The idea behind this kind of training is to let the dog relate to the click sound to an action whether it’s a positive or a negative action. Most of the time it is relate dto a positive action. When ever dog performs an action that is desirable you make the sound of a click with the clicker and then reward the dog to let him know that he has done something good. When you repeat this action several times your dog will start to relate the sound of the click to an action that would be rewarded. So any actions that you want to praise do it with a click followed by a treat. This kind of training is known as clicker training.

Clicker becomes an effective way to communicate with your dog. Getting used to clicker training or to do it in the right way takes some time and experience so a person who is new to training a dog may find it difficult to do it at first but with time and expertise this becomes the best way to communicate with your dog to make him do the desirable action. Dogs of any age can be trained with these clickers. Dogs can relate to sounds easily so it becomes an effective technique.

It basically depends upon the kind of the training you want to give your dog, if it is a guard dog you want to train then too much socializing will take over his guarding instincts. It also depends on the breed, some breeds are more tolerant and friendly while others are very protective and territorial.

The dog should be exposed to new things in a way that he is not scared so that he does not react unexpectedly on strange situations especially with the puppies. There are a lot of things that will be new for him, he will see, experience and learn from new things, situations and people. For example if you are wearing a cap or a hat, he should get to know that it is you under that hat and its not something to be scared of.

Trust is also an important part of socialization process. If the dog has a bad experience with a particular object of a person, he will be scared of it because of a bad experience attached to it. So make your dog trust you slowly. It basically depends on what kind of a training do you want for your dog, a friendly guard dog will not be a good idea or an aggressive family dog will be tough to handle.

Not only socializing with humans but socializing with other animals is also important or he will not tolerate any animal around or in his territory. This is why sheep dogs are kept along with the sheep so that they consider them a part of a group and are not strange to them.

Many people do not even consider getting a dog from a shelter because of a belief that only sick or handicapped dogs are there in a shelter while this is not the case. There can be a lot of reasons for keeping a dog in shelter. It may be the only hope for the dog owner to get his pet a good home because he may not be able to take care of the animal. A person may not be able to accommodate a pet at home, ideally this situation should not arise because a pet is a responsibility and anyone who wants to keep a do should know this even before getting it. But a lot of times such situations arise and the dogs have to be left in the shelter in the hopes that someone will take care of them.

There are worse cases where dogs are just abandoned on the streets to live on their own. A pet dog may not be able to survive for long if he is left like that. You have to make sure that you are getting a dog from a good animal or rescue shelter and they can provide you with the genuine history of the animal. Knowing how the dog came in to the rescue group or the shelter makes sense. Some shelters or groups may also ask you about your interest in the dog so as to make sure that dog is being given to a good owner this time

As in any other dog training you have to be patient and consistent with what you want out of him. You may have to repeat several times before he gets to know what is to be done and how it is to be done.

You start with getting the dog by your side and start walking, as soon as he starts to pull away in some direction you have to stop and let him know that this is wrong. You can do this by pulling him gently towards your self and saying a command. Slowly he will start to relate that command to the action. Do not drag him of pull him strongly just a firm hand will do. Start again and if he does it right praise him by another command which you use to praise him or reward him. He has to know that he has done something right and will want to do it again for the reward or the praise. Just repeat it daily for a few minutes, a few times a day, slowly he will start doing it the right way

This is the basic way of training a dog, there can be different variations of the techniques, some of them may work very effectively in a few cases. Leash training is the most basic of dog trainings and should be a must for every dog. Ideally the owner should take out some time and practice training his dog. This creates a good bonding between the owner and the dog. You can take this dog training to any level you want. The basics would remain the same.

Some activities like bathing, brushing and ear cleaning should be done regularly at interval of few days. Infact some breeds require brushing frequently or they will have tangled and untidy hair. No one would like to see a dog in such a state when they can look good with a clean and shiny coat of hair.

It is important to brush your dog daily to keep him dirt free. There are natural oils in the skin of the dogs. If you brush the hair nicely going through the coat from head to tail these oils spread out and will result in less irritation on the dogs skin. A clean well brushed coat will also lead to less of skin problems like allergies besides your dog will also enjoy his regular brushing and cleaning.

Another part of grooming is clipping of the nails. You need to clip the nails of most of the breeds. This is important to ensure that they don’t over grow their nails, big nails tend to attract more dirt and possibility of infections. However you have to be careful while clipping the nails, make sure you don’t cut them to much or it may hurt them, if it causes him pain next time he will be hesitant to extend his paw to you.

You also have to take care of ear wax. Some of the dogs have ears which are open in the air. So with time they need to be cleaned for wax and dirt. Or it will again lead to ear infections which can be painful as well. Look for the signs like scratching, odor and head shake. You should clean the ears nicely with a cotton swab or a cotton ball making sure you don’t hurt the delicate skin of the ear.

Bathing is important as well but don’t do it too often , regular brushing makes sure that the skin of your dog remains clean and healthy. Bathing too often will make him lose the natural oils in the skin and leave it dry which can cause irritation. Also use a mild shampoo unless the dog has some skin disorder. In that case a medicated shampoo woul be needed. These are some of the basic things to be taken care of when you talk about grooming of your dog.

If it is a puppy you got home he will eliminate where ever he wants and when ever he wants basically because he does not has any control over his bowel movements. In this case you have to decide where you want him to go for his potty. Crate training also suits little puppies very well. When he gets in to the familiar smells of his poop he will get the urge to eliminate again at the same place. These are some basics you have to keep in mind while doing dog potty training.

