by Missy HoneyBea

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: November 05, 2010

Who doesn't want their dog trained? How wonderful it would be to have a dog that stays when you tell him to, who doesn't bark at the people walking by, and who doesn't jump up on strangers! When I help out at the Humane Society and see how many people give there dogs to animal shelters because they are "not trainable" or "misbehaved", it makes me very sad. The dogs aren't the problem, how you try to train them is. Also, it doesn't really matter how old your dog is, as long as it is older than about 8 weeks. The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" isn't true. It is just harder to teach older dogs because they have a mind of their own.

Anyways, all of the wonderful things I said above are within reach, you just have to train your dog right! The poor little dogs just want to please you, and without your help, they don't exactly know what it is you want them to do! The first command anyone should teach there dog if they want to make progress is 'sit'. Sit is what all of the other tricks and behaviors are based off of. Just follow the steps below to get a well trained dog in almost no time at all!

Step 1: The Treats

When picking treats for your dog, you must choose wisely. Since you will be feeding these treats to your dog daily, you need to make sure they are healthy. Also, make sure your dog will do almost anything for them. It will make training a lot easier.

Step 2: The Training Area/Time

When I train my dog, I turn off all noises and make sure that my brothers aren't in the house. Any other distractions also need to be gone. Peaceful and quite places are the best training areas until your dog has mastered the trick.

I work with my dog, Holly, in the middle of the day, when she has the most energy. I have recently learned that most other trainers teach in the middle of the day, too. Make sure that you sometimes change the rooms you train in so that your dog doesn't associate the trick and treat to the room.

Step 3: The Trick- Part 1

Hold the treat in front of your dog's nose, to get his or her attention. Then slowly move the treat up and towards your dogs back. This will get your dog to follow the treat with his or her nose. Also, decide what hand gesture you want to use, as you will use it a little bit later. I personally face my hand palm up and then move it up slowly, but the choice is up to you. Just make sure that you don't switch gestures after you start using one, as it will confuse your dog.

Step 4: The Trick- Part 2

Keep moving the treat

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