Training Tips for Youth

When I work with dogs and kids and the kid is going to be the main person in the house to train the dog. Most times the dog looks at the kid as a fellow pack memeber with the same "rung" on the ladder. The first thing I suggest is the kid takes over the feeding of the dog. Most of the time the child is around at feeding time. I can tell a big difference between the youth that follow that advice and the youth that do not. The dogs are much more likely to listen to the child that is feeding it. It raises the child up a level in the "pack".

I try to relate training their dog to the way their parents take to them. Especially when working on recalls. I give verbal examples of if your mom calls you this way are you more likely to go see what she wants or less likely.

And I remind the youth that yes, they are going to get frustrated with their dog because their dog is not always going to listen to them. And that's it's ok to take breaks. I also tell them that if their dog just isn't getting something and you get frustrated, go back to something the dog knows and end on a happy note. That will make training more enjoyable for the dog and for the youth.

Next post will be about tools that can be used.

Finally....

Finally, I have decided on a direction for my blog. The majority of my blogs will be about animals and training. It's going to be educational and informative at the same time.

I will talk about a variety of animals that I'm knowledgeable about, such as, dogs, cats, cattle, horses, just to name a few.

I will also talk about the training of dogs, and how I've used some of the same methods to work and train horses and oxen.

If you ever have a question that you'd like me to address, feel free to shoot one my way. I will do my best to answer it.

I'm very excited about this new focus of my blog.