Most American Bulldogs are known for their courageous and protective traits as well as their sheer brute strength, however over time these dogs have proven to make wonderful family pets as well. Thus, contrary to popular belief, American Bulldog training may prove to be a much more rewarding experience than one would expect.

American Bulldog Training not only helps the overall development of your Bulldog; it also helps strengthen the bond between you and your dog as you go through the process. The important thing to keep in mind with American Bulldog training as it is with any other dog training method; it is always better to start as early as possible. In the case of American Bulldogs, whenever they begin training as puppies, you negate the possibility of them displaying possible destructive behavioral traits such as aggression, barking, and chewing.

However, before embarking on the American Bulldog training Process, it is crucial to be wary of some of your dog’s unique behavioral traits. First of all, due to their size, it is important that American Bulldogs have the space they need to freely move about. Since American Bulldogs are also very playful, just keep in mind that they may get a bit rough at times, just don’t take this as a sign of aggression. Just as a safety precaution, be wary of having small children around your Bulldog until it has gone through the whole American Bulldog training process. Lastly, since Bulldogs are quite protective of their owners, it is important to socialize them as early as possible so as not to be a threat to other people around you.

Having said that, one of your greatest aids in American Bulldog training would have to be positive reinforcement, which is done by rewarding your Bulldog with treats for displaying good behavior. The Humane Society of the United States is quoted in saying that when it comes to training your dog with treats and praise, “Just say yes!” Dogs don’t care about material things, all they care about is praise and of course food. So in that sense, with American Bulldog training, there’s no greater motivator for them than food, or dog treats.

In American Bulldog training with the use of treats, remember that timing is everything. Give the dog treat right after your Bulldog displays good behavior, don’t wait too long or you may hinder the dog from associating the treat with good behavior. Be consistent with using treats in the American Bulldog training process and never give in when your Bulldog chooses to take the easy way out just to get a treat. You are not here to spoil them but to use treats to teach them good behavior. American Bulldog training need not be a pain; all you need is patience and constancy with your method.

Recent years have seen an increase in popularity of dog training and obedience.

This is largely due to the popularity of dog professionals as Cesar Milan , Ivan Balabanov, and Ian Dunbar

The training a dog for obedience goes back as far as 3000BC where dogs with what appears to be collars on their necks appear in paintings on the walls of ancient civilizations.

Many many years after these painting in 1910 a German Colonel by the name of Kongrad Most published “The Dog Training Manual” thus becoming the father of modern dog training. The methods described in The Dog Training Manual use correction and punishment quite heavily. Something that would pretty much be looked down on by positive trains. But despite its apparent cruelty it is still in use by some military training facilities.

Ironically his principals will later give rise to “clicker training”.

The idea of clicker training was first introduced by Marian and Keller Breland in 1943 who teach animals of different kind for televisions, shows and commercials.

Clicker training is basically a mechanical object that signals to the dog that the action it has performed was correct and a reward can be expected. It does that by you guessed it a sound of a “click.

” This “click” sound is more technically referred to as a “bridge word” among dog trainers and of course can be replaced by any sound or human voice. (For example YES.

) Another major change clicker training has bought to the world of dog training was the evolution of what is now commonly referred to as “positive only training”.

“Positive only training” refers to a method of training where the dog is given total freedom of choice in relation to performing the task given and gets rewarded by the use of treats. (www. heavenlydogtreats. net ) when it performs correctly.

This method of training has grown in popularity over the years and of course caused quite a bit of controversy between advocates of positive and the more traditional trainers of dogs.

Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of both methods.

Positive Training. Pros: It looks good as the dog is given freedom of choice.

Cons: It is unreliable as shown by the relative scarcity of positive only trainers at the high level of obedience trails.

Traditional Training. Pros: Works well and reliable.

Cons: As the dog is forced to perform the action it can develop side effects such as fear, shutting down, or in the worst cases aggression.

Of course when you are a new dog owner this can cause quite a dilemma do I want reliability or do I want a dog that is happy and not afraid of training? Well luckily there is a third method of training one that has been pioneered and developed by people such as Ivan Balabanov.

It is a mixture of both traditional and positive training methods. The idea behind this third approach is to develop a reward system and other key words such as YES and NO that lets the dog know when it is doing right or when it is doing wrong. The “game “is used to reward the dog.

This way the dog gets rewarded when a task is performed correctly (positive training) and punished when the action is performed incorrectly. (Traditional training.

) The major difference between the previous two training methods and this one is that by the use of key words a trainer can clearly communicate to the dog weather the action is correct or not.

This is somewhat similar to the old children’s game of HOT/COLD. Whereas an object is hidden and the player knows where it is by listening to other players saying Hot, Hotter.. or alternatively Cold Colder.

