How to train a dog at home?

If you plan to start training with a puppy, the best age to learn the basics is 4 months. Success depends on the following factors:

1. Motivation. For the dog to enjoy being involved in the training process, you need to get him interested in it. Therefore, every correct command should be rewarded with a treat, praise and petting.

    Timing - it is important to reward with a treat or praise and petting - only after the command is complete, but at the same time, AT ONCE. If you delay with a treat - the dog will not associate it with the action performed, the effect of fixing the command will not work. If the dog does not follow the command to the end and receives a reward before that moment, he will also not learn to follow the command correctly.

    Negative motivation, or negative reinforcement, is only used to stop unwanted (incorrect or even dangerous) behavior of the dog. However, if the dog has fulfilled the command, even if not immediately, distracted in the process or after several repetitions, but still fulfilled to the end - many scold the dog, which should not be done in any case. For example, if you gave the command "Come here!", the dog was stubborn for a long time, but after 5 minutes still came up - you must not scold the dog, otherwise he will understand it as a suppression of undesirable behavior and will stop to approach at all. You will achieve the opposite effect, which will be difficult to correct.


2. Readiness of the animal to work. For lessons to be productive, the following factors should be considered:

    The puppy should experience a slight hunger. This will make him try to win a treat and actively perform tasks. A full puppy's motivation is much lower, and in addition, you shouldn't strain the puppy after eating, as active games, running and jumping can cause gastrointestinal congestion;
    Before a class, take your puppy for a walk and let him go to the bathroom. Natural urges will distract dogs from the training process.

3. favorable weather conditions. If the weather outside is too hot, you should move the dog training to early morning when there is no scorching sun. Otherwise, the animal will become lethargic and have a hard time concentrating on his tasks. Also, you should not train your pet in the rain, as he will be distracted by the abundance of new smells.

4. External stimuli. They should be introduced gradually, as the command is learned. The first training of the dog is best done in a quiet place away from people, highways, places where other animals are walking, so that the pet is not distracted by anything. You can start by trying to give commands at home.

5. Master's attitude. When training your dog, you need to have a calm and friendly tone, even if the animal fails time after time. Your negative reaction can discourage your pet from practicing further. The more angry you get at him during a command, the more he gets confused. Re-examine your methodology, it may be that you are doing something wrong that is encouraging him to act incorrectly. For example, when teaching the "lie down" command, inexperienced trainers hold a piece of treat far away from the dog's face, causing him to crawl toward it.

How to train a dog at home?
What commands are useful to learn at home?

If you intend to pass the OKD or ZKS standards you can find all the necessary information about the rules of tests at the RKF (Russian Cynological Federation) website.

If you do the classes of training the dog just to make the animal controllable and to make it easier to live in society (to walk in the streets calmly, to react adequately to all external stimuli, etc.), it is necessary to teach him the following commands:

    "to me";
    "sit";
    "lie down";
    "place";
    "ew";
    "near."
    "voice";
    "fetch".

These commands are easy to learn-you'll be able to train your dog yourself and successfully teach them. But do not, under any circumstances, try to learn the SCA with your dog yourself. It should be studied only under the guidance of a professional dog trainer and after the OKD. Otherwise, you can damage the dog's psyche by such training, making it cowardly or overly aggressive. Only an expert can properly "put" the animal on the sleeve, teach how to respond to the swing, etc. Those who neglect these rules and conduct such training at home, most often then put the pet to sleep, as it becomes dangerous and its behavior cannot be controlled. No self-respecting dog trainer will teach a dog ZKS without first going through the full OKD course. It's like giving a five-year-old child a loaded assault rifle.