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If you have a new puppy, you may have already started seeing common puppy behavior problems in action. The most common of these problems are digging and excessive barking. Some people opt to ignore the issues because they think it will resolve itself as the puppy grows up. Unfortunately, that is not how it usually works. If you would like for your dog to grow up with good manners, it’s important to address the common puppy behavior problems as soon as you can.

A puppy that barks a little at strangers or when the doorbell rings is displaying normal dog behavior. If he doen’t stop until you leave, you need to teach him that it is unacceptable to bark like that.

How To Stop Behavior Problems

An effective way of stopping these common puppy behavior problems is to get a hold of the puppy’s collar and hold him firmly. You should be giving him a command which will tell him to stop barking. Pretty soon, the puppy will realize what you need him to do in regards to good puppy behavior. When you feel that your puppy has gotten the hang of it, you can take the anti-barking training to a higher level and teach him not to bark at strangers outside the house. Ask friends to help out and have them walk by your house a few times until the dog learns not to bark at them.

Barking & Digging

It’s at this time that you should keep in mind that common puppy behavior problems such as excessive barking will occur more often if the dogs aren’t given enough to do. Essentially, the dog barks when he’s not getting enough activity. In this situation, you might want to give your puppy more time to walk or play to stop the barking problem.

Another fairly common problem which new dog owners are forced to deal with is digging. If you’re planning to let your dog run loose in the yard, it’s important to train him that digging up the lawn is not acceptable. Since digging is a very natural instinct in dogs, it is very difficult to make them stop the habit altogether. What you might want to do is choose a special place in the garden where he can dig until his heart is content. All you will have to do to help him is to teach him where it’s okay to dig and where to stay away from.

At the start, this might be challenging, but when you’re patient, you will be able to do it with some secrets to dog training. Whenever you see your puppy digging in a restricted area, give him a command to stop and immediately take him to his digging spot.

There will of course, still be times when your dog refuses to listen to you and choose to dig in the areas you don’t want him to. To prevent such disasters, you may want to install temporary fences around your plants until he overcomes these common puppy behavior problems.

Dog obedience training requires the use of some principles which differentiate effective training from training without results. Most dog training and dog behavior schools use these rules. These are:

Principle One:The first rule in obedience training is to be consistent. This covers the use of words, tone, and the actions that accompany the word or command. During the beginning of the training, the trainer or the dog owner must decide what should be the parameters of training- what you are trying to teach the dog and how to do it. Words do not make sense to a dog. He does not understand things the way we understand, and he does not understand the language we use.

For the training to be understandable, the command must be used in a consistent manner so he can recognize the meaning to the word and tone. If you are using the word ‘come’ make sure everyone is. If you are using this command make it a point that you would not do actions that would make the command confusing for the dog. If your dog does not come to you instantly, do not punish him when he does. This would make him attribute the command with the punishment.

Then what would you expect?He would not follow the same command since this leads to punishment. The same command used, by all people, must be consistent. For example, if you are using the command ‘come’, other people in the household should not replace it with words like ‘here’ or ‘come here boy’.

Principle Two: Keep training sessions short. Keep in mind that the attention span of dogs is very short that making them engrossed with a specific activity would be very hard, if not impossible. Combining children with your puppy obedience training is an example of keeping your training sessions short as they would lose interest very quickly, so it is best to move on to the next thing.

Your dog simply does not posses the same amount of interest they had when they started the activity, they become easily bored. Training should be kept to ten to fifteen minutes and set at regular times.

Principle Three: Never hurt the dog if you want him to be trained, through force or punishment. Also, never force the dog to follow the command if he is not prepared for it or punish a dog for something he did. Whilst training the animal don’t push too hard.

The dog does not understand that he should learn things instantly and he does not realize that you are becoming impatient with the speed he is picking up the training. He only knows you are angry. So do not use force as this does not communicate your meaning properly, instead use negative reinforcement. Do not send him mixed signals, by making him feel praised for doing something wrong, only when he obeys the command, should he feel praised.

You have to be understanding and patient, especially during your dog obedience training sessions. The outcome will be a very responsive and well trained dog.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Career in Dog Training

People who are really passionate about dogs will sometime choose a life’s career in this field so they can use their love for dogs everyday to help them, making it their goal to become a professional dog trainer.

Before you look at a career as a dog trainer ask yourself if you are someone who loves dogs and wants to love them more, or, are thinking about it, just because someone brought it to your attention as a possible option?

Back to Basic Principles

Before choosing a career in dog training you should know it not only requires a love for dogs, you also need knowledge about their basic behaviors, and you will need the skills on how to handle and discipline them properly. Dog trainers usually have a long history of experience with dogs and interaction with many dog owners, handlers and their pets.

Do You Know your Dogs Division?

There are two types of careers in the dog world: the pet service training and the dog training. Both are very popular in demand however, there are more opportunities in the dog training field verses a career in pet service training.

Pet dog training usually involves dogs that function merely as pets and as companions therefore, most commonly they are taught obedience training, agility training, potty training and training to eliminate unwanted behaviors like barking and biting.

Dog Service Training is geared towards helping people with certain disabilities or working with people undergoing therapy. Some service dog trainers teach dogs to be search and rescue dogs such as the ever important police dogs or even hunting dogs.

Each of these take a large amount of dedication and patience on the trainers part as they are very intense fields of specialize divisions.

Understanding of Canine Psychology

A good dog trainer will need to understand a dogs behavior, the way they think and why they react to certain things. Training adheres to conditioning the thinking of the dog to make specific responses. You should also know well the fundamentals of associative conditioning.

Where Can You Learn Dog Training Education?

A dog training career requires that you have basic skills in dog training and handling. Currently today, there are no colleges or universities that offer the ability for people to get degrees in dog training. However, there are dog “academies” or “schools” that could provide basic training. Often, the best dog trainers are often self taught and have natural inclination to dog handling.

Some have apprenticed with excellent dog trainers while others simply have a natural talent for training dogs. There are also a number of dog training organizations that could provide the latest information on dog training.

People and dogs both have attitudes and a good dog trainer will need to work with both.

Dog training involves training the handlers of the dog as well Since you will be working with all kinds of people, you will need to have good people skills and be able to work with all personality types.

There are impatient owners who expect fast learning from their dogs, and they are reluctant to taking advice openly, however, others are relatively open to suggestions. You need to work with both types of dog handlers and everyone in between. In short, a career in dog training is not only limited to dog training but also an experience of people training as well.

Dog trainers also must possess the skills to properly groom dogs and then know how to provide each breed of dog the proper nutrition and good hygiene techniques needed.

You should also have good knowledge on dog competitions, accessories and training aids. It is also important to be able to distinguish different dog breeds and have an understanding of their fundamental differences.

To be a good dog trainer it is not required to have a ’know it all’ mentality’ but basically all you need to know is how to handle all types of dogs, work well with their handlers and have sufficient knowledge on the basics of dog training.