Tips on Training Your Dog

House Training

One of the biggest problems everyone has with their puppies is them deciding to go potty inside the house. This as a big issue in mine. Really, this problem could be any from small puppy to full grown dog. We all know what a nightmare this can be!

Now, accidents do happen and no one can control those. If your dog has been potty trained for some time and they had one accident then it is no big deal because it happens from time to time. They have no way of telling us they need to go outside. If you have a dog who has been potty trained for quite some time now and is having multiple accidents you should check with your veterinarian. I recommend checking with your veterinarian to make sure there is no underlying issue.

There are a number of ways you can help to resolve this problem.

My favorite way to solve this problem is praise and treats. Whenever you have a dog that pottys in the house very often, whenever they potty outside reward them. Positive reinforcement is crucial to helping your dog to learn not to go inside the house. Actually, positive reinforcement is crucial when training your dog to do just about anything.

Another way to solve this problem is with disapproval. Now, there is a correct way to do this. By now your dog should know what "bad dog" means. If they don't whenever they do something wrong such as pottying inside the house say "bad dog" and then take them outside to finish pottying. Leave the mess where it is at or have someone else take care of the mess while you take the dog out. When you take the dog outside make sure they potty then of course reward them not with a treat but with positive reinforcement and praise. This will help them to realize that going potty inside what not good but going potty outside was the right thing to do.

I was raised another way to solve this problem. My dad (a country boy) told me to rub their nose above where the mess is inside the house and to lightly smack their nose. You then take the dog straight outside again and make them finish pottying outside. This again reinstalls to the dog the wrong and the right behavior to do.

Jumping

It is not cute when a dog jumps on you, especially when a dog that is more than 30 pounds jumps on you, a little kid, or an elderly person. Many dangers come from a dog jumping on people. A dog can scratch someone, knock someone down, or hurt someone. It is natural for dogs to jump when they want to say hello to someone. It is only natural because they want to be on our level. The hard part is solving this jumping issue.

There are a few different ways that you can stop this problem. You can use corrector spray. Corrector spray looks like an air horn. It does not have a sound to it. It only is air coming out of a tube. The most important thing to remember with this is to not spray it directly at your dog but to spray it above or away from them. Make sure they are still able to see the corrector spray container and they will learn that it is a discipline and not a toy.

Now the key to this is to already have the corrector spray in your hand before your dog jumps. You want to be able to make sure that you can spray the corrector spray when the dog is in mid jump. Telling the dog "No Jump" after spraying the corrector spray is crucial to letting your dog know that it is not a wanted behavior. Keeping this correction consistent is important so the dog learns the process.

Eventually the dog will learn that this behavior is not a good behavior and the jumping will resolve.