Training your dog is an absolute necessity. Just like children, dogs come into the world filled with love and curiosity, but not manners. They need to be taught how to get along in the family. That includes eliminating outside of the house, behaving properly in the house, and being polite to people and other animals. This is a demanding, yet enjoyable job that begins the moment the dog enters your house and your life.

Training makes dogs happy. By nature, dogs prefer a society with rules, where everybody knows his place. When you teach dogs the rules of your family, they feel secure knowing exactly what they are and arent allowed to do. Dogs will test you from time to time, to see if anything has changed. Thats one reason its so important to keep the same rules and the same schedules every day.

You set the stage for the successful training of your dog. Your most important tool is "positive reinforcement"getting the dog to do what you want with praise and reward. The other two critical tools are patience and firmness (never harshness). You must be confident while training, and you must be consistent. Your goal is to get the dog to respond to your request, delivered once, in a cheerful, business-like voice. Its up to you to set a positive, happy tone for training.

The amount of patience and firmness you will need often depends on the breed of dog. Investigate the breed you want before you get him. Breeders, veterinarians, trainers and owners can tell you what its like to train different breeds. Some breeds learn quickly; others require more time. Some breeds need a strong hand; others require only gentle correcting.

With all breeds, being too hard on a dog will only teach him to fear you and others. He can become overly fearful or overly aggressive. On the other hand, if youre not confident in your authority, the dog may try to take over. Tell your dog what to do, but respect him for who he is. Enroll in an obedience class for advice and support in the training process.

Praise when right. Correct when wrong. Its as simple as that. A correction is the word "no," delivered in a firm voice. Always follow a correction with praise as soon as the mistake has been cleared up.

Make a habit of pointing out your dogs good behavior to himhe wants to please you, so hell remember to do it again. When he does something wrong, correct him, show him the right thing to do, then praise him. For example: Puppies must chew, but when they chew on your shoe or hand, correct them; then give them a chew toy and praise.

Dont hold a grudge when the dog misbehaves. He will forget his mistake in a few minutes. If you stay angry hell just wonder why you arent friends anymore.