Any breed of dog can be house trained. As soon as a puppy is 4-5 months old, he is ready for training. But in order to bring up a four-legged friend, you need a strong character and a firm hand.

Training is done by the “carrot and stick” method. The whip here in the figurative sense, it does not mean that it is necessary to beat the animal. But to shout or to influence the noise on the disorderly pet is necessary. The carrot means praise and treats for obedience as a reward.

Kinologists share with dog owners useful tips on how to train the animal so that it will bear fruit.

Choosing the right treats

Training with dog food is a bad idea. For a dog, it is tasty, but ordinary and not interesting food. You need to choose exactly what is a treat. For example, cooked sausage, galettes, cut up sausages or non-fatty cheese. The dog should really want the reward and try to do the command as hard as he can.

Teaching your dog his name

Say your pet’s name as often as possible, and be sure to say it in a friendly tone. Call your dog and when he responds, reward him with a treat.

Start with a simple command

It’s best to start with simple commands. First, teach your dog to come to you when you call him. Say, “Come here!” if you’re going to feed him or want to play with him. Then the command will be associated with something positive. When you are outside, you can just call your puppy to you and when he comes over, give him a treat. Then, if you call him when needed, he’ll be ready to be given something tasty.

Teaching him to focus on his master

For a puppy to become dependent on his owner, he needs to be trained to look for you without distractions. On a walk, let him go out to play, and then walk about ten meters away and stand in a half-turn. The dog will not immediately notice that you are not there, but then he will look for you. When the puppy comes to you, wait a few seconds and only then turn around and praise him. Each time you do this, increase the pause between the praise and when the dog comes to you. He will sit and wait for you to pay attention to him and learn to focus his attention only on you.

Place training

You can’t let your dog go wherever he likes in the apartment. He must have his own place. A puppy should be taught to have a place right away, because it is almost impossible to explain this to an adult dog. Organize a place for your pet – put a blanket, a pillow or a soft house in a corner. When he falls asleep, move him to this corner and put all his toys in it. Let him understand that this is his home.

Learn the word “no”

Your dog needs to know exactly what he can and cannot do. He needs to understand the word “no.” Say it without yelling, but firmly. At the same time, you can put your hands at your sides and slightly hover over the animal. The dog will see your superiority. From the first months the puppy must understand that he is not the master, that he must obey. You must be firm, even if you feel sorry for the dog.

A few helpful tricks

Here are some simple secrets to success that can help you:

• Don’t praise your dog beforehand, or he may misunderstand the command. For example, he will only squat and jump up, not sit.
• Give plenty of treats. No one likes to work for crumbs. Your dog will quickly lose interest if you give him too little treats.
• Change the treats from time to time so they don’t become routine for the animal. It should always be something desirable and very tasty.
• The better the pet learns the commands, the less treats should be given. He should get used to doing what he needs to do over time just for verbal encouragement.

Dogs are very intelligent animals. It often takes them only a few days to memorize a command. The main thing is to practice regularly and in stages. On a walk, devote at least half an hour to learning and repeating commands.

Love your pet and in time they will learn to obey just out of love for their owner!