What Sort Of Dog Training Equipment Do You Need?

By Christopher James

While training a dog you will need certain type of specialized equipment. The old ways of giving treats to the dog or ordering in a stern voice is applied only for teaching the basic of the daily routine like teaching to sit, fetching something etc. If the training involves more professional acts, then you must consider having some specific items used for training a dog.

If you're just trying to teach your dog to sit, you probably don't need a bunch of equipment. However, if you have trying to teach your dog to do tricks as well as run around a track for something like a dog show, you're going to need a little more than just plain old dog treats.

Sit, Stay And Roll Over

People like to teach their dog all sorts of tricks. Tricks that are common are rolling over, ordering to sit, and stay. These are comparatively easy than the other tricks. Some dogs are house trained as well, like fetching the news paper, or carrying things for the master etc. Some tricks include playing dead and shaking the paw. But these tricks need some special equipment to train the dog. Basically you will at least need a choke collar to begin the training.

A choke collar is attached to a chain by a loop. As the dog pulls the chain it chokes by the neck. It is harmless, but the dog learns to stay put. A leash is also used to train the dog. A whistle can also work as training equipment; a clicker is also preferred by some dog owners. Treats are commonly used to train the dog.

Reinforcement

While using training equipments to teach your dog you should focus on reinforcement rather than on punishments. It is completely your fault and not the dog's if it's not listening to what ever you are saying. If your dog is doing something that you like then make sure you reinforce that particular behavior. When the dog sits in a particular way that you want then give it some treat or a pat or tell the dog how good a girl or boy it is when it does some rolling over they way you want.

All dogs like being praised and will always repeat the act you like. They will know by your acts if you have liked their behavior. A punishment on the other hand scares a dog and out of confusion does all the wrong things. It may sometimes be not capable of understanding what you want. Therefore be a little patient and train it with reinforcement.

Training Your Dog

Start with the choke chain and the leash as the basic learning process of the dog training. Set up some goals with it, so that your dog knows the boundaries and does not stray away. Not letting it out of the training ground is the first lesson to be taught to a dog. The whistle does the job of catching the attention of the dog towards you. The clicker also sends the message to your dog about what you would like it to do. Instructing becomes easier with the use of whistle or a clicker. After doing the trick successfully, remember to treat him regularly so that it encourages the dog to perform better and better and obey your orders. The vital aspects of training are to be consistent and determined. Training a dog takes time; it cannot be achieved in a day or two. The training can last about a few weeks or more depending on the dog's nature, after such vigorous training you can say that the dog is trained.

Who knows, you may be able to work with dog agility training equipment so that it can do real tricks like a police or circus dog. That will be way in the future, however. For now, you'd better stick to the basics so as not to confuse your new best friend. - 31866

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