Designed For Pet Owners

In today's world of fast-moving cars and crowded cities and suburbs, the life of a dog is truly a dog's life if he is improperly trained.  The many hazards of living mean the survival of the fittest - and to be fit for today's world a dog must be properly trained to obey his master (or mistress).  The methods are standard with dog trainers - positive training which relies on encouragement and reward, either by praise from the trainer or food, and negative training where mistakes are punished.  Combination of these methods is common.

With either reward or punishment, animal training requires that each step be taught slowly and completely before the next step is introduced.  Rewards (positive training) can be praise by tone of voice and petting, or food such as a favorite tidbit, dog candy or biscuits.

We believe that the best and most enduring type of training is positive training, using only the master's voice in praise.  Dogs trained with candy or others foods come to rely on this rather than on the person making the command.  Of course, this does not mean that you should not occasionally reward your obedient dog with a bit of his favorite food.  In extreme cases, you may have to use punitive measures once in awhile to convince him of the error of his ways, but this should not be the standard training method for your dog.  Dogs trained negatively with punishment - and some trainers advocate swiches or chains thrown near the dogs, or hitting - may become vicious.  By and large, most dogs respond to violence in kind.  Dogs are not born vicious; they are made so.  The uncontrollable dog could have been saved by thoughtful training work when he was young or less wild.  Sadly, in most cases, the dog who is mean or wild has to be destroyed, or is killed as a result of his foolhardy actions.

There are two types of training your dog can have - general training which makes it possible for him to live with the family in peace, and specialized training to qualify for the CKC Obedience Trials.  Of course, you can also teach your dogs many tricks such as playing dead or begging, for your own enjoyment.  Hunting dogs, and other working breeds need special training.  It is most often taught by experts in the field rather than by lay persons.

When you begin training, remember the following; your puppy is anxious to obey you, and is really trying even if he doesn't quite succeed at first.  Every ounce of puppy love wants to please you.  If he can't quite make it first time, be PATIENT. He will make the grade in time when his muscles are all working properly and he has mastered the first steps.  Be CONSISTENT.  Use the same word in the same way to his success or lack of success.  Don't laugh at something he does one time and then punish him for it the next.  Use your VOICE, not your hand, to punish.  Very little can be accomplished by beating a dog except to frighten him.