How To Train A Large Breed Dog
After buying a puppy that will grow to be a large dog, it is extremely necessary to invest time and energy into training them as they grow so that when they are large they are well behaved and know the rules. There are so many manners and tricks that a young dog can pick up quickly that will make your life less hectic after the dog has grown. The dog that jumps up on people, poops in the corner, and tears up the newspaper in the morning is the dog that is put to sleep before too long. Raising a big dog to be useful and well behaved will make it fun for the family and others who will be around it. Knowing how to care for your large dog and how to train it are things that you need to learn.
Training a dog all starts with consistent and straightforward commands. Make eye contact with them and show them what you want them to do saying the word that goes with that action. If you say the word every instance the action is to happen, they will be able to associate that word with the action immediately. As they learn how to do the action you want them to do, the word will make its way into their heads where it will stay always. Make sure to have treats with you when training your dog. Treats are an incentive for doing what you are asking them to do. Slowly replace the treats with verbal and physical rewards by petting them and letting them know that you are happy with what they are doing. Dogs love those little treats and will respond immediately to them, but it turns out they love attention from their owners far more and will respond because they really do care about making their owner happy. If they know that every time they hear a certain command and do the action that goes with it that you will be happy, they will do it every time without fail.
There is a list of things that you should train your dog how to do for behavioral reasons. Teaching them to sit, stay, go outside, be quiet, etc. will make life with them pleasant. Involve your kids with the dog with further training. With your family, teach your dog fun games such as fetch, frisbee, swimming, swimming fetch and anything else that sounds like fun. Having a big list of games to play will make your time with your dog more fun.
Make healthy choices for your dog while it is young. When they get older, continue these healthy habits and it will not only lengthen their lives but prevent many problems that would otherwise make life miserable. Dog medications are pretty expensive, and most of the time, they only prolong the inevitable. Another tip while caring for your large dog is to know what they are allergic to. Dogs aren't allergic to too many things, but knowing if a certain food or chemical will hurt your dog will help you protect them from those things. For example, many dogs are seriously allergic to chocolate and will vomit violently if they ingest any. Try to take care of your dog and know what it is eating.
Continue your education on care and training your big dog by reading books and continuing to read articles (such as this one!) that give you sensible advice on how to raise them. Big dogs are a joy to have in your life if you do all you can to make sure it is a good dog to be around.
More Dog Training
« Raising And Training Small Breed Dogs | Only Dog Beds | Effective Puppy Potty Training »