1. Shouting and being to violent with your dog and especially when it is just a puppy can have incurable consequences to its mental condition. It might end up feeling unworthy and can become unhappy for the rest of its life.

2. Feeding your dog excessively will threaten your dog’s health. Too many calories and too little exercise will have your dog grow fat and it will not only reduce its level of energy but also its ability and willingness to be happy.

3. Food for people is not dog food. Do not feed your dog food from the dinner table. Ask your VET what is recommended for the specific breed as every breed might require different things for optimal nutritional intake.

4. Taking your dog out for a walk every single day is a must. Go for half an hour as least one time a day. If you own a larger breed you might need to go for a walk two or three times a day to satisfy the dog’s physical needs.

5. Your dog is a living being and it needs exercise often. So instead of just going out for a walk you might want to take it to the park to play. Play with sticks or balls and have your dog run off some of its energy. It will love you for it.

6. Dog training classes are available all over the nation and compared to the benefits of being able to command and control your dog the price is almost ridicules. It is not only about learning how to sit and how to fetch but also how to show your dog that you’re in command.

7. Love your dog. It might seem obvious but just like humans a dog needs to know that it is loved. You can express your love with words and physical gestures. Make it a daily habit to show your dog that you love it dearly.

8. Treat your dog with respect and it will in return respect you back. Even though a dog might not be at the level of intelligence that humans are it is still a highly sophisticated being that should not be taken lightly.

Having a dog as a pet requires much responsibility. Primarily, their health and behavior are two to main aspects to keep in check. Training your dog can both be fun and rewarding if some time is invested in teaching and training your dog.

There is no need to take any dog training classes or to have any background in dog training. All you need is the will power to teach your dog tricks and some free time, as well as good spirit. Training your dog should be fun for both you and your dog.

Training your dog to obey a simple command such as sit, stay, heel, and jump is very exciting. You must remember to display a sense of consistency when training your dog to learn one of these basic commands.

Being consistent in your teaching application helps your dog to better understand what you want them to do. Straying from the plan may confuse your dog and delay the teaching process. One tip in staying consistent is to use the same words and sentences when teaching your dog a new trick. They will adapt to the new words and begin to understand what you want them to do when you say them.

You should also make sure that you have your dogs full attention when going through the basics of dog training. This is not easy because dogs are not like people at all. Thus, you should remember to say your dogs name before you give out the command. This way, your dog would pay immediate attention to his or her name being called out.

Dogs may get confused if you try to teach them too many tricks or commands at one time. Be patient and teach your dog only one command at a time. This will prove to be the best approach in teaching your dog numerous commands.

Dog training sessions should also be kept short as a dog can only take in so much information at a time.

Dog training sessions of 10-15 minutes are sufficient enough to get your message across to your dog. Any longer and you may not have their full attention and my prove to be just a waste of time training your dog any longer than the suggested time.

Treats are the biggest driving force for a dog. Treats in the form of doggy treats, a pat on the head, or a scratch behind the ear motivates a dog to learn the new command and to do it when commanded too. If there is one thing to not forget to do, it is to give your dog some sort of positive reinforcement when they accomplish a good act.

You might have found to be easy to train your dog with all sorts of commands that ask him to perform a certain action but when it comes to teaching your dog to stay, things can be a bit more complicated. After all, we are asking our dog not to move, not to do anything at all.

How to teach your dog to stay

Using an already known action will make it easier on your dog to learn how to “stay” so ask your dog to sit. Now, instead of going ahead and praising him like you would normally do, this time you will want to add the command “stay” in the same way you asked him to sit. As soon as a few seconds have passed and your dog staying in his position, go ahead and praise him or give a small treat.

Try to encourage your dog to stay in position with your body language. When first starting out with this new command, make sure you stand close to your dog so he wont feel the urge to follow you and make it easy to stay in the same position without distractions.

It is very well possible that your dog wont understand what you are asking from him and he will get up. Just go back to the first step and tell him to sit, immediately followed by “stay”. Make sure this time you are not asking him to stay too long so that you can use the praise technique for your dog doing something right, and gradually build up on the amount of time.

Gradually move further away from your dog and ensure that each ‘stay’ lasts a few seconds longer than the last. After mastering the ‘sit and stay’ command, you will be able to then slowly introduce the ‘stay and down’ command, which will mean your dog will lay down when you require him to.