When you begin training, dog training aids are a great way to get started. Crates are a fantastic way to allow your dog to feel safe, and although it may seem like a cage to us, to a dog it actually makes them feel more secure. A crate is one training aid you won’t want to be without.

The other aid you wont want to be without is treats. Find out what your puppy loves best, and then give it to him for doing good things! Nothing is more effective.

Most of all enjoy it – these first few months a magical time and allow you to buuild a lifelong bond with your dog.

First of all, you need to realise that the crate must be a place for the dog to feel safe, secure and relaxed. That means you should never use the crate as a punishment. If your dog starts to see the crate as a negative place to be then all the benefits of having a crate trained dog will be lost. Also remember that while the cage might seem like a cruel cage to you, your dog won’t see it like that as long as you make it comfortable!

How To Crate Train A Dog

1. First of all you want your dog to get used to the crate. You can do this by leaving the crate in a prominent place with the door open. Don’t force the dog inside, just let it explore the crate naturally. Make it a safe and comforting place by putting soft bedding inside and maybe a few toys.

2. Once your dog is at ease with the crate then you could try putting a treat by the door. When your dog takes the treat give it praise. Repeat this over time, each time moving the treat further back into the crate.

3. Once your dog seems to be comfortable inside the crate, try slowly shutting the door for a short period of time. Repeat this with gradually longer times with the door shut. Eventually try leaving the room with the door shut.

Remember that it’s vital the crate is as comfortable as possible for the dog. Also remember that if your dog whines when you first shut the door, don’t open it again until it’s silent.

Crate training a dog should be one of the first things you should do with a new puppy because it has so many benefits.

Police Dog Training In History

Ever since two bloodhounds were dispatched by Sir Charles Warren to aid the Metropolitan London Police in their search for the elusive Jack the Ripper in 1888, police dogs have been a staple of many police departments in many federal jurisdictions all over the world.

In fact, police dog training can be traced as far back as the law enforcement procedures in the ancient Roman empire when canines were used to track escaped prisoners.

Even before the much ballyhooed Jack the Ripper case, in 1859, the Belgium police have already commissioned the usage of police dogs to aid law officers during their night shifts.

This rich history goes to show how capable dogs are in the maintenance of peace and order and in helping us achieve a priceless sense of security.

Police Dog Training Is Focused On Assisting In Law Enforcement Procedures

Unlike the general impression created by popular movies that star very intelligent dogs, being a police dog isn’t about law enforcement per se.  Being a police dog is all about assisting police officers in a variety of law enforcement procedures.

Hence, police dog training is focused on the many aspects of law enforcement assistance. These are:

- Chase and hold.  Police dog training may teach the subject how to pursue and hold a suspect in flight.  Police dogs will have faster speed and better mobility than police officers, after all.

- Tracking.  Tracking is an inherent skill of the canine specie.  With their superior sense of smell, canines who undergo police dog training can track missing people or things via association with scent left behind on objects readily available for the police department.

- Corpse detection.  Police dog training also produces search dogs which are used to cover wide expanses in search of deceased individuals whose bodies have been hidden to hide evidence of the crime.

- Sniffing out illegal substances.  This is, perhaps, the most popular aspect of police dog training, as most of the commissioned police dogs that people encounter are trained to sniff out banned substances like illegal drugs, bombs, gunpowder and the likes.  These are the police dogs we often see in airports, malls and venues where dignitaries and state officials gather

Can Any Canine Be Eligible For Police Dog Training?

Not all breeds of dogs are eligible for police dog training.  Only dogs belonging to the sports breed can be accepted in training academies.  And not just any dog from such a breed will be accepted.  An applicant will have to undergo a battery of tests before he can be subjected to police dog training.

It is a common misconception that only male dogs can be eligible for police dog training.  After all, a female dog in heat may just create more commotion instead of helping establish order, right?  However, even female dogs can be accepted into police dog training centres.  They just have to be temporarily retired whenever they’re in heat, whenever they’re pregnant and whenever they are rearing pups who are less than 2 months old.

First of all consider joining a good dog training class – preferably one that has expertise in training your breed. This gives a chance for your dog to interact with other puppies as well as teaching you and the dog how to train effectively. German Shepherds are very intelligent breeds and love to learn, so stimulation and exercise is extremely important. Training classes can provide the much needed mental stimulation.

