How to Train a Dog

Hello and welcome to How to Train a Dog for Beginners. I was planning to have a more formal introduction but decided to get right to the point. If you are looking to properly train a puppy or older dog then you've come to the right place. You will find an awesome collection of tips and tricks used by actual professional dog trainers.

I've decided to keep my first post rather general for people who are just beginning to learn about how to train a dog. You'll often see me refer to Boxers as they are my favorite breed of all time but the dog training techniques used here can be used to train a German Shepherd, train a Great Dane or even train a Yorkie... you get the point.

You've probably also already noticed the amount of conflicting advice on the net. I seeped through a tremendous amount of dog training information and compiled a list of general attributes that you, the dog owner must have to become successful in training a dog.

How to Train a Dog

Introduction & General Tips

No matter what shape, size, color or breed your dog is trainable. I want you to say this out loud until it sticks to your head :) A well trained dog will be a happy and healthy lifelong companion. And if you are here then chances are you have a dog the needs to be trained. Just for fun I want to list the top 10 dogs in the United States:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle
6. Boxer
7. Dachshund
8. Poodle
9. Shih Tzu
10. Bulldog

Here are some general tips to learn how to train a dog.

1. If you want to learn how to train a dog then you have to learn patience. Patience is virtue in all walks of life but this is especially true when it comes to training a puppy or dog. Just like us humans, puppies and dogs aren't born with a sense of what is right and wrong and it is up to you to teach them. Their will be mistakes and hurdles to overcome but if you are patient and consistent you will reap the rewards of proper dog training.

2. Potty training a dog is absolutely crucial and is probably one of the top reasons why dogs end up in shelters. Young puppies do not have strong bladders and must be taken out regularly. I've listed this potty training aspect in the how to train a dog introduction because it's one of those things that you must begin as soon as you bring your puppy or dog home.

3. Never hit your puppy or dog as it will not benefit and will actually set you back in your dog training. Hitting your dog will actually make her lose trust in you. If you want to learn how to train your dog then you must begin by knowing that you should never use physical punishment.

4. Make you dog training sessions as fun as possible. This means that in order for your dog to learn during the training sessions you must reward your dog with a variety of treats, toys and verbal praise.

5. Understand your dog's body language

Dogs user their entire body to communicate with their surroundings. Pay close attention to their eyes and ears as they will often give you clues to their current emotional state. Also, their heads, tail and body will also contribute to your dog's impulses and help you in your dog training endeavor.

6. Understand you dog's verbal cues

It's no secret that dogs are one of the most verbally expressive pets us humans own. You must learn to understand your dog's barks and whines and more importantly how to react. In later posts I will discuss this in more detail including how to stop a dog from barking and how to stop your dog from whining.

I understand that this post was very general but that was my intention. If you want to learn how to train a dog you have to start from the beginning. Here are some future posts you will find on this blog:

How to Obedience Train a Dog
How to Crate Train a Dog
How to Train a Boxer Dog (my favorite breed :)
And much more

I hope you enjoyed my first post and stay tuned for some more tips in tricks on how to train a dog.