Staffordshire Training – Some Great Tips To Improve Your Dog’s Behaviour

 
Every Christmas so many people buy staffy puppies for loved ones or for themselves. If you have bought a staffy puppy recently, this article will give you some great tips to help you out with training your new companion. There are many effective answers to ‘how to train a staffy‘, and we will be discussing some of the most common to the most unique tricks we have learned.

• If you want your dog to bond with a favorite toy, such as a lovey or chewing object, make the toy a treat. Filling the toy with a wonderful smell or treat, such as peanut butter, can make it very enticing for your pup. If the toy is a kong style, fill it with his kibble for meals.
• Like people, different staffies respond better to different staffordshire training styles. For example, a laidback and loving dog (as most staffies are!) will be likely to thrive on positive reinforcement, whereas, a more aggressive dog may need negative reinforcement in order to respect your alpha position. If your chosen training method is not working, then it may be time to consider another approach.
• In order to ensure success with training your staffy, you must have excellent self-control over your own actions. If you do not have control over yourself, then there is no way you can effectively have control over another life. Therefore, if you have poor self-control then you should not attempt to train a staffy.
• When it comes to barking, be aware of the environment or activities when your dog barks excessively. Having an awareness of the triggers, can help you address the behavior constructively. For example, if your dog only barks excessively when visitors enter your home, enlist a friend to come over to help you address the behavior, at the time of the trigger event.
• Don’t feed your dog food they aren’t accustomed to when house training them. Very rich foods, in particular, make it hard for a dog to control their bowels. Stick to the tried and true in terms of types of food and the quantity you feed and the house breaking experience will proceed much more smoothly.
• In order to train a well-mannered dog you should always be consistent with your punishments. If you let your dog get away with a particular bad behavior when you normally punish him for it, then your dog will be more likely to revert to bad behavior in general and not as likely to listen to your commands in the future.
• One tip to keep in mind when training your staffy is that it is important to ensure that your dog has all of his needs fulfilled. Your dog will not respond well to praise or punishment and will not be able to focus on learning skills, if he or she is not being well taken care of. Be sure to feed him well, shelter him comfortably and spend time playing with him.
• A great staffordshire training tip is to always be sure you properly enforce all the commands that are given to your dog. The reason for this is if you do not enforce them, your dog will not listen to your commands in the future. In all likelihood though, because staffies are so close to their owners you shouldn’t have any problems.
• Make sure your dog’s diet is appropriate for him. If your dog is a lazy dog who likes to lounge around all day, you don’t want to give him the high protein food a dog who herds sheep would receive. This can cause problems and high vet bills down the road.
• When training your staffy, it is important to remember to keep the training sessions relatively short. Fifteen minutes is about the right time to work on a training task, spending much more time than this will frustrate your dog and set back progress. After each training session spend some time playing with your dog and lavish him with praise.
• One tip to keep in mind when staffy training is to ensure that you make it absolutely clear to your dog what it is that your are disciplining it for. This is important to avoid confusion and to teach the dog what is desired and what is undesired behavior. An example of what to avoid is hitting your dog hours past and in a different room from where it shredded your couch. In fact hitting a dog is not recommended at all because it is totally counterproductive to building a happy, healthy relationship with your pup.
• Be patient with your staffy – every dog has its own unique and will learn at his own pace. Some dogs can and will learn very quickly; other dogs choose to take their time. Patience is one of the most important virtues you can employ when effectively training your dog.
• At the onset of training a command or skill, it is best to keep the corrections to a minimum. It’s not fair to over correct him for something he doesn’t know how to do, and you will only discourage him from wanting to work with you. Remember to keep corrections appropriate for his age and knowledge of the task you are both working on.
• When training a troublesome dog there are many different techniques that one can use. However a key factor is establishing that one is dominant over the dog they are trying to train. By ensuring that your knows who is in charge will guarantee that they will listen to you.
• Don’t get angry or upset if your staffy doesn’t learn a new trick right away. New tricks take time to learn and require patience and persistence from you. Praise your dog for each correct response and try not to get frustrated. Your dog can sense your frustration and that may cause him to get discouraged.
• If your dog does not respond well to you during training you should not get mad at him or her. You are the teacher and he or she is the student, so if they are not responding very well to you it could be the fact that you are not such a good teacher.

Now you see how much you need to put into staffordshire training. While staffies are an awesome dog to have around the house, they are a lot of work, especially at the beginning. It will be worth it, and you will find you have a new best friend that will love you unconditionally!