Some types of training doesn’t suit some breeds. For example, Shutzhound training which is a guarding training is not suitable for toy breeds whereas agility training may not be suitable for some giant breeds. In agility training, the handler of the dog directs a dog through a number of obstacles. In hunt training, dogs are trained to hunt. Hunt training is generally given to dogs for pointing, retrieving or setting birds. However, hunting training can vary depending on the breed and its hunting instincts. Shutzhound training was originally designed for German Shepherds. This is very similar to guarding training and teaches a dog guarding and protecting skills. Shutzhound training is often seen as the next level of guarding. There are several other advanced training options such as gun dog training, herding training and search and rescue training.
Show Training Your Puppy
Show training helps your dog catch peoples’ attention. Dog show is not about competing one dog against the other, but to judge how closely your dog matches to the breed standard. If you’re really interested in showing your dog, you must take certain things into consideration. First, the dog must be purebred and registered with an accepted organization such as American Kennel Club. Second, you need to ask for a puppy with show registration which can be difficult to do at times. The dog you want to show can not be spayed or neutered. Train the puppy to stand for examination, stack for making the puppy stand in the proper position and heel. Make sure you socialize your dog regularly starting from 6 to 8 months of age and continue till its senior years. In addition to teaching your dog the obedience commands, you need to know how to properly handle a dog.
Dealing with Adolescents
Every dog has its own training challenges and these challenges often occur while dealing with adolescents. Dogs reach adolescence around 1 year to 18 months. Generally, the larger the dog, the longer it will take to physically mature. During adolescents there are certain behaviors that you may begin to see: breaking house training, destructive chewing, dog to dog aggression, breaking commands, excessive barking and hyperactivity. These are completely normal behaviors for an adolescent canine. While dealing with adolescents, you need to go back to the basics. Make sure you train the dog on a daily basis for 15 mins. Be consistent and don’t let him break the commands. You may have trained the dog off-leash, but keep him on leash while going outside to prevent him from breaking commands. Let him socialize with other dogs. Give him enough exercise. Give toys and chews to keep him busy when you’re away.
What to Expect From This Section
Although the first year of the puppy is full of training, training your dog completely will take over a year. Training should be a lifelong habit that you build with your dog. This section of the video is about a few of the advanced training areas you can take your dog through such as hunt training, show training and agility training. Apart from this, in this section we walk you through all of the tips and essential training you need for your adolescent canine during their teenage month. The old adage that says 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' is most definitely NOT true. Training older dogs can be a challenge but it IS possible. This section also includes a video that will give you tips and advice for handling an adult dog.
WAIT
This section of the video shows the ‘wait’ command being used when the door is open and you don’t want your dog to rush through it. This is basically ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ where you’re only adding the door. Open the door and watch the dog. Correct the dog if he tries to come through. Don’t run out the door as it will make your dog chase you. Start moving slowly and calmly and then accelerate your body language to a regular walk. Don’t step back in the house as you want the dog to wait and follow you up to the door. Instead, wait for a few seconds before you give the ‘release’ command. You can gradually increase the distance you go away from the door as well as the time your dog is on the ‘wait’ command. Make sure to rotate the time to avoid patterning. Try to reinforce the command by adding your own distractions to deliberately make your dog try to step out so that you can correct him.
SETTLE
‘Settle’ command is used to make your puppy calm down during the play session. You should first teach your puppy ‘settle’ when he’s playing with you and not with other animals. To teach ‘settle’, get the puppy to lie on his side using treat prior to play. Don’t use any command. Praise and reward the dog when he relaxes. Once you give the treat, say ‘let’s play’. Hyperactive dogs may not settle down easily during play, so find ways to make them relax. If you’re trying to settle your puppy when he’s playing with another puppy, make sure that there is another trainer or owner to control the other puppy. When the puppies are playing, don’t discard the play until the play becomes too rough or fight between them. Once the puppies get excited with the play, break the behaviour by clapping your hands loudly and separate them. Be close to your puppy to get him down into ‘settle’ position.
HEEL SIT
Mastering dog heel training begins with the heel-sit. It’s a basic yet absolutely necessary command for your dog to learn.
This command basically maneuvers your dog into a heel at your left side and then has them calmly sit. It helps them stay out of the way when you’ve stopped on a walk at an intersection, chat with a friend, or pause so you can answer a text.
It’s also incredibly useful when you’re out and about in public. Your pup needs to know how to sit politely while you’re dining outdoors, shopping in an open-air market, or anywhere else that requires long or frequent stops.
The heel-sit is essential for your dog’s safety. It can keep them from getting hit by a car, stepped on, or otherwise injured if they’re running about. Plus, having a well-behaved dog means you don’t get in trouble with whomever or wherever you are.
Check Out Our Free Workshop
Because this command is so important, it’s one of the first we cover in our Masterclass. Dog heel training can be tricky to master, so consider our free dog training workshop! This workshop is completely free and teaches you the secrets that dog trainers use to train service dogs. It covers jumping, barking, leash pulling, and more. Enroll today!
OFF
‘Off’ command is used when the dog jumps up on you or it’s on a chair or the couch or on a person. Make sure that you always use the ‘off’ command every time your dog goes on furniture and so does everyone else in the house. Don’t forget to follow through. If you say off’, make sure you get the dog off the furniture. Don’t plan on landing your puppy on furniture periodically during the first 6 months of his life. When you give the ‘off’ command, remove the dog gently. Don’t violently kick the dog or hurt your dog or take any forceful action as it will only make him anxious and aggressive and spoil the relationship with your dog. Don’t throw away or do any violent gestures. If the dog jumps up to somebody, put your knees on to the dog so that he naturally falls to the ground.
DROP IT
Teaching your dog the ‘drop it’ command is important for safety. Let your dog have the toy he enjoys playing with and put the bait in front of his nose so that he drops the toy to get the bait. Get more than one toy to keep him interested. Eventually your dog may start dropping things to please you. Be sure to have different items so that you’re not just patterning the dog. If your dog is running away from you so that it doesn’t have to drop an item, calmly walk up to the dog instead of chasing him. Be firm and consistent with the training. Don’t repeat the command again and again as the dog will start ignoring the command completely. When you see your dog chewing something, give the command in a firm tone. If your puppy doesn’t drop the item, use a good smelling bait to get him drop the item.
