Training Your Dog to Retrieve with Dog Training Aids
The art of persuasion is a good skill to develop when dog training. Your voice is the most important aspect of this skill. It’s important to use your dog’s name before each command, and to use a persuasive tone of voice. Keep your tone of voice low and pleasant, but also firm.
Speak to your dog all the time while you’re engaged in dog training. Training your dog to retrieve may take some time, and dog training aids can come in useful for this purpose. A very light dumbbell is a good dog training aid to use when training your dog to retrieve. Again, use your voice to effect – immediately your dog takes the dumbbell, praise him repeatedly in a happy voice, and also pet him.
Don’t ever use an angry tone of voice when dog training. Getting angry with your dog will defeat the purpose of getting your dog to comply with your wishes. It will cause your dog to become anxious and possibly confused.
Dogs want to please their owners. It is their prime motivation. So if your dog does not understand your commands immediately, it’s not because he’s being naughty or disobedient. He just doesn’t grasp what you’re asking him.
Once your dog understands what you’re asking him to do, he will probably be happy to repeat the action over and over again. Remember, your dog’s prime motivation is to please you, so once he finds an action that pleases you, he’ll be happy to do it again and again.
If your dog is having trouble understanding that you want him to take the dumbbell, gently offer him the dumbbell and if necessary, open his mouth wide enough to accommodate the dumbbell and place the dumbbell in his mouth. You may even need to close his mouth around the dumbbell.
Dog training times are a wonderful opportunity for you to spend one on one time with your dog. Dogs love this. They love training with you, but you will need to be patient at times. Your dog will not always understand what you want him to do, but as soon as he does, he will be happy to comply.
Once your dog has become used to taking the dumbbell from your hand, he will probably want to perform this “trick” over and over, because he knows he is pleasing you.
Once your dog understands the taking of the dumbbell, you need to extend the reach of the item. Place the dumbbell on the ground in front of your dog and ask him to “Retrieve” or “Fetch”. Then start moving the dumbell further and further away from him. Your dog will soon get the idea.
What are the more important features of dog training? Find out what they are, and find out discover how dog training aids can assist when training your dog to retrieve, to fetch, and much more.