Taking him out where he needs to go for potty also helps, for that you will have to know the timings of his potty routine. With a young pup, this is not possible besides that if you are giving a high fiber diet to a dog he will have more frequent trips to the toilet. Usually it will be after twenty to thirty minutes after taking his meal. The trick with dog potty training is to make a habit out of his routine, at first you have to tell him and show him where to go, there are different methods to do that. With time he will go there automatically with out your supervision. Dog potty training is not as difficult as it seems. It needs a little bit extra patience to deal with it.

Housebreaking adult dogs is a different story. With adult dogs you have to break his older routines before getting him into new ones. As with any other training, dog  potty training is easy with some breeds and a little tougher with others. If this is one thing that is bothering you, learn the dog behavior well and then work accordingly instead of getting frustrated over the whole situation.

There are potty training crates, training guides and a lot of other simple techniques available. Some of which work quite effectively. Try them out if you want but the basic idea remains the same, to get him into the habit of going to a particular place every time whether its out doors or indoors. Sometimes it is not possible for the dog to go outdoor, in this case you have to make the arrangements for him to go indoors.

For any kind of training of dogs two things are very important one is patience and the other would be consistency. Most of us don’t have the kind of patience to repeat the thing several times. If you don’t correct the dog for his mistake how will he ever get to know that he is not supposed to do an act. And you can not achieve this by punishing him. Punishment will lower the trust he has on you. Dogs are habitual animals and you need consistency to get a dog to form a habit. Once he gets into a routine he will remember his routine very well.

Basic obedience training would include walking on a leash, following basic commands like sit, not jumping on people he knows and gets exited about, there can be a lot more things added to this training but this is the least one should go after. Other factors that affect the training of a dog can be the breed of a dog and the age of the dog. Some breeds have a mind of their own and take a little more time than others. Younger dogs are easier to train than older ones because older ones already have habits and routines which are hard to break and set new ones.

Socializing is an important part of behavior of dog. If a dog is not well socailised he will have problems with new people and other animals as well. A well socialized dog will be more tolerant to other people and animals where as a dog who is not used to them will be more aggressive towards them.

The big question for dog owners is whether to feed a puppy with commercial dog food or give him the home cooked food. A dog needs a balanced diet. Dog foods are good and they claim to have all the essentials but without any standards set for them but we can not be sure whether the statements made are good and true. Though there are regulatory authorities but there has to be a defined standard and enforcement of those standards. There could be preservatives and chemicals added to those products which can be harmful to a pet’s health.

If you want to feed a pet with dog food buy a good reputed brand, check out the expiry dates on the packets and by from a good place where you are assured of the genuine product. A bad dog food can be dangerous for your dog so be very careful while choosing one. Your vet may be a good person for some recommendations. It is best to feed your pet both home cooked food and the dog food so that he does nt stick to only one type of diet and forms a habit out of it. Giving the nutritious home cooked food has other benefits as well.

You have to take care of your dog to have a happy and healthy pet that will create a special bond between him and all the family members. When you bring a little pup he will almost chew everything he gets hold of mainly because he is teething. So you have to be patient with some things and not punish him for the little acts that you may not like. This is just a part of growing up. You just have to know how to deal with a situation effectively. A pup will not have any control over his bowel movements and so he will eliminate where ever he wishes to. Again some owners will get frustrated over this situation and be impatient. You can always train your dog for these things.

There are other things involved in taking care of a puppy besides dealing with such situations. Most important being vaccination at the right age. Puppies are more prone to infections and viruses as the immunity level of their body is low. You have to get them vaccinated for the major infections. This will give him the right immunity to fight with infections. Sometimes a virus attack can be too much for a puppy to handle and can turn really bad. It’s better to avoid such a situation by taking all the necessary precautions. One thing to be noted is that when you get a puppy from a breeder, make sure that he is healthy and does nt have any health problems.

For some feeding is also a big issue, sometimes owners just feed the dog food to the puppy and keep him on a dog food diet. Dog foods are good but you should have him to eat home cooked food as well. A balanced diet for a dog would make a combination of home cooked food and ready made dog food. As in humans a good diet with all the essential nutrients is very important for your dog so that it remains healthy without any deficiencies.

You have to match your choice of dog breed with your lifestyle and that is very important. Say if a person has a small apartment to live in, a big breed like Great Dane or a dog which needs a lot of exercise may not be a good choice. Some breeds are ok with daily walk, which is all they would need as exercise while some need a lot of exercise and play to keep their energies at a good level. A wrong choice of a dog breed is one most important factor when people abandon their dog out of frustration. That is the saddest part. There are so many dogs which are abused as pets or abandoned to live on their own, it is both disturbing and alarming. A dog who is used to living with humans can not just live on its own for his survival.

So the right choice of dog is very important and that should happen when you decide to bring home a dog. There is a lot of reference material available on the internet and other wise that choosing a dog will not be any problem. Besides a lot of vets, pet shops books and dog breeders can also guide you to some extent. But be aware of their own interests and do your research before making a decision.

There is one more trend which is getting a dog that is in demand; a particular breed may be in demand because of its appearance in a movie, a TV show or a commercial. A lot of people start getting the same breed without knowing anything about it. It also results in poor breeding by the dog breeders just to keep up with the demand and make profits out of it.