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Frosty, The Wandering Vagabond Cat
FROSTY, THE WANDERING VAGABOND CAT Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca For a long time, we had a four-pet home. Daisy the border collie mix and Bebe the dachshund/doberman mix. Witchie and Taz, the Siamese couple. Pumpkin wandered into this mess for a...
My Dog Has Fleas!
Fleas are a problem for dogs and their owners alike. These tiny insects will live on the body of your dog, sucking the animal's blood and laying eggs. The bites and presence of fleas will cause the dog to itch and if the dog happens to be allergic...
Surprising Health Benefits for Pet Owners
Did you know that there are key health benefits that can result from owning a pet? Having one can enhance your physical, mental and social wellbeing. 1. How can a pet help your physical health? Owning a dog, for instance, will encourage you to...
Tips On Buying A Dog
Beware Of The Impulse Buy
It is hard to resist the appeal of a puppy in a pet shop window, especially if it looks a little bit sad and wistful. These pups have already had a change of home and often a long journey from their original breeder....
Understanding Dog Fleas: How Fleas Breed & Affect Your Dog's Health
Fleas belong to the insect order Siphonaptera. They are common pests and may attack many mammals, including man. They can be a year round problem because they infest not only pets but also the home of the owner. Because of this, treatment of the pet...
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Dog Training: Advice To Using Positive Reinforcement And Rewards To Train Your Dog
Training dogs using positive reinforcement and reward training
has long been recognized as both highly effective for the owner
and a positive experience for the dog. Positive reinforcement
training is so important that it is the only method used to
train dangerous animals like lions and tigers for work in
circuses and in the movie and television industry.
Proponents of positive reinforcement swear by the effectiveness
of their techniques, and it is true that the vast majority of
dogs respond well to these training methods.
One reason that positive reinforcement training is so effective
is that is uses rewards to teach the dog what is expected of it.
When the dog performs the desired behavior, he is provided with
a reward, most often in the form of a food treat, but it could
be a scratch behind the ears, a rub under the chin or a pat on
the head as well. The important thing is that the dog is
rewarded consistently for doing the right thing.
Reward training has become increasingly popular in recent years,
but chances are some sort of reward training between humans and
dogs has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years.
When understanding what makes reward training so effective, some
knowledge of the history of humans and dogs is very helpful. The
earliest dogs were probably wolf pups that were tamed and used
by early humans for protection from predators, as alarm systems
and later for guarding and herding livestock.
It is possible that the wolf pups that made the best companions
were the most easily trained, or it is possible that these early
dogs were orphaned or abandoned wolf pups. Whatever their
origin, there is little doubt today that the vast variety of
dogs we see today have their origin in the humble wolf.
Wolf packs, like packs of wild dogs, operate on a strict pack
hierarchy. Since wolf and dog packs hunt as a group, this type
of hierarchy, and the cooperation it brings, is essential to the
survival of the species. Every dog in the pack knows his or
her
place in the pack, and except in the event of death or injury,
the hierarchy, once established, rarely changes. Every dog,
therefore, is hard wired by nature to look to the pack leader
for guidance. The basis of all good dog training, including
reward based training, is for the handler to set him or herself
up as the pack leader. The pack leader is more than just the
dominant dog, or the one who tells all the subordinates what to
do. More importantly, the pack leader provides leadership and
protection, and his or her leadership is vital to the success
and survival of the pack.
It is important for the dog to see itself as part of a pack, to
recognize the human as the leader of that pack, and to respect
his or her authority. Some dogs are much easier to dominate than
others. If you watch a group of puppies playing for a little
while, you will quickly recognize the dominant and submissive
personalities.
A dog with a more submissive personality will generally be
easier to train using positive reinforcement, since he or she
will not want to challenge the handler for leadership. Even
dominant dogs, however, respond very well to positive
reinforcement. There are, in fact, few dogs that do not respond
well to positive reinforcement, also known as reward training.
Positive reinforcement is also the best way to retrain a dog
that has behavior problems, especially one that has been abused
in the past. Getting the respect and trust of an abused dog can
be very difficult, and positive reinforcement is better than any
other training method at creating this important bond.
No matter what type of dog you are working with, chances are it
can be helped with positive reinforcement training methods.
Based training methods on respect and trust, rather than on
intimidation and fear, is the best way to get the most from any
dog.
About the author:
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Click Here => http://www.absolute-dog-training.com
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