Dogs are one of the top animals usually taken in by people as pets. This is probably because they are loyal, trusting and can do us a service in one way or another. Of course, one of the services rendered to us by dogs is just keeping us company but they can be the most understanding companions you might ever need or want.

In most progressive countries, some dogs are required to be well behaved and can be easily controlled. This is a requirement if you want your dog to live with you in the city where he can be expected to meet a lot of people and other dogs. Some dog owners prefer to teach their dogs obedience based in dog training books rather than have them taught at training schools. These dog training books cover obedience and many other specific training that you might need for your dog.

Basic Obedience For Dogs

Some of the basic dog training books on obedience cover the more mundane aspects of training obedience like sit, stay, heel and fetch. Some people find teaching these commands easy while others will need the guidance of dog training books to be effective trainers for their dogs. The usual styles in most dog training books is to reward your pet with either a treat or praise to be able to make the dog understand that what he did was good.

Other dog training books may also have recommendations regarding how to groom and take care of your dog. Not all dog training books will be full of training advice for dogs, some may have chapters regarding choosing what kind of dog is suitable for you and your family or how to take care of a puppy and train it.

You must also be careful to choose dog training books that do not advocate harmful or inhumane dog training equipment. Some of the dog training equipment does not offer “happy” rewards for dogs instead the dogs are either spanked in the rump or electronically shocked by collars if they do not do well. The dog training books that offer these alternatives to treats and rewards may have citations for fast learning but we do not want our pets to mistrust us to harm them if they do something wrong. Instead we want them to know that they can count on us. Basing dog training on hurting the dog in order for it to remember may be faster but it might also affect the dog psychologically.

An electronic dog training collar is a dog training equipment that is primarily used to facilitate small electric shocks on the dogs on which it is attached to. It is placed around the dog’s neck in place of the original collar and the owner or trainer of the dog has a transmitter that can remotely send signals to the electronic dog training collar. The transmitter in the hands of the owner or trainer has button which the individual can push in order to send the small electric shocks to the dog via electrodes implanted on the electronic dog training collar.

Kinds Of Electronic Dog Training Collars

There are three basic kinds of electronic dog training collars. These include the manual collar that needs a person to press a button to activate the electrodes, the collar that is activated when the dog barks and the collar that activates itself when it comes close to the perimeter where the dog is not allowed to cross.

Inhumane Treatment?

One risk of using an electronic dog training collar to regulate and monitor your dog’s behavior is that there have been times when the collar randomly discharges electronic shocks on the poor dog even without it doing anything wrong. This can undo the good that the collars have done and may confuse the dog especially if it is just resting and not doing any training. This can be solved easily by taking the electronic dog training collar off when training is not in session but for those collars that curb barking and monitor the dog’s perimeter this can be confusing.

Another risk of using an electronic dog training collar is that the owner of trainer may not be able to fully control the emission and send out a shock that is too long or too intense that it can harm the dog. Some dogs who can tolerate smaller electric shocks may need bigger and longer electric shocks which are actually very inhumane.

The dogs might also eventually figure out that the collars are the cause of its discomfort and become unruly when the collar is off or may even refuse to have the collar out on. Regression may also occur when the dog has figured out that the shocks come from the collar and behave only when the collar is on it.

Another risk of using an electronic dog training collar is lesions which stem from using the snug collars. The lesions are not from the electric shocks but from the snugness of the collar which is necessary for the electrodes to come in contact with the dog’s skin.

The risks of using an electronic dog training collar far outweighs the benefits it gives us. With proper training and patience owners can usually achieve the same results as an electronic dog training collar.

There is more to training your dog than teaching it to obey your commands, since there is also dog agility training in which you can teach it to do perform different types of sport including jumping, climbing obstacles and even dodging in between poles. Dog agility training is an offshoot of horse show jumping and it was first showcased in the UK in 1979 at the Crufts Dog Show, and from then on, it has rapidly grown in popularity for the entertainment value as well sports value of it.

Must Be Able To Obey Simple Commands

Dogs by and large are very agile creatures though the dogs that are most suited for sports competition are those that are medium in size and also the larger varieties. Any dog that is being considered for undergoing dog agility training must first be checked by a veterinarian and he should also be able to obey simple commands such as sit and lie down as well as come, and it has been noticed that dogs that are well trained to obey will succeed at dog agility training much better than those having problems with obeying simple commands.

Dog agility training can be carried out in many different ways though the trainer must ensure that the method used suits the dog the best, and the agility training must be fun for the dog and it would be wise on the part of the trainer not to become overly critical of the dog or try and make it ultra competitive.

Essentially, dog agility training means making the dog weave its way through an obstacle course under the supervision of a handler and there are different types of obstacles including tunnels, poles jumps as also ramps for the dog to traverse. To begin with, the dog starts off with the simplest of obstacles and as its skills improve, the level of training becomes more difficult, and it is also to be seen how agile the dog is to begin with as that will help evaluate the type of agility training to impart to it.

When dogs have been trained in dog agility training, they will then enter into competitions in which the judge selects the direction of the obstacle the dog must follow which it does along with its handler, and once the dog has successfully completed an obstacle course, he is entitled to receive an agility title along with plenty of praise as well as goodies and of course, many toys.