National Train Your Dog Month was started by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers in 2017. Larry Kay, author, rescue dog advocate and dog trick trainer understands the importance of not only training any new puppy or dog you bring into your life but also how training can help get shelter dogs adopted.
Larry and some of his team have worked at Pet Orphans in California and have “turned shelter dogs into movie stars” and that has helped them find their forever homes. In fact, Larry’s dog, Spider, starred in one of the PI Woof shelter dog movies and eventually found his forever home with Larry.
“Training The Best Dog Ever: A Five-Week Program Using Positive Reinforcement” has been a best-selling book on Amazon. The book offers step-by-step training for new pet parents to help turn their dog into the best family companion ever!
In 2019 Larry and co-author Chris Perondi co-authored a book called, “The Big Book of Dog Tricks For The Best Dog Ever.” This book shows pet parents how they can teach their dogs to do tricks — they may never have imagined possible.
Pet Calendar: Train Your Dog Month
Here are some dog training tips and some dog training articles you can read in our Ask The Dog Trainer series.
- Reward good behavior, ignore the bad. When you interact with a dog who is jumping or barking, you are “rewarding” him by giving him attention. Once he has calmed down, praise and give him a treat for stopping barking or for sitting down.
- Teach your dog to walk on a leash. Socializing your dog is crucial to his health and happiness. Take him on walks around the neighborhood. Keep him on a leash so he doesn’t run off or get lost. Praise her for walking at “heel.”
- Potty training needs to be consistent. Take your pup out before and after he wakes up from a nap. Take him out before meals and then take him out again after meals. Praise him for going potty out-of-doors.
- Make certain training time is fun time for both of you. Just as children have short attention spans, so too do dogs, shorter, more frequent training sessions are more beneficial than longer ones.
- Give your dog love and affection. Our dogs want to be with us and feel our love. They love us so unconditionally, that we want to do the same for them!
Read the rest of our January Pet Calendar.
Read our Annual Pet Calendar.
