Sunday, October 23, 2011

How to Train Your Dog - Classical Conditioning

By Dirk Gruenberg


Dogs are pack animals, and they are genetically designed to follow their pack leader. Yet, it sometimes might seem to dog lovers that they are anything but inclined to listen to their owners.

If you have a dog who constantly misbehaves, you might be about ready to call it quits. Does his barking, chewing on things, and jumping up on people drive you crazy? If so, than formal dog training might be the way to go.

Classical conditioning is a term you will often here in dog training. What this means is that you condition your dog to do certain things, while conditioning him to stop doing others.

You can condition your dog to stop doing certain things by disciplining him when he does them. Over time, he will come to realize that doing something bad will result in a negative consequence for him. This will make him feel less inclined to repeat his negative behavior again.

On the other hand, you can also have your dog love rewards or the sound of some words that he is conditioned to get once he does an action that pleases you.

Also keep in mind that you should start your dog training as soon as possible. Puppies are very impressionable from day one, and you can use that to your advantage. Teach them from the first day you bring them home.

With that being said, the first 16 weeks of your puppy's life are extremely important, since what he will learn in that time period will be the foundation for his whole life. So always keep that in mind.

Also keep in mind that dog training will take time. Do not expect huge successes overnight. It simply does not work that way. Infants do not start talking after a week either. Some things just take time, and so does dog training. So just be patient and practice a little bit every day.

And one last thought: The one way to ruin all your dog training efforts is to be inconsistent when it comes to your dog. Don't do it. Always be consistent. Use the same command every time and have everyone else use that command to. And always expect your dog to obey it - no exceptions.




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