by Ruby Gill

Created on: August 12, 2008

A well behaved dog is a reflection on its owner. Good training is essential in being able to integrate a dog into society. In other words, the training that the dog receives will say a lot about how he behaves around other people. Of course, personality has much to do with it but the way the owner handles the dog is usually what determines his character.

The best time to train a dog is when it is a puppy. Regardless of the breed or its nature, socialising is a major factor in a dog's development. If you have a timid dog and keep him inside, the chances are is that he is going to stay that way. If you have a boisterous dog and do not socialise him enough, the next time you do take him out it will end up jumping on someone, even if it means well. And not everybody takes kindly to being knocked down by a hefty Rottweiler or being bitten on the ankles by a snappy terrier.

Taking a puppy out, even if it's just to the high street for a few minutes a day, will get it used to being around people. It will also learn to differentiate between passing public and people who may be a threat. Meeting other dogs is also good for the dog's maturity.

To teach a dog good manners, you also need to establish the hierarchy i.e. you as the owner are in charge, and the dog is sub-ordinate. There are simple but effective ways to do this; when opening a door to go through, ensure that the dog is behind you and does not push its way to the front. Dogs are clever animals, if they think that they can push you out of the way to where it wants to go they will realise that they can do this in other areas too. And if you were opening a door and a person pushed you out of the way to go first, wouldn't you think that that was bad manners? It's also for the dog's safety, by ensuring that they wait until you have walked through or have given the command to go you will have prevented them from running into possible danger.

Another way to show who's in charge is by giving the dog the command to wait before it can eat. That way you are in control of when the dog eats, and showing the dog that he cannot eat until you say so. Doing this during the first few months of training with a dog is the best time for him to learn, and then you need only do it every now and again to remind him.

A dog will need good training to be well-mannered and obedient. Trying to teach a dog to be vicious' is asking for trouble and leads to sad cases of where dogs may attack people unprovoked, because it appears to have picked

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