Similarly when training the dog a trainer can signal a correct action by stating YES and rewarding the dog or alternatively can signal an incorrect action by stating NO and withholding the reward.

This way with small approximations and practice the dog trainer can create a happy environment for the dog to learn in as well as maintaining reliability.

For some dog training equipment visit: www. rapidresultsdogtraining.

com

Mark Oszoli

Puppy Potty Training 101
By: Cyd Oldham, Dog Behaviorist

Before you bring a puppy home, plan to take one or two weeks off of work, so you have uninterrupted time to focus on the puppy — and, in particular puppy potty training. Otherwise, it will take much longer to housebreak your pup.

Puppies learn new skills at different rates. It will take time for your puppy to develop a firm understanding of where it’s acceptable to potty and where it is not. It will take time for your pup to consistently understand that all of the house is the den, an area not to be soiled.

There are basically two methods to choose from when potty training your puppy.  Once you have chosen a method – stick to it so you don’t confuse your puppy.

Potty Pad Method:
Prepare a “Safe Room” for your puppy (many people use a laundry room or bathroom for this purpose) by covering the entire floor with potty pads except for the place where puppy’s bed or crate is placed.  Puppies will not soil their bed, so any place else puppy chooses to potty will be on a pad.  After several days remove one pad from the room.  The puppy will continue to use the potty pads to do his business.  Every day or two remove another pad until there is only one left.  This is a good method for people who must be gone from home for several hours, as puppy can learn to use the potty pad and finally be allowed out of the safe room with continued access to the room and his potty pad.

Outside Only Method:
You must spend time with your puppy for this to work.  Remember that dogs “poop” after they eat – so if you free feed your puppy (leave food down all day long) you will never know when he needs to go.  Feeding puppy 3 times a day is best.  As soon as he is finished eating, take puppy outside to the place you would like him to go potty and tell him “Go Potty,”  then wait for him.  When he goes, praise him heavily then take him back inside.  Puppies “pee” much more often – sometimes as often as every 30 minutes to an hour.  You will need to take your puppy outside to that same spot and tell him “Go Potty” very often, giving him a couple of minutes to go.  If he does, praise him heavily before returning to the house.  If he does not, take him back inside, but don’t wait the full time before taking him back outside again.  You might try taking him out again after 10-15 minutes.  Also, some puppies sniff around to find a “spot” before they potty in the house, some don’t.  Keep a close eye on your pup – if he has lost interest in what he was playing with and seems to be wandering aimlessly – He Needs to Potty. 

A very important tip – dogs never understand punishment after the fact.  When an accident happens, just chalk it up to your not watching puppy closely enough, clean it up, and move on.  “Rubbing his nose in it” accomplishes nothing except to make puppy afraid of you.

Many of us keep pets. Pets have become a part and parcel of many households and it is quite true that be it a bird, dog or cat they do bring a freshness and welcome respite to the daily mundane colors of life. A dog is one of the most popular choices as the pet.

A dog is generally preferred as the pet because of the fact they are amiable and social by nature. A truly devoted animal, the dog is always up there among the rankings when it comes to obeying orders and doing duties. They well and truly transpire as the mans best friend and it has been seen more often than not that dogs have even turned up as the savior o both man and property when the need came.

This though sums up all the benefits of having a pet and more so the dog as a pet it is quite true that the training of the animal might prove to be a bit to tedious for the owners. It is literally a daunting task to train the dog and most often the owners are confused as to employ a trainer or train the animal themselves. This usually leads to confusion when the trainer is changed and results in an ill-mannered dog. There is nothing more disastrous for a household than an ill-mannered dog. A misbehaving dog will rip of slippers, shades and throw tantrums all around the house. So it is very important that certain set of rules are always followed during the growing up phase of the animal.

Dog toilet training is something which needs to given a thought to because you wont want your dog to litter the entire house. It is essential that you decide upon whether to employ a trainer or train the dog yourself. If you want to train the dog yourself you must keep in mind the following points.

Crate training a puppy is the best way to train your dog. This starts off with the buying of a crate for the dog where it will be made to sleep in. though it can sound a bit cruel to the dog but it is absolutely essential. Crate training a puppy is the only way to ensure that the dog develops a sense of hygiene because it will not want to litter its own sleeping place. Crate training a puppy will also ensure that the dog will understand the value of personal place of everyone around the house and will not dirty the entire house while relieving itself.

The best way to make sure that the dog obeys your commands is to make it understand that whenever it does what it is asked to you will be giving him a pat on the back, a coat brush or a playing session in the evening at the park.

These house training methods are really important because these will keep the dog happy and it will be obeying all your commands leading to a happy owner and a more happy pet.