How to Make Training Fun For Your Dog

Training time is not just when you teach your dog tricks and behavioral etiquette; it is also when you get to bond with your pet. A positive nurturing environment will encourage your pet to learn better, rather than a contrasting environment where your dog is anxious or apprehensive about training sessions.

treats and

are great ways to keep your pet interested and excited about training sessions. Of course, they should not be the only motivation for your pet to look forward to training sessions. You want to mix up the training tricks and location from time to time, so your dog does not get bored. Try taking your dog to the park instead of the same route that you take every day. Teach him tricks other than the usual “stay” and “heel”.Mix it up so he has your attention. Also, stay positive during the training session so your dog picks up on the positive energy. Dogs are perceptive of how their owners feel, and if you have a bored or frustrated disposition, they will not associate training with a positive sentiment.

Don’t make your training sessions too long or your pet will lose attention. You want to keep your training sessions for not more than 10-15 minutes. If you notice your pet losing focus then take a short break and then get back to training. Ideally, you do not want to wait till you wear out your pet’s attention span to bring the training sessions to a halt, you want to wrap up the training while you still have your pet’s attention.Of course, introducing distractions while your pet is training is also an important part. This helps gauge if your pet has actually picked up the trick or behavior through repetition and will act accordingly in a non-training scenario. However, you do not want to do this until your pet has mastered a trick or behavior.

You want training time to be something that your dog looks forward to, rather than something that he finds unpleasant. You can observe your dog’s reaction to see if he is enjoying or trying to avoid training time. If your dog perceives training time to be something stressful or unpleasant, you’ll probably see him display responses that mean he isn’t happy; some pets may even try to avoid confrontation of these stressful situations by diverting their attention from it and fooling around.If you find your pet diverting attention to a bird perched on a tree or chasing squirrels, then it need not necessarily mean that he isn’t enjoying the training session. It simply means that he is distracted, and you can move your training session indoors to make sure it is fruitful.