Along for the Car Ride

If you have a dog who is wary of car rides, there's hope. Get your pooch used to going for car rides in small steps. Start by just sitting with you canine in the car. It also helps if you bring along his favorite toy, blanket and a few treats. When he's comfortable, try going down just to end of the street. Lengthen each trip and in no time your canine friend will be used to car rides.

Words: How Many can Dogs Understand?

There is technically no limit to the number of words a dog can learn, if you want to take the time to teach your canine.

A dog learns by associating a word with an action or object. For instance, she learns whenever you say, "Sit!" that you expect her to put her hindquarters and bottom on the floor and stay put for a while. Whenever you say, "Fetch slippers!", she knows to get your favorite leather slip-ons and not your old tennis shoes.

Canine Body Language: Submissive

A dog will use everything from his eyes and ears to tail to communicate. A canine who is acknowledging a person or other dog to be of higher rank, will lower his tail, send his ears back, and close his eyes half-way. A dog can also show submissive body language by lying on his back with his belly exposed.

One way to find out if a puppy has more dominant or submissive tendencies is to try and lay him on his back. If he fights back, he is very likely dominant. If he lies on his back willingly, then he is a submissive dog.

Canine Body Language: Friendly

You see a dog standing across the street - her tail is loosely wagging and her ears are up. You wonder is she friendly?

In this case, most likely she is. In general, a non-aggressive dog will appear to be relaxed. She'll be standing evenly on all four feet (as opposed to a charging position) and her tail will be wagging loosely in a low position. Her ears will be up, but not pressed forward.

It's always a good idea to approach an unfamiliar dog slowly and avoid staring, which is a confrontational gesture.

Enhance Training with Games

There are ways to make training sessions a little more exciting for your dog. Don't let repetition get in the way. Keep her alert and involved by adding some fun games. Some experts balance precision training with more playful sessions like hide and seek for treats and taking a breather with a game of retrieving a tennis ball.

Training: Don't Force It

Physical force should never be used in dog training. The use of physical force may turn a normally mild-mannered pooch into a fearful or skittish dog who can become aggressive. Dogs can readily learn by other means - teach your dog how to behave by using positive and negative reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement involves rewarding your dog for desired behavior. If you are teaching your dog to stay and he does, so, give him praise or a treat.

Negative reinforcement, contrary to popular belief, is not akin to punishing a dog. For instance, you are teaching your dog to stay off the couch. Each time he goes on the couch, you blow a whistle. The dog, irritated by the whistle, develops a negative association with jumping on the couch. You've just taught your dog to stay off the couch by negative association.

Remember to always train your dog in a manner that reinforces trust and a positive bond between you and your canine.

Catch the Dog in the Act

To be effective, correction or praise should occur when the dog is in the act of the behavior you are trying to eliminate or reinforce. That way, the dog can connect his behavior to your reaction.

For instance, when a dog tears up your favorite flowerbed, you should tell him, "No! Bad Dog!" at precisely the time of the incident - not two seconds after the fact and certainly not two hours later. A reprimand after an incident has occurred will only confuse a dog. He won't know why he's being scolded.

Attention Training

Dogs crave attention! This can be positive or negative attention. They will learn quickly what gets your attention and sometimes it doesn't matter if you're singing their praises or yelling in frustration. The key is to reward your dog for good behavior and give her positive attention for good behavior and remove attention for unwanted behavior. A strict or firm "No!" exactly at the time of occurrence will do. Then move on.

Training will also be more effective if your dog gives you its undivided attention when working on a new skill. To achieve this, you must first draw your dog's attention to something it wants and then link that attentiveness to you, the trainer. Give your dog your own full attention while in a training session.

Training - Using Your Body Language

A dog owner's body language is one of the most influential training tools available. Stand straight and firm to give your dog a sense that you are in charge and in command. Crouching down to your dog invites playtime. Even subtle cues such as your facial expressions can communicate your mood to your dog. Eye contact with your canine will let him know you mean business. A smile will let your dog know that you are pleased.

