Dog Training Tools
A great way to strengthen your bond with you dog or new puppy, is through training. Basic obedience, advanced training, tricks, and agility, are all different kinds of training that you and your dog can do together. The more activities you and your dog do together, the better your bond, and the more loyal he will become. Training your dog will, also, be great exercise for both you and your dog, teaching agility tricks with jumps, hoops, and weave poles, is a great way to burn extra weight energy.
Tools of the Trade
When training your dog there are only a few things that you really need.
- Your Dog (:-P)
- Your Voice
Other than those two things there are a few other things that you will need:
- Six foot leash: Using a six- foot leash versus a 4 foot leash helps when you are working with distance training. A six foot leash will help you have some distance from the dog or puppy, but still have plenty of control over the situation. You DO NOT want to use flexi-leads or retractable leads when training becuase using these leads, the dog has the control unless you properly have the leash locked at all times.
- Flat buckle collar: Using a normal flat buckle collar when training puts the least pressure on the dogs neck. Regular collars come in many materials that you can choose from ranging from nylon to leather; all are a fine choice as long is it is as regular flat buckle collar. You do not want to resort to pinch collars, choke chains, or gentle leaders until you have attempted training with a regular flat buckle collar. If you are still having problems using the flat buckle collar, purchase a gentle leader for you dog. You should always use the pinch collar or choke chain as a last resort.
- Treats: Treats should be broken up as small as you can get them. You want to be able to get as much training in one session as you can, which means you probably want to have very small treats so that the dog or puppy gets full at a slower pace. Usually it is easier to buy soft, moist treats because when breaking them apart they create less of a mess, meaning fewer crumbs.
- Treat bag: You need an easy way to get to the treats. If you do not treat the dog in appropriate time, he will not fully understand why he's being praised. Most pet stores will carry a small treat bag that you can clip onto your pants or belt buckle. Usually they are about 2.99-5.99 or so. This makes the treats easily accessible.
- Clicker: Using a clicker is optional, unless that it the purpose of the training sessions. Some trainers prefer to have their students use a clicker. Using a clicker, also, makes teaching agility a little easier.
Attire
When training you should wear a few things in order to make your sessions easier for you. You don't want to constantly worry about whether your pants will slip off, or whether or not your cleavage will show. When training your dog, you move around a lot, so what you wear can make a difference.
First off you always want to wear closed toed shoes, preferable with backs, as you don't want to slip out of the shoes, nor do you want a dog to accidentally step on your toes.
Where cloths that fit properly. You don't want to walk out of your pants or bend over and your seam bust. You probably wouldn't want to slip on extra long pant legs either, much less have your dog step on the extra and you slip.
Personally, I'd say when training with your dog not matter how strenuous, whether training basic 'sit' or agility, it always easier to work without anything dangling around you face or arms. Having said that, watch the type of earrings you wear, necklaces, and bracelets.
When training with your dog, you want the environment to be as safe as you can make it. That means you should think about any and every situation that could happen. You want to always keep yourself and your dog out of harm's way. So, that includes watching what you wear.
