Dog Training
By Cindy Frendo, Fri Dec 9th

It is important for you to train your dog to perform correctbehaviours so that both of you can maintain a happyrelationship. It is important for you as an owner to be theboss. If the dog thinks he is higher than you, he will not obeyyou and may perhaps even perform aggressive behaviours. The morethat your dog respects you the more likely he will pursue yourwishes.

During your dog's first weeks, how you treat him will impact onwhere he sees his place in the family hierarchy. Where your dogsleeps it must be at equal footing to you. They have troubleaccepting a sleeping area that is not near you. Feeding timeshould be after the family as the dog must realize its place inthe family hierarchy. Dogs should be kept out of children'sbedrooms and should not be allowed to take their food.

Establishing a toilet area is important for housetraining. Tryand place food and water bowls near the door to the area thatthey are to use to go to the bathroom. Your dog should be fed ona regular schedule and all family members must be aware of it.Your family members should also be aware of the toilet area.Everyone must be on the same track and perform the same trainingduties. Your dog should be taken to its toilet area on afrequent and regular basis. Take your dog outside and lightlyforce it to its toilet area. You should stand next to your dogand praise it when it performs its duties. When your dog learnsthis behaviour proceed to training it not to eliminate in thehouse.

It is essential to show how mad and frustrated you are with thedog when it eliminates in the house. Use a stern, deep voice andshoo the dog to its toilet area.

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This will teach the dog that hehas done something bad and must correct its behaviour. Clean upthe dog's mess and put it outside where the dog's toilet areais. To avoid nighttime accidents dogs should be kept in a crateuntil it has been fully housetrained.

Dogs love chewing and biting things. In order to train them notto chew on personal belongings and furniture, offer them somerubber bones or other hard rubber toys so that they havesomething to chew on that belongs to them. You should praiseyour dog when it chews on its rubber toys and scold them bysaying no when it chews on your belongings.

It is highly recommended for dog owners to go to obediencetraining. Not only does this develop a strong bond between theowner and dog but it also provides an important foundation forfuture problems that may arise.

A good resource for and puppy training is this website.

About the author:Cindy Frendo runs her own puppy training and schoolfrom her hometown of Ottawa, Canada. She also runs her ownwebsite at puppytrainingrevealed.com