How to Make Life More Comfortable For You and Your Dog

Dog training is an essential step for anyone interested in owning a dog. It will make your life and your dog’s life much more pleasant and enjoyable. Dog training in an urban environment like Seattle represents more of a challenge for dogs and their owners. Dogs, like small children, need to know what the rules and boundaries are. Unruly or unwanted behavior is more a reflection of poor parenting skills than reflection of the natural traits of the child. Children learn appropriate behavior and social skills through careful, attentive parenting combined with a secure and nurturing home environment. It helps to think of dog training in a similar vein.

Some dogs are easier to train than others and it is easy to become frustrated if your dog is one of the more difficult ones. Dogs have different personalities, just like people, and your dog’s personality will certainly enter into the mix. At the same time, keep in mind that dog training isn’t rocket science. Successful dog training primarily depends on the approach and attitude of the owner. It requires thoughtfulness, consideration, and patience.

Remember that you are teaching your puppy behavior tips the moment you bring her into your home. There are some forms of behavior that you are interested in promoting and others types of behavior you wish to discourage. Your puppy follows your cues, reactions, and responses. Desired and consistent behavior is learned through a process of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is a tool and not the goal. Through a proper and consistent training regimen, your dog’s good behavior becomes habitual. Here are a few basic tips to follow if you are interested in training your dog.

Always use positive reinforcement

Dogs learn through associating pleasant experiences, such as a treat, with the behavior. The pleasant association will encourage the dog to obey the command. Encourage your puppy with treats and gradually rely of treats less and less. Focus on positive behavior

Be Consistent

You are not doing your dog a favor if you give in to him because you feel sorry for him. For example, it you do not want him to sit on the furniture, it is important not to waver.

Work on one command at a time.

Once your dog has learned the command move on to another command
Speak with a engaging, happy, and warm voice. Experiment with different tonal inflections to see what works the best with your dog.

Keep your goals and expectations realistic.

Unless your puppy is a genius and extraordinarily gifted, he will turn into the ideal dog overnight. If he chews up your favorite record album or pair of slipper, keep in mind that you will probably laugh about it later. Don’t become frustrated or impatient by setting unrealistic goals or expectations.

Train your puppy in different locations.

Another element of dog training Seattle involves expanding your dog's horizons. Your home is the first place to teach your puppy basic commands and appropriate behavior. However, you will eventually want him to act obediently in public places around the Seattle area as well. Successful dog training in Seattle requires broadening his horizons. This can be done by including other spots like the local park into his training regimen. The walk to the park and back provides a perfect opportunity to practice commands such as “heel,” and “sit.”

Combine playtime with training time.

Combining playtime with training time makes the process less of a burden. Playing catch and retrieve games with a ball, stick, or other objects provides a perfect opportunity to reinforce commands such as “come,” “stop,” and so on.