dig by dog

In the beginning, you will want to train your dog in an environment that has few distractions. You want to be the most interesting game in the room in order for your dog to pay attention to you. Indoors is definitely better than outdoors, because you can't control the outdoor environment. Joggers, kids playing, cars, and other dogs are just a few of your dog's favorite things that may outrank you in competition for his attention.

If you consistently use the same room in the house to train, he will automatically start to focus on you when you set up to train. Use this room whenever you are going to teach something new. When your dog seems to understand a new behavior, then you will want to take it on the road by practicing in different environments. It is very important to do this if you want your dog to be well-behaved in public.

Most dogs are perfectly well-behaved in the privacy of their own homes when no visitors are around but turns unstable or high-strung when a friend comes over or when you take him out to the park. This is because your dog won't integrate distractions or generalize his training (be able to apply it to environments other than the one you trained in) well unless you help him.

If you always work in the kitchen and practice having your pet sit two feet in front of the sofa, he will think that the command �Sit� means to "sit two feet in front of the sofa." The first time you take him in the kitchen and ask him to sit in front of the refrigerator, he doesn't do it. He's thinking, "Are you crazy? How can I sit? There's no sofa here!"

Meanwhile, you are thinking that your dog is being stubborn, spiteful, or dumb because he knows very well how to sit and he is ignoring your command. Every time you move to a new environment or add distractions, you may need to back up a couple of steps in your dog's training to let him know that �Sit� means the same thing wherever he is, whether there's a sofa there or not. A group training class provides a perfect opportunity to train your dog in a distracting environment and to teach him this important lesson. You will need to find dozens more opportunities like this for him to understand that �Sit� happens everywhere.

Once he becomes more sophisticated about training and accustomed to working in different environments, your dog will be able to learn new things despite reasonable distractions, and he will be able to generalize more quickly with each new behavior that you teach him.

When it comes to training your dog different commands, some things are easier than others.
Sit is easier than lay down, lay down is easier than roll-over, roll-over is easier than stay.
Sensi knows so many different words and commands that I long ago stopped keeping track. The day I realized that he was picking up on words without me doing any training was the day I stopped counting his commands.
But of everything I’ve taught him, there’s one command that sticks out as by far the easiest to teach.
What is it? Speak, of course.
I scratched my head a bit thinking of how I could train him to bark, and then I had one of those true light bulb moments.
“When does Sensi usually bark?” I asked myself. “I know! When he’s frustrated!”
So I made a simple training game that basically involved frustrating my dog.
I took his favorite toy from him and held it up high in the air. When he jumped for it, I pushed him away and scolded him, “Bad dog!”
If Sensi had a thought process, it would’ve been, “Jumping isn’t working, so I’ll try sitting nicely for my toy.”
I felt bad as I dangled the toy high the air, teasing and taunting him with it despite his well-behaved sit.
For quite a while, Sensi went back and forth between jumping and sitting. Eventually, he gave up and laid down, looking very depressed.
As mean as this sounds, I knew I had to keep him engaged, so I teased him even more. I waved the toy in front of his face and then ran off with it. As he ran after me, thinking we were going to play, I came to a stop and again waved the toy just out of his reach, then lifted it above my head.
“Arf!” Sensi barked, now clearly frustrated.
I immediately gave him the toy, played for a few seconds, and then went back to the keep-away game.
Within a matter of minutes, Sensi was barking each time I lifted the toy away from him. I started interjecting the word speak, and voila! The dog learned to “speak” on command.
It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The �Retrieve� must be learned step by step. First, you should teach your dog to take a very light dumbbell and hold it. Even though a handler has never tried this with his dog he should be able to accomplish it in one lesson. If you are training a dog who refused to retrieve when some other method was used, and he has become stubborn or frightened, it might take two or three lessons. The length of time it takes will depend upon your skill in using your voice as you tighten his collar.

Teaching a dog to retrieve is one of persuasion, and your voice is your most important asset here. You must use your dog's name repeatedly before each command and do so in a most persuasive tone of voice. Your voice should be kept low, firm, and pleasant, and you should talk to the dog continually as you urge him to take the dumbbell. When your dog takes it, you should immediately sound very pleased and praise him happily and excitedly as you pet him.

Never raise your voice in anger or impatience; if the dog appears to be stubborn, never shove the dumbbell in your dog's mouth or against his gums, never jerk your dog's collar, and don't hit him over the head with the dumbbell. Be gentle but firm with him at all times.

Start your dog in a quiet corner and keep him on a leash for the first three steps. Place the dumbbell under, in front of, and close to, your dog's upper lip, and as you tell him to "Get it," put your third finger behind his canine tooth. This will open his mouth slightly and you can gently slide the dumbbell into his mouth. If you can't use your right hand to open his mouth, use the index finger of your left hand. Quickly tell your dog to "Hold it," as you stroke his nose on top, in one direction away from his nose, with your right hand, and you stroke him under the chin with your left hand. By stroking him this way you will keep the dumbbell in his mouth. You should be praising him as you do this. Keep the dumbbell in your dog's mouth for two or three seconds at first so he can get the feel of it.

Most dogs accept the dumbbell gracefully and hold it firmly the first time. This is especially true of puppies who will actually reach out to take it and hold it for you. However, some dogs will put up a struggle, and you will have to hold their jaws closed gently with both hands around their muzzles as you command them firmly, but quietly, to "Hold it." Generally speaking, the majority of dogs will hold the dumbbell if you are gentle with them and talk to them reassuringly. Be careful not to bang the dog's teeth with the dumbbell.

After placing the dumbbell in your dog's mouth two or three times to get his reaction to it, teach him to take it by himself. Slide your dogs medium link chain or heavy nylon choke collar up high on his neck, behind his ears and high under his chin, and hold it in your left hand. Your right hand will be holding the dumbbell. By pushing against the dead ring with your thumb you will be able to draw the collar into the palm of your hand very steadily and smoothly. Do not jerk the collar, just tighten it smoothly and quickly. When the dog takes the dumbbell you should let go of his collar immediately and praise him.