Australian Shepherd Training: Teaching Highly Intelligent Dogs
There are many motives to train your four-legged companion. Besides doing tricks for enjoyment, dog breeds like the Australian Shepherd are typically trained to protect the property, herd sheep as well as excel at numerous dog sports like dog agility, frisbee and flyball. Although many owners have effectively trained their Aussies, it is undeniably true that Australian Shepherd training can be fairly challenging being that they are one of the breeds recognized for being highly intelligent. But that fact should not impede you from having a well-mannered Aussie.
When training your furry companion, consider using positive reinforcement. Do not train your canine companion through fear of physical punishment. Teaching your dog to respect your commands and dominance will result in a healthy and stable pet. Dogs figure out how to respect the pack leader in the wild by being dominated, not assaulted. Instead of harshly scolding the animal when he does something wrong, reward him with a small treat when he reacts the way you want him to. Quickly enough, your furry friend will learn to only do the habits that earn treats, getting absolutely trained in no time. Physical punishment on the other hand can cause an irrational and often violent pet.
Do not overdo your Australian Shepherd training sessions, keep them brief and appealing for best results. Dogs can only overcome a short amount of training at a time, so don’t overdo it. Keep first training lessons to 10 minutes or less. When training a dog to do something tricky, make sure to take it step-by-step. One example is teaching your furry companion to get the newspaper in the morning. First, your canine companion must be able to pick up an item and hold it in his mouth. Then, he must be taught to go to the object by name. The following step is to teach him to pick the object up. Lastly, he must learn how to bring it over to you. By breaking the task into simple steps, the dog will better comprehend what is expected of him.
Once your four-legged companion starts to master the commands you’re giving him, change locations. Train him in a different room of the house, on your garage, midway on your walk, in the park. Every new location offers new distractions. He might have trouble initially offering the behaviors, but soon he will have the ability to disregard the distractions and he’ll be able to focus more on listening to your commands.
Australian Shepherd training program doesn’t have to be a chore. Your furry friend is designed to be eager to please, so consider this time spent as time invested in your relationship. Your furry friend will be happier with clear boundaries and a right relationship so begin your training routine today.