Like any dog the earlier you start training the better. If possible you should start light training from almost the moment you first get the puppy. This doesn’t mean that training an older dog is impossible, but it will be harder. Training from a young age is even more important for German Shepherds at even as puppies they can be quite large and boisterous.

Like any dog German Shepherd training requires patience and a solid routine. Try to train in short bursts spread throughout the day so that your dog gets used to training sessions. Keep the training fun and if possible use games to keep the dog interested. The more fun you and the dog have training the easier it will be.

Remember that if you have a family try to get them all involved in training. It is important that each family member knows how you are trying to train the dog so there is a consistency in your training methods. This will avoid the dog getting confused.

German Shepherds may try to test boundaries during training. It is important to carry on with your training routine as planned even if the dog does go through a phase of ignoring your commands. It needs to know you are the leader of the pack.

Normally puppies learn bite inhibition by playing with their siblings. If the puppy bites too hard while playing then the other puppies will let it know with a high pitched yelp or cry. This helps the dog o understand when it is biting too hard.

This is why puppies naturally mouth or gently bite when they are young as it is a natural thing for them to do. Because of this it’s very important to never punish your puppy for mouthing. Instead use it as a tool to teach puppy bite inhibition.

How To Train Your Puppy In Bite Inhibition

The best way to train your puppy in bite inhibition is to act like its siblings would. So if he bites you, make a high pitched “oww” sound and then walk away. This teaches the puppy that it has bitten too hard, and also that biting won’t get attention. Make sure the sound you make is short and sharp and that you walk away from the puppy immediately so it knows why you are ignoring it.

Keep repeating this until your puppy learns that biting isn’t the right thing to do.

You should perform bite inhibition training even when the puppy doesn’t bite hard enough to hurt. A well trained dog will never bite, even playfully, so it’s best to try to train the dog that it is wrong for its teeth to make contact with human skin – even in a playful way.

Bite Inhibition Tips

• Playing with your puppy is a great way to train bite inhibition. When the puppy goes to bite you will walk away, letting it know that play time has stopped. Before long the puppy will associate the end of play time with biting and won’t bite anymore.
• Punishing your dog or losing patience will only hinder your training efforts. Remember that puppies naturally learn through biting and mouthing, you just need to train them to be able to control it.

If your dog isn’t a puppy but has still not learned bite inhibition it is possible to train it, but it will take more time and patience.

Choosing the right training class isn’t always easy though. How can you tell which classes are the best? What should you look out for in a training class? Below are some guidelines for choosing the best training class for your dog.

1. While an important aspect of a training class is allowing your dog to socialise with other dogs, the main reason you are there is for training. Be wary of classes which seem to be more about socializing than actual training.
2. Like human schools, the fewer dogs per teacher the better. Try to go to a class with no more than 10-12 dogs and a maximum of five dogs per teacher.
3. Asking your friends, family and vet is a great way to get a recommendation for a training class.
4. Never dive straight into a class before you know what it’s like. Go along to one session without your dog just to check how well organised it is.
5. Ask the instructors at the class about their experience and background. The best class teachers will have an extensive knowledge of training your specific breed.

These are some general guidelines for choosing the right class, but the best way to find a great class is to see which ones other people have had success with. If other dog owners have been to a class and it’s really helped with their training then go and watch a session.

Remember, training classes should be in addition to your own training and not as a substitute. You can’t expect your class instructor to train your dog for you but they will help guide you in the right direction. Training at home is vital for success.

The detractors of positive dog training argue that how can you use it when your dog does something wrong? However it really can work even in this case. You simply issue a command to stop what your dog is doing (i.e. down if the dog is jumping up) and reward it when it happens.

The reason positive dog training is so effective is that the dog quickly learns which actions means he gets treats. It’s human nature to want to punish a dog after it does something wrong, but in reality this only causes confusion as the dog won’t know what it has done wrong. If you come home to find a mess in the house because of the dog then punishing him won’t do any good. He simply can’t relate the punishment to the earlier action.

That leads to an important point – always give the treat or reward immediately after the correct action to make sure your dog associates the treat with that behaviour.

