If your dog training isn't going as planned, you might have a lot of dog behavior questions concerning your pet. However, often the problems are not due to the behavior of your dog, but by the behavior of you - the trainer. When training dogs, there are a few things you need to keep in mind, in order for it to be a successful and rewarding experience.
Training your dog is one of the most difficult and possibly frustrating tasks you can undertake. The only activity that requires more patience is raising human children. Many people don't have enough patience in themselves to train their dogs. Therefore, while you are training your dog, you may have to train yourself to be patient as well.
When training your dog, keep in mind that daily sessions are needed to reinforce the desired behavior you want. Half an hour to an hour time slots will be most rewarding. Remember that no matter how much time has gone by, if you are starting to lose your control or your patience you must end your training session.
Your goal should be to increase the "time to boiling point" bit by bit every day. Don't forget that you and your dog are working together in this training and that your dog is only able to understand commands at the level of a two-year-old toddler. This is even true for breeds that are easily trained. There may be exceptions to this, but those are few and far between.
When it comes to dog behavior questions, you need to go back to nature. In the wild, dogs are pack animals. Their pack has a hierarchy. The alphas are the leaders of the pack. The omegas are passive and often behave fearfully. There are also individuals that fall in between those two extremes. If you intend to successfully train your dog, you must be the alpha in your pack. At all points, you must be training your dog. Don't let your dog train you. Even if it feels like that is happening, you must still actually be in charge.
When giving commands, be firm, but do not yell. Do not get angry with your dog when they do not obey. Rather than becoming frustrated with your dog, persist in your practice. Also, do not let the dog become the alpha of your pack. Your goal in training should not be to stroke your ego or to feel like you have power over your dog. The goal should be to have a safer environment for your dog and your family.
This won't an always be easy - some dogs are natural leaders. But an even in purely wild packs that role can and does change an among and an individuals when the more assertive an individual insists on taking it. Be consistent don't give up and your dog will follow your orders.
Even the best-trained dogs will not an always do what you want when you want. Expecting a dog to too-quickly an understand a new command or to unfailingly remember a previously learned one is a recipe for frustration. The dogs' memories work very differently from humans so you need to keep this in mind and not expect him to act like one. Take the time to learn your an individual dog's capacity and limitations.
Breeds vary in their ability to be trained as do individual dogs. There are dogs more energetic and spirited by nature such as terriers, retrievers and Dalmatians. Some are more calm like basset hounds and collies. Age plays an important role too. A ten-week old puppy will not pay attention the same way a three-year old dog will.
You are trying to teach the dog good behavior, so don't create any confusing dog behavior questions in your pet by exhibiting bad behavior yourself. Help your dog understand that good behavior will be rewarded and keep punishment to a minimum. Your dog should not be learning to be afraid of you, but to trust you completely.