How to "Do-it-Yourself DogTraining"

Does your dog pull you down the street, jump on people who come to visit, or behave in other embarrassing ways? No matter how educated or successful we may be in our life we can sometimes come up short when it comes to understanding how to train our dog. You are not alone! Luckily there is a lot of information out there today that can help us learn to understand our dogs better so that we may be better equipped to train them well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Access to www.webdogtrainer.com

1. Imagine being able to take your dog down a busy street and meet your friend at an outdoor café while your dog lies quietly next to you. Imagine going camping while your dog happily plays off-leash nearby and knowing at any moment you could call them back and they would come to you. This is all possible and you can learn how to train your dog yourself!
   
   Training your dog on your own may seem like a big task but it can be a very rewarding one. There are a lot of benefits to doing it yourself too, one of the most important being that your dog will respect YOU and listen to YOU, not just the dog trainer. The process of teaching your dog obedience can bond your relationship even tighter. And, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment if you do-it-yourself! It will also save you hundreds of dollars and you and your dog will be happier!
2. To begin training your dog you must first meet their energy needs through daily physical exercise. A tired dog is a good dog! Then you’ll also want to teach your dog some obedience training, which is a way to communicate what you expect of them in a way they understand. It gives you the tools to do so and it replaces behavior you don’t want with behavior you like! So, for example your dog is jumping on your newly arrived guests; you instead train him to sit quietly to receive attention.
   
   Your dog really does want to please you and when they don’t it is usually a result of one of two reasons; either they don’t truly understand your needs, or you have not met their physical and mental needs first.
3. The keys to having a well-trained, happier dog:
   v Meet your dog’s physical and mental needs first through exercise, obedience, play and affection.
   v Create personal training goals and stay consistent with your expectations of your dog. Your dog will be as consistent as you are.
   
   A well-trained dog is a happier dog because they get to spend more time with you!
4. Julie Bjelland Lokhandwala is a Popular Dog Trainer and Freelance Writer. She has written an insightful dog-training book that is featured on her unique, interactive Dog Training Web site at: www.webdogtrainer.com. The site allows dog owners to ask Julie any question about their dog through her personal, one-on-one live chat consultations.

Tips & Warnings

• Work with Julie as she meets you where you are in training and helps take you to where you want to be in training.