Pet a Dog Safely

It's can be so easy to approach that friendly looking dog outside the coffee shop. His friendly tail is wagging and he just looks so sweet. Before you act, remember that when approaching an unfamiliar dog to pet him, make sure you've got the owner's permission. Then allow the dog to sniff you, and reach out slowly and pet the dog's body. A common mistake that most people make is automatically trying to pat a dog that you do not know on the head. This is actually a sign of dominance, and some dogs may not react kindly to the gesture.

Hunting Dogs

Back before the time of supermarkets and modern day restaurants, if you wanted to eat duck, or game animal, you had to hunt for it. Some industrious hunter figured out long ago that dogs were better at retrieving, flushing, and scent hunting than humans.

There are several types of hunting dogs. Gun dogs point out the prey and will retrieve it on command. Prey capturing dogs will actively seek out and capture prey with minimal direction from their human counterparts.

Some hunters prefer a 'turn-key' dog, which is one who is already trained, and well disciplined.

If you want to train your own field dog, the key is to start early. You want to teach your dog early on how to apply proper bite strength to avoid bruising the kill. A young dog should also learn how to distinguish directional whistle calls.

Clicker Definition

The clicker is a useful tool to train your dog to learn new behaviors.

Clicker training conditions a dog to identify the behaviors which produces a reward - often, a yummy and tasty treat. For instance, your give your dog the command, "Down." He complies - you click the clicker and give him a treat. Your dog will very quickly learn when he's in the down command, he'll get his tasty reward.

Canine Body Language: Friendly

A friendly dog has perked up ears, open and alert eyes, a relaxed mouth, and a tail or whole rear end wagging. He may and also be whimpering, yapping or giving short barks.

One thing to keep in mind is that a wagging tail does not always mean a dog is friendly. If a dog raises his tail with a stiff wag, perks his ears forward, has intense eyes, and bares his teeth, he is in a threatening posture.

Off the Furniture

In order to convince your canine to stay off the couch or bed, you have to create a negative reinforcement whenever he happens to jump onto furniture. As soon as he jumps on the couch or bed, give him a sharp, "No!". Firmly but gently lead the way off the furniture if necessary. If your pooch decides to sit happily at your feet while you are on the sofa, give him a reward by lavishing him with attention. It is also helpful if you give your furry friend his own comfy spot in the house where he can lounge.

Training Treats

The variety of treats available to help train your pooch is wide and varied. In addition, what one dog may love, another dog may shun. In general any food that your dog is fond of is useful as a motivator in training. These training goodies can be anything from jerky treats to bite sized lamb treats or even carrots. Keep in mind that healthier snacks are best. Select something that is appropriately bite sized for your breed of dog.

Shaping Behaviors

Shaping is the process of gently modifying an action to get the behavior you want. For example, you might want to train your dog to hold a toy - so you use a clicker and treat every time your dog mouths the toy. Every time your dog mouths the toy, he hears another click and receives a treat. In the next step, you wait to click and give your dog a treat until he actually puts the toy in his mouth. In no time, your dog learns that he only gets a treat if he bites the object. Finally, your dog must pick up and hold the toy in order to hear the click and get a treat. When your dog successfully repeats holding the toy, you have shaped a behavior!

Canine Body Language: Aggressive

This dog has a stiff raised tail, its eyes are glaring and his body is tense and learning forward. Is he aggressive?

In this case, the dog is very likely aggressive. An aggressive dog has his ears tilted forward or flattened back against his head. His eyes are narrowed or challenging, his is body tense, and he is bearing his teeth. His tail is held out stiffly from his body. He may also be snarling or growling.

Training Rewards

Next to food, dogs love to be loved! Reward your dog by providing praise and affection. The next time you're training your dog and you want to give an alternate motivation for a job well done, praise her by saying, "Good Dog!" in a happy, upbeat tone. Lavishing an extra dose of affection, ranging from a scratch behind the ears to a welcoming hug is another way some dogs can be rewarded.