Dog Intelligence

Don’t underestimate your dog’s ability to learn and be trained.

The March 2008 National Geographic has a story that includes information about a 6 year old Border Collie that understands 340 words. At 10 weeks old she sat on command and soon after that was learning names of objects that she would then go and retrieve. She also knows 15 people by name.

Find information on locating a good breeder.

House Training Older Dogs

Here is a recent question from a subscriber about her older dog.

I KNOW how to crate train a puppy.   This is a rescue dog, 7 year old, male lab/mix that spent his life outside on a leash.  He barely even knows his name.   He is urinating on EVERYTHING, lawn furniture, and he is marking in the house and I can’t have this at all & I can’t watch him 24/7.

I also have a 5 year old purbred choc. Lab female that I have housetrained & I’ve raised a puppy for Guiding Eyes for the blind for the first 8 months of his training.     I don’t know ho to teach an older dog…………

Thank you ~Nancy

Click on the following link for my suggestions:  Common House Training Problems

Comment from a Reader With an Aggressive Dog

Here is a very instructive comment from a reader of our free dog training tips at http://www.artofdogtraining.com

Hello

Thanks again for the article on growling

We have been doing everything as advised and written

Its all a matter of trust and I believe fear

A long process, but Winnie is starting the understand through commands and praise

what is good and what is not.

He is very good with other dogs. Sweet and playful. Children as well.

I have taken him out of our bedroom completely and he sleeps in his kennel

in the room next to ours.
We eat first & go out the door first. When he plays outside (where he is off leash) we make

sure we stand together and play with him. If he misbehaves we ignore him or turn our backs.

Patience and more patience is key in our home. I had the opportunity to give him back to the breeder just weeks after buying him, but we decided to work with him. How could we have known what

we were up against.

I also believe all of his bad habits stem from the breeder. Although it was pretty

hard to recognize at the time. Winnie seemed fine in her home, happy and playful. However,

looking back in retrospect there were

signs that I just didn’t see.

Have a great day

Thanks for all your e-mails

Will keep you posted.

Regina

The Importance of Training Your Dog

 Obedience training is a means of letting your dog cope better with it’s immediate environment. It grants every dog an easier life and makes them easier to live with. Training your dog will give you more opportunity to spend more time with your beloved pet, no matter where you are going and who you are going with.
 
 So get in their and give your dog a nice pat and take it out for training. A few magic words like ‘heel’, ‘down’, ‘stay’, ‘come’ and ‘sit’, will change your relationship with your favorite companion forever.

Resources for training your dog

Dog Training

Whether old or young, your dog will benefit from training, and you will too.  Training helps build your relationship and helps the dog feel more comfortable with the way he interacts with his/her surroundings.  Dog training also helps keep your dog’s mind and body strong and active.