Frequently Asked Questions.......

Q23) : A friend told me that her dog was psychologically damaged because of the professional trainer. How is this possible? How can we train our puppy without the help of a professional trainer?

Ans. : Professional trainers tend to be cruel, in their efforts to gain quick results. This causes behavioral problems in the dogs. The dog can become aggressive, shy, timid, or neurotic, depending upon the individual dog and the extent of cruelty meted out by the trainer.
The Master is the best trainer. If you want to show your dog for Obedience Tests, there are books on how to give extensive training. To a dog, his Master is his God, and he will be most eager to please his master – or, as we prefer to say – human companion.


Play with the puppy from the day he is brought home. Let him trust you, feel safe with you, and know you to be a fun person. Little smacks or reprimands will not mar this trust, so long as it is not too harsh or whimsical.


The puppy should be taken to different environments occasionally, and allowed to meet other people and friendly, healthy pets belonging to friends.


Do not indulge in feeding at the table, or allow the puppy to take liberties which you would not tolerate in an adult dog.


Get him habituated to allow you to handle every part of his body. Let him get used to your hand being put in him mouth, and handling his muzzle. This will be of great help in future when you need to give him medicine or clean his teeth. Reflex biting will thus be avoided.


Show your displeasure if he charges at anyone, or does anything he is not supposed to. If you laugh in the beginning, but punish him later, you will lose his trust, because he will think that your reactions are whimsical and he won’t know what actually pleases you and what displeases you.


It is very easy to train a 3 month old puppy, by keeping some tit-bits handy. Reward him when he obeys a command. The method of reward is by far the best. Punishment is cruel and counterproductive.


If you want him to sit, press his behind gently, and say, “Sit!”


Reward him as soon as he sits.


To make him get up, place your hand under his belly, and push upwards, as you say, “Up!” it won’t take him long to understand what you want. An immediate reward will make him think that this is a good game.


“No!’ is a word he will learn very quickly, if your tone is firm and expression disapproving.


“Down” is also easy to teach. Make him sit first. Then, say ‘Down”, as you press his shoulder and pull his paws gently forward. Pat him and praise him and reward him as soon as he is in the position you want.


To make him “Lie”, press his head gently to the side, till he is lying on his side. As soon as he is lying on his side, praise and reward him.


To teach ‘Up!’ from a ‘down’ or ‘lie’ position, let him first learn the word ‘up’, when he is a ‘sit’ position; i.e., his forelegs are straight, and hind legs are folded. If you raise your arm as you say, ‘Up!’ he will rise instinctively. Praise him as soon as he does the right thing, but don’t rebuke him if he fails to comprehend. You can help him by placing your hand under his belly, and applying gentle pressure to help him rise. Say ‘up’, as you do this, and praise him as soon as he stands. He will learn what ‘up’ means, and then stand up when you give the command, even if he is lying down, or in the ‘down’ position, with all four legs folded, sitting on his haunches, and forelegs stretched out in front.


Training sessions should be short, and commands should be repeated just two or three times daily. Twice a day is very good, but don’t have lengthy training sessions. Remember, your puppy is like a two year old – easily bored and tired.


To teach him to ‘fetch’ is also easy, but do not overdo it, or the puppy will lose interest. Puppies will tend to run away with a ball, rather than bring it to you. Do not chase the puppy. Call it in a friendly way, saying ‘Come, son!’ and reward him as soon as he comes.


To teach him to ‘go’, it is better to have an assistant, and a long cord tied to the puppy’s collar. Point to the other person and say, “Go”. The other person will pull gently at the cord, and encourage the puppy to go to him, rewarding him as soon as he reaches.


To teach the puppy to ‘stay’, make him sit, or sit in the down position, which means sitting on his haunches. Then say ‘Stay”, indicating with a movement of your hand that he is to remain where he is. This requires some patience. He will want to get up and follow you. Never lose your temper. Go back with him, and repeat the command. The first few times, stay fairly close to him. Gradually, as he gets used to staying in one place, move away a bit further, and finally, out of sight. Never fail to reward him when he has done what you wanted. Be very patient, going very gradually from one lesson to the next.


To teach your puppy (not before the age of 6 months) to ‘take’, you should offer an object which is easy to hold. Praise him when he holds it. Then say, “Give” and retrieve it from him, and reward him. To start with,it is good to use an object belonging to his owner. An old sock of yours, stuffed with paper, is ideal.


When he has learnt this, you can throw the object to the ground, and say, “Pick”. He will instinctively pick it up and offer it to you. If he runs off playfully with it, do not lose your temper and chase him. Wait patiently for a few minutes, then call him in a friendly way (so that he does not apprehend a thrashing) and say, “give”, rewarding him with a tit-bit at once. The puppy should be convinced that he will get treats by pleasing you.


To teach him to “drop”, you have to guide him by saying ‘give’. Then, use the same tone to say, “Drop”. He will not take long to learn, but don’t show irritation if he does not understand immediately. You can say ‘give’, take it form him, and say ‘drop’ and drop it on the ground, saying ‘good boy!’ so he thinks he has done the right thing.


“Jump” is easy to teach with the help of some low obstacle and a guiding rope.


Puppies between 4-5 months can be taught to sit, down, and lie. They can also be taught to stay and fetch.


Other commands should be taught as they grow older. A dog is mature at the age of one year, so most of the training should be given when the puppy is between four and ten months old.


To teach ‘heel’ is unpleasant and usually unnecessary, because it is always safer to keep him on a leash – maybe an extended leash – incase he meets other dogs or gets in the war of a car. The method is to take him for a walk. Tighten his leash and say, “heel!” Pull with a jerk when he tries to pull ahead, and repeat, ‘Heel!’ In a few days he will understand what you mean. No dog likes walking at heel, because a walk is the most exciting time in his day, and the smells are tantalizing. I have always felt it cruel to deprive a dog of this pleasure, just for the sake of showing off ‘how well trained my dog is!’


Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell. To train your dog to ‘find’ things, make him sit. Hold some object of yours, like a wallet or hankie, in your hand. Hold it near his nose, and say, ‘smell’. He will automatically smell it. Then tell him to ‘stay’, while you hide the object close by. Then tell him, ‘find!’ He will instinctively rush off and smell out the object you have just hidden. The procedure can be varied to train him more extensively.


To teach your dog to ‘guard’ can result in making him ferocious. You will need the help of someone who is not likely to come across your dog in future. Make your dog (over 8 months old) sit, and tie him up so he can’t attack the stranger. Place some object of yours near him, and say ‘Guard!’ Tell your assistant to creep up stealthily, in a highly suspicious manner. Your dog will start barking instinctively. If you say, “Chu!” pointing at the stranger, your dog will rush to attack him. Repeat this to teach him how to guard on command. Certain breeds have a strong guarding instinct – mostly ‘working groups’, but some are too gentle and friendly to be good guard dogs.


It is a dog’s instinct to guard his master’s property, so he will learn easily, but can become a biter, so it is best to avoid future trouble by not teaching him to guard.