My Secret Dog Training Tips

Having trained dogs for over 20 years I find that many of my tips are self-taught. Using my imagination I found ways to keep dogs from carrying bad manners over into their forever home.

Here are several tips I used to train my own dogs and the dogs of many others.

Tip Number One:

The importance of having a dog come back to its owner on command is one of the top things I teach. With a thin 12 foot piece of nylon string it will only take about 30 minutes to an hour to teach your dog to come immediately. Put the dog's collar on, this cannot be a harness but a neck collar. Tie the nylon string to the collar and then sit in the doorway or on your front porch. Allow the dog to run loose; it won't take long before Fido bolts right off the property. Now let the line go completely to the end, holding onto the loop you have made on your end of the rope. Fido will be jerked very hard when he reaches the end of the rope, at the moment you see him get to the end call him by saying, "Come". The timing of this exercise is important if you want Fido to connect the dots of being called and the rope snapping on his neck. Be consistent and do this several times. When he finally learns the move praise him with lots of hugs, and treats.

Tip Number Two:

House breaking that puppy needs to be consistent, keep any pup in the crate when not being watched. That means even when you the owner are at home. If you cannot watch Fido then crate him. The best way to time his crate time is one hour per pound of weight is how long Fido can hold his urine. A three-pound dog can stay in the crate about three hours.

Tip Number Three:

The dog that jumps on the door and scratches can cause property damage and be a nuisance. Blow up some balloons and hang them on the door jam where the dog is scratching. The balloons will pop making a loud noise and the dog will stop scratching your doorways. Another way to stop this action is to place tin foil on the area that Fido is scratching, the noise of nails on the tin foil will cause the dog to stop scratching also.

Tip Number Four:

Chewing tip for the dog that finds socks or even the corner of the couch, as his chew stick can be complicated however, here is a quick tip for the owner to try. Paint the areas that will not stain with hot sauce, when Fido puts his mouth on the corner of the couch or the table leg the heat will make him move away.

Hot sauce will not harm the dog but will make his chewing uncomfortable. As for the socks my suggestion is to keep them put away and never ever give your puppy socks or clothing tied in a knot to chew on. If he never gets anything but doggie toys then he will never be attracted to human belongings.

Try these tips and see if they will assist Fido with his bad manners. It is always important to have a well-trained dog in the house; dogs with bad manners have problems finding their forever homes.