Dogs can be very difficult animals to deal with from time to time, some breeds and types can be especially difficult to train and control. No mater how much time and effort you seem to be putting in, your efforts give no results.

Don’t worry too much about persistently training you dog, it might not be your fault your dog is disobedient, people in different circumstances may be failing to train their dog for very simple reasons, whether it be your tone of voice, not having enough time to give your dog due to other commitments like work or hobbies, or your children throwing all the basic dog training rules out the window. Here we will try to educate you on the difference a professional dog trainer could have on your dog.s obedience, and how much it will cost.

The options available for dog training

Group dog training sessions locally – four to eight weekly 1 hour sessions for around $40 – $130

Private dog trainers visiting your home or work place to give personal training to your dog for around $25 – $110 per hour.

Dog boarding kennel where your dog lives with the trainer for around 2 – 4 weeks getting many hours of professional dog behaviour training a day for around $1000 – $2,500.

What you get for your money

So what do you get for your money? Many dog trainers concentrate on different areas of your dog’s obedience and you will usually get a much better service for the more money you pay. Standard training classes and trainers will concentrate on addressing the chewing, barking, biting and digging aspects of your dog’s behavior. Hand signals may also be covered in dog obedience classes along with showing you, the owner how to handle trickier situations that can only be over come at home like housetraining.

General guidelines for hiring a dog trainer are to always research the dog trainer well, find out qualifications the dog trainer has in his area of expertise and seek advice and information for other dog owners who have had their dogs trained previously. Get to know your trainer well before handing your dog over to him/her and make sure you are comfortable in the methods he/she uses.

By John Williams

The ‘no’ command is a widely used command throughout dog training and is used to tell your dog not to do something or to stop them in their tracks to avoid dangerous situations or general bad behavior.

I think of the no command as more of a training technique rather than a command and to perfect the technique you will need to be consistent for most of your time with your pet dog. The no command isn’t like other commands and is taught over several years rather than a ‘learn it and forget it’ dog training technique.

You can start to teach your dog the no command as soon as you see your cute little puppy doing something wrong for the first time, to most people the command will come naturally when they see their dog causing terror in the house and it will not be too hard for them to remember how to execute the technique.

The no command should come part and parcel with punishing your dog, the idea behind the no command is to teach your dog that ‘no’ means bad behavior and punishment, after teaching this command the end result will be that your dog should stop whatever they are doing when you say ‘no’.

So to make this command work you will need to enforce and recite ‘no’ in a very assertive way whenever you are punishing your dog or see your dog behaving badly that will result in punishment. By doing this your dog will associate ‘no!’ with being punished and making you the owner, unhappy.

If you do this consistently through your dogs earlier years, especially when your dog is a puppy and very impressionable you will gain respect from your dog and just saying ‘no’ alone will be enough to stop your dog in its tracks and save you punishing your dog.

Have you ever thought about what goes through a dog’s mind when it is being taught a new command?

Your dog does not know why you want him to sit, or stay or go down. He has no idea what the word sit means, it is just a sound coming from your mouth that he hears whenever you want him to complete a certain action.

Due to this we have to be consistent with our own actions so that the dog is able understand what we want of him or her, a lot sooner and with minimal confusion.

Your dog needs a motivation to be taught a new command. This motivation comes in the form of a reward. This can be an item of food, a toy or praise from you. You must praise and or reward your dog every time that he/she obeys the command. When you start training a dog it is pointless to praise him only occasionally. If he is to learn the command, you have to praise him every time that he obeys the command. This consistency will help the dog to learn at a much faster rate.

You have to show the dog that what he is doing is correct by praising him when he obeys the command. After he receives the praise and or reward, he will become motivated to repeat the action. If he is consistently being rewarded for a certain action he will be motivated to continue to do the same thing repeatedly.


This consistency follows through to all interactions between you and your dog.

For example – you might have five members in your family. You have a rule that your dog is not allowed to enter the bedrooms in your house. However two of your children encourage the dog to enter there bedrooms when you are not there. What does this say to the dog? Apart from confusing him, it tells him that if he really wants to go into a bedroom he can.

Another example – you are teaching a young dog the ‘stay’ command. The first time you issue the command and walk away your dog moves from his spot and lies down three metres from it. You instantly return to him, escort him back to the original spot and re issue the command (as you should). You start walking away from your dog and he ‘breaks’ again and lies down four metres from his spot. However on this occasion you do nothing about it and continue teaching the command. What does this say to the dog? It tells him that he does not have to stay anywhere and it is okay for him to get up and move around while you are teaching this command.

So you see that you have to be consistent with every interaction between you and your dog. Don’t have one rule one day and a different rule the next. Also, ensure that every member of your family has the same rules and boundaries for your dog so that he is not receiving mixed messages. It is unfair on your dog if different family members have different rules. In fact it is your responsibility as a dog owner to ensure that this does not occur.

A dog that knows the rules, and has consistency from you and your family will learn a lot quicker will be less inclined to indulge in undesirable behaviour and will be a lot more content and happier.

About the author

Nick Wilson is an author, a former Police Dog Handler, and the owner of K9Koncepts, based in New Plymouth, New Zealand. He focuses on teaching owners how to train their dogs with a simple and forthright approach. He also specialises in teaching owners how to overcome issues with problem dogs, and helps them understand the importance of the Canine Dominance hierarchy in dog training. His recently authored book “Train Your K9” is available from www.train-your-K9.com

By Gen Wright

If this is the first time you are training a puppy, never underestimate the problems and responsibilities that could come with the animal. During training, many things could go wrong. Here are some potential problems that you may run into when training your pup.

1) Wrong crate.

The crate is perhaps the most important tool in the training process. It can help house break your pup, and train it to eliminate less frequently. But if you buy the wrong crate, your training will never be effective. For example, a crate that is too large will defeat the purpose of the training. The pup will just eliminate in one corner, and then go rest in another corner. The goal here is to train the dog to control its bladder. You can’t achieve this goal with a box that is too big.

2) Personality issues.

Sometimes, you may run into personality issues. It is hard to tell the personality of a dog when it’s too young. To avoid this problem, try to buy pups only from reputable breeders. Unlike most pet stores, dog breeders often allow the dogs to grow up a little before selling them away. You may also wish to do some research on the dogs that you are interested in. Different breeds have well known personality traits. A chihuahua may be a really small dog but it has a very active personality. This means that it’s going to need plenty of exercise! You have to take into consideration the personality of the pup when coming up with a training program.

3) Losing your patience.

A young pup can be very testing. Don’t lose your patience. If it makes a mistake, just remind the pup gently that it’s doing something that it’s not supposed to be doing. Anger will not get you the results you want. But patience and determination ultimately will.

As you can see, there are many pitfalls that a new pup owner can fall into. To avoid making unnecessary mistakes, hire a professional dog trainer and learn from the trainer. There are different types of lessons available in the market. If you have the time, opt for those that allow you to join in the hands on training. That way, you will be able to execute the training when you go back home with your puppy. If you simply cannot afford the time, you will just have to be content with leaving the dog with the trainer during training sessions.

A well trained dog can be a perfect family pet and a good family friend. The training should start as early as possible so that good habits are cultivated from young. It does seem like a lot of hard work but the good news is, young pups usually learn fast. And they can adapt a lot better than what most people would expect. So at first if you don’t see good results, be patient. Your efforts will soon reap dividends.

About The Author

Puppy training tips – Comprehensive puppy training information available. Expert advice and tips on how to train your pet to be the perfect family pet.

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