Contrary to what many people think, a dog trainer does not train a dog. No. A dog trainer trains the owner of the dog to train the dog. There is a good reason why the dog trainer trains the owner rather than the dog. The reason is that from a dog's point of view, he can have only one boss. There can be only one alpha dog in his pack (family). If the trainer were to do a foolish thing and train the dog, the dog would then consider the TRAINER as the alpha dog of his pack. The dog would obey the trainer, but the owner would still have an apparently untrained dog because the dog would only obey his alpha dog ? the trainer.

There is an old saying in the South that goes, "if you think you are so tough, try ordering another man's dog around." The fact is that you will not have any luck at all in ordering another man's dog around, or another woman's dog around, either. Dogs have only one master. That is why dog trainers train owners to train their dogs.

There is almost a mystical connection between a human and his or her dog. Dogs have the capacity to give all of their love and devotion to one human ? their human. I don't intend to offend cat lovers, but the fact is that no other animal on earth has formed a bond with humans that are as strong and as lasting as dogs.

I think the credit for this human/dog connection must be given to the dog. Dogs have adapted to living with humans in the human's environment rather than the other way around. There is simply no devotion greater on earth than a dog's devotion to his master, and humans can have more than one dog, but a dog never has but one master.

Tags: dog agility training, canine training, k 9 training, train a dog, dog trainings, train your puppy

A positive outcome needs to be a possibility no matter what a trainer (or owner) is attempting to teach a dog to do. You aren't going to be able to teach a dog to balance himself on the tip of his tail. That isn't possible. And you aren't going to teach a puppy not to chew. Chewing is a necessary part of the puppy's development. Chewing helps a puppy cut his teeth, and chewing helps him to develop the jaw muscles that he needs. So don't attempt the impossible. You CAN, however, teach what is and what is not acceptable for him to chew on.

The first step is to remove all of the objects that the puppy is attempting to chew, as much as you can. You obviously can't disassemble the dining room table. But you can put your shoes into the closet and close the door. The next thing that you need to do is to provide the puppy with acceptable chew-on things like chew toys or rawhide bones. When the puppy chews on a "right," thing, give him lots of praise. Tell him how wonderful he is. When the puppy chews on a "wrong" thing, stop the chewing and firmly say "No," then hand him an acceptable chew object. It won't take long for him to be able to distinguish between the acceptable and the unacceptable.

Most puppies simply outgrow their need to chew on anything and everything in the same way a human baby outgrows the need to put everything into their mouth. But all dogs do not just "outgrow" the need or the desire to chew. If you have a dog that continues to chew long after his puppy need to chew has been fulfilled, the best thing to do is simply to provide him with acceptable chew toys and let him chew on them.

Tags: potty training dogs, dog behavior problems, obedience training for dogs, puppy training, dog care, agility training

Sometimes dog owners think that once they have signed their dogs up for a basic dog obedience class, their work is done. "There," they think, "now my dog will learn how to behave himself!"

Whoa! Not so fast! Just signing a dog up for an obedience class isn't going to turn an unruly dog into a well-behaved one. There are basically three mistakes that owners make during the process of teaching their dogs obedience.

The first mistake that owners make is that they are INCONSISTENT. Dog training does not happen during the hour or so at the weekly or biweekly dog training class. No! Dog training happens constantly. Dog training never stops. You must constantly work with your dog at home to help him to learn to obey your commands. The dog trainer from whom you are taking the dog training course isn't training the dog. He or she is actually training YOU to train your dog.

The second mistake that owners make is that they are IMPATIENT. Dog training does NOT happen over night. You aren't going to take your untrained dog to an obedience class on Monday night and magically have a well-trained and obedient dog on Tuesday morning.

The third mistake that owners make is that they are WORKING when they are training their dog. Dogs don't understand the concept of work. Dogs see their training sessions as PLAY, and they see their training sessions as quality time that they are getting to spend with you.

So here is the bottom line. If you want to have a well-trained, obedient, and loving dog, sign him up for an obedience class and then keep your own head screwed on straight. The dog will learn but only if you are CONSISTENT, PATIENT, and HAVING FUN!

Tags: train your puppy, obedience training for dogs, dog accessories, dog care, train dogs, train a dog