Remember when dogs to misbehave it is usually to get your attention. If this happens, just ignore the dog until it stops and then turn your attention back to it. It won’t take long for the dog to realise what you want.

The difficulty in training a deaf dog comes in when you have to communicate with it. However while you can’t use verbal commands, hand signals can work just as well and allow you to give all the commands you need.

Just like when you use verbal commands for a dog, the hand signals need to be clear and precise. You also need to make sure all your hand signals are different enough from each other so there won’t be any confusion. The simpler the better in most cases – just make sure your signals are distinguishable at large distances.

Training A Deaf Dog – The First Step

Because your dog won’t be able to identify the pitch and tone of your voice to know when it’s done something wrong or right the first thing you need to do is teach the dog the “well done” or “yes” signal.

This is usually simple enough, just associate the signal with a treat that you give your dog for good behaviour. It will soon learn that the signal is good and he should try to see it more often!

Training A Deaf Dog – Getting Attention

As your dog is deaf you won’t have the use of his name to get his attention, so you need to come up with a hand signal for that too. This signal can be anything you like as long as it is clear and simple.

To get your dog to look at your just use a treat again. When the dog looks up perform the hand signal.

These first two steps are the foundations of training a deaf dog. Make sure you and the dog are comfortable with the “well done” and attention hand signals before moving on.

Training A Deaf Dog – Actual Commands

Now your dog knows when you’re pleased with it and you can get its attention, you have everything you need to start training. Once these basic steps are out the way, training becomes much like it would for a dog who has prefect hearing.

In short, you get the dog to perform the action you want it to and then reward it for doing it while issuing a specific hand signal.

1. If you have a new puppy, train it as early as possible
It’s entirely possible to train an older dog – but it does take more work! The earlier you can start training your puppy the better. There is no minimum age to start training, you can start the less intensive basics almost as soon as you get the puppy. This will go a long way to making dog training easier in the future.

2. Make sure you don’t give your dog reason to disobey
When training, it can be tempting to give commands constantly even if you can’t always enforce them. Never, ever give a command to your dog that you can’t enforce if the dog doesn’t do as you want it to. This will only teach your dog that it can obey your commands when it wants.

3. Avoid repeating commands
You want to train your dog to respond immediately and at the first command, so avoid repeating commands. Each command should be said once, in a clear and concise manner. After this you need to enforce it in a gentle way.

4. Train your dog when it’s hungry and not sleepy
If you train your dog straight after a meal it is going to be a lot less bothered about the treats you’ll use as a reward. If it’s hungry though, it will want to please to get the treats which can aid the training process. Of course that doesn’t mean starve a dog before training! Like humans, dogs also learn best when they are well rested and aware, so try not to do training at night.

5. Train in short bursts
Dogs – especially puppies – have short attention spans. That means your training will be a lot more effective if you split it up into short bursts rather than one long session.

1. Word Of Mouth

Ask around your friends and relatives to see what they’ve thought of the trainers they’ve used. If you can get a recommendation from someone you trust it is worth 100 times more than any other source, so ask everyone you know who has a dog which trainer they used.

2. Research Reputation

If you can’t get any recommendations from people you know personally, try people who are in the pet care business. That means your local vet, dog societies and breeder clubs. They will often be able to point you towards to most reputable dog trainers.

3. Find Out What Methods They Use

The best dog trainers know how to train dogs without resorting to outdated, aggressive methods. Ask about how they train their dogs and whether they ever used abusive handling techniques. If they do you should probably keep looking for a different trainer.

4. Are They Up To Date?

Like any profession, the best dog trainers keep up to date on what is going on in their industry. Try to find out whether they spend time researching the latest techniques.

5. Do they genuinely care for dogs?

If you are going to trust someone with your pet, you need to be sure that they have a genuine love of dogs and will care for yours properly.

6. Extensive Experience

Just because a dog trainer has been in the business for a long time doesn’t mean they will be the best, but often experience can count for a lot.

It’s important to remember that it is very easy for people to call themselves dog trainers. While they might have the best intentions in mind if they don’t have the right skills you shouldn’t entrust your dog training to them.

In general when trying to choose the right dog trainer you should only go with someone who has been recommended to you by at least one trustworthy source.