How to train your Dog!

[malakadang]

Malakadang's Informative Guide on How to Train your Dog! (Under Construction)​

Hey! I've always loved dogs throughout my so far short life. Owning 2 myself, I find them very majestic animals, that really complements and rounds off a family. With that being said, this guide is aimed predominately at the Smaller Sized Toy Breed Dogs. Obviously the fundamentals of this guide can be extrapolated into training more sophisticated dogs such as the, 'Siberian Husky' or 'German Shepherd'. With that being said hopefully you'll get an insight as to how to go about training your dog at a young age, and how learning itself works.
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We'll start with the more required aspects, and basics before we move onto tricks!


Table of Contents:

How to toilet train your dog.
How to teach your dog to sit.
How to teach your dog to wait.
How to teach your dog to lie down.
How to teach your dog to stay.
How to teach your dog to stop.
How to teach your dog to NOT go to certain areas.
How to associate keywords/sounds to your dog in order to illicit a certain behaviour (I whistle when I'm about to feed my dog, or am calling it).
How to take your dog for a walk.
How to maintain control of your dog without a leash.
How to teach your dog to shake hands.
How to teach your dog to play dead.
How to teach your dog stand on two feet (Very Hard to do, and some dogs can't do it).
How to teach your dog to patrol (depending on the dog, this is near impossible, it is more suited to a medium/large sized dog)>
How to teach your dog to Guard (This is insanely hard for most dog, this is mostly instinctual but I'll try cover it as best I can).



How to toilet train your dog:

There are numerous ways to toilet train your dog, I will go through 2 ways that I have used successfully, and why they work.

Method 1 - 'Positive Reinforcement'

Lets say you want your dog to pee/crap on a specific area on the lawn, or a certain place within the house (Litter pan or something), this method can be used solely or in conjunction with another.
What this method entails is positively reinforcing the Dog when they pee/crap in a certain area. It necessary to do this CONSISTENTLY for the first few weeks, and it is a great idea for a reward to be a treat.

Now what this does, and why does it work. Well you see, the fact is that your dog is learning. He learns that if he does his stuff in this specific area, he will be rewarded with a treat, where as if he does it anywhere else he will be ignored (punished if used in conjunction with another method) and will not get the treat. The dog wants the treat, so over time if you do this consistently this will become a 'Fixed Action Process' for the dog, where he will always do it there regardless of whether or not he receives the treat.

It is especially important to CONSISTENTLY do this to your Dog. It may be tedious at first, but I promise you the results are worth it. Over the course of a few weeks, your Dog should be relatively toilet trained, and you can gradually ease off on the tread; maybe once every 2 times, then 3, then once every now and then, then eventually none at all.

Method 2: Negative Reinforcement / Punishment.

This method can be used in conjunction with the first one with great effectiveness for some dogs that just don't get it. Let's say your Dog still does its business elsewhere in spite of you rewarding it, then obviously it is not learning and a new technique may be used to assist the pre-existing one (Note this method can work by itself, however I'd advise against using it independently).

What this method entails is rather simple. If ever your dog craps outside the desired place [be reasonable, if its 5 centimeters away cut it some slack at first (In context of a lawn and not a bowl)], then you will need to punish it. A recommended form of punishment is hitting the dog. A sharp smack on the dog, forceful but not overly used in conjunction with the stern warning (keep the tone consistent always), will aid the dog in realizing, 'If I crap here I'll be punished, and I want to avoid being punished; also If I crap there I get rewarded and I like treats!' Believe it or not, on some level your dog thinks somewhat like this.

Again, CONSISTENCY is key. No consistency results in a poorly trained dog, results in a poorer quality dog for you to enjoy when its older. In contrast to before, this punishment should be kept up far longer, obviously over the course of a few months you should ease off completely, however if the dog makes a mistake, issue it a stern warning, but without the smack unless the behavior continues.

Follow this, and I CAN ASSURE YOU, your dog WILL be toilet trained within months.


How to teach your dog to sit.

There is only one method I know of that works EXTREMELY WELL, however I'm sure there are variations or others.

Method - 'Positive Reinforcement'.

This is probably one of the first actions you should teach your dog, and it should take no more than a week for them to learn this.
What this method encompasses is simply a reward for action methodology if you like.

First of all, you'll need to teach your dog what sit means, remember the dog is like a blank book, you need to teach it everything! (rest assured they're eager to learn) To do this, I would suggest you to first get a dog treat and hold it up slightly above your dogs nose (20 centimeters), then gently walk back as your dog looks up at the treat. Naturally the dog will assume the 'sitting' position, however if it doesn't gently push it's backside down and it will assume the position naturally. You would then utter the command 'Sit' (use this tone consistently) and almost instantaneously hand the dog the treat, and after maybe half a second praise the dog by stroking it (Good Dog!).

You will need to do this fairly consistently, however don't worry too much, the first few actions are learnt exceptionally quickly by the dog. It is important to utter the command 'Sit' and then immediately after giving the dog the treat, followed by praising it. The swiftness and co-ordination of this sequence is vital to establish, as when more complex actions occur, it will matter.

After a dozen attempts at this, your dog should be fairly accustomed to this action, and you can gradually ease off on the treat, and tell the dog to sit normally, in a 'Field' scenario. I would suggest this be the first action your dog learn, as it is the most important and probably the most used by every dog owner.

How to teach your dog to wait.

There are two methods however you should use them both together, and as such I've combined them.

Method - 'Positive Reinforcement and Punishment'.

This can be extremely difficult, as dogs by nature are energetic, and this command necessitates inactivity. However this is a vital skill your dog must learn and as such it should be learnt quickly when the dog is eager to learn.

In order for you to successfully associate a positive reward for your dog obeying the command, and a negative punishment for disobeying it, treats and consequences must be given respectively. It is also important to note that it's not necessary to have your dog sitting while 'waiting'.

Now, first things first, teaching your dog what the wait command means. I would suggest doing this with a sliding door. Put your dog on a relatively short leash, and approach the sliding door. Get yourself onto the other side of it, so you and your dog are on opposite sides. Close the sliding door just enough so the dog can't get through without a tight squeeze, but can still see you.
Open the door, and hold your hand out miming a stop sign, and say sternly 'Wait'. Your dog may not know whats going on first, and embrace you the first few times. Rest assured, consistency is key. You should do this until the dog waits completely at your command. Your Dog should have now learnt what wait means, and now you can move onto the next step.

This next step, you will need some treats, as you will be trying to replicate this in more realistic scenarios. Go walking around your garden, or street and sporadically sternly yell wait. If the Dog ignores you, hit it firmly as to know that it has done wrong, and say 'bad dog' (or whatever want, just keep it consistent throughout all punishment). If the Dog obliges and waits, reward it with a treat, and say 'good dog' (same as above, keep the praise consistent). Do this over time, and your dog will eventually grasp the term and put it into practice. This may take weeks for your dog to master, and once your dog has waited every time you've asked it to, you can gradually cut back on the reward however maintain the punishment.

(I'd recommend you stand on the opposite side as to entice the dog to come, which will reinforce the command)

THIS GUIDE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS I CANNOT FINISH IT IN ONE NIGHT. HOPEFULLY YOU ENJOY IT, AND LOOK FORWARD TO IT'S GRADUAL COMPLETION!



If you liked this guide check out my other guides:

Common Dog Breeds + Information!
Saving someones life when they're drunk.
How to quit (Anything!)
What you can do with a Command Prompt (CMD)​

 

[Tyler]

would love to see pictures added to this guide.

 

[malakadang]

would love to see pictures added to this guide.

I'll try get some pictures in.
Need to find time to sit down and work on the guide, Term breaks coming up soon though xD.

 

[Angel Gamees]

All dogs are different?

 

[malakadang]

All dogs are different?

The fundamentals are completely transferable.

The only difference would be the time required in order for a dog to learn the command, which is relative to the dogs intelligence level, based on it's genetic breed. Or the type of dog, eg. A German Shepherd is a natural Guard Dog, and as such, training it to Guard, or patrol a perimeter is a much less strenuous task than say a poodle, as it doesn't have the genetically physiological conditioned action.

 

[Falmar]

I like this guide please add some pictures

 

[malakadang]

Had some spare time:

Added some pictures.
Updated with how to teach your dog to wait.

I plan to complete several more soon as I'm now on term break, so check back frequently!