I am a dog lover, true and true. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t discriminate and love all animals in general, though dogs are and always have been my favorite. I have always had large dogs so I was used to training big dogs. Our Koa – an American Red Nose Pit bull died a few years ago and we have since added Ikaika to our family. Ikaika is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and let me just say – it is a big difference training a little dog as it is a large one. I have had to learn to be patient with a dog that is a little more maintenance than a pit bull and I found that some of my normal training worked while others did not. Today I am going to share with you a few easy tips that will hopefully get your tiny dog trained and if not, at least it will give you some tips on how to enjoy your little companion.
1. Patience – Patience is key no matter what size your dog or animal is. Any dog (or animal for that matter) will react according to your actions and demeanor. Be calm and keep from being excited. Take your time, like with children – everything is a learning process and this is the same with your dog.
2. Consistency is Key – Be consistent with what you do. If you tell your dog to eat his food outside, keep his feeding done outside (just as an example). Dogs have a short attention span (not all of them, but many do) so by keeping things a constant and doing everything the same – it keeps your dog from feeling confused and therefore a routine will develop.
3. Let your dog know what they are doing wrong – this is known as replacement therapy. This is quite easy when you start doing it. By being firm and letting your dog know that something is not right, your dog will learn. I.e. Telling your dog “no” when it is doing something wrong like chewing on a shoe. Be consistent and firmly tell your dog no to let them know that what they are doing is wrong and then take the item away. Use a voice that is firm, but do not yell.
4. Training tools can be helpful – We don’t use it often, but a dog training collar with a remote control comes in handy when you are not in the direct vicinity of your dog to tell them to stop something without yelling at them. I recommend a dog training collar like Cujo Controls. It comes with 8 levels of training with a fully adjustable collar. It can be used on dogs of all sizes and is one of the easiest tools to use. Do not confuse this tool with punishing your animal. While it does offer a shock level, we use it for vibration, which is light and soft enough to have the dog notice that he gets a pulsation when he does something he is not to be doing. It then becomes a reminder that what he is about to do, he should not be doing. It comes with a wireless remote control and is water resistant. The Anti-Bark collar has a range of up to 800M and you can train 2 dogs at the same time. This unit is meant to accelerate obedience training, prevent unwanted behavior like barking and chewing and helps you with various training. If you don’t like the pulsation mode or vibrating mode, you also have a sound mode that allows you control with sound. This product is safe, humane and an effective tool when used properly and not abused. While many will say it is not something they want to use to train their dog, it has been helpful in training ours and Ikaika’s squeaky bark at 4am is not an issue any longer for us or our neighbors. Again – we use the pulsations that are light vibrations (similar to that of a vibrating ringer on a cell phone) that will not hurt or injure our fur baby. We have tested it on ourselves and it actually tickles but vibrates enough to get your dogs attention. That is the setting we chose for our little dog, there are eight settings available for you to choose from.
5. Love – last but not least, animals need a lot of love and compassion. They are like children and need affection and they are affectionate creatures. It doesn’t matter the breed (I know that first hand) because each animal will love as their owner loves. Just as we teach our children, we teach our fur babies to love by loving them.
Cujo Dog Collars love Rescue Dogs. A portion of your purchase helps support dog rescues across the U.S. This post is for informational purposes only and was brought to you in collaboration with Cujo Control. Remember – treat your animals as you would want to be treated, love them and show them compassion and you will have a companion for life. While I do offer tips for training your dog, I am not a certified trainer or veterinarian and these tips come from personal experience. Please check with your vet prior to any training regimen for your furry friend.
Disclaimer: This post includes products that were sent to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own and 100% honest and unbiased. I was not paid to provide this post or feature the product. There are affiliate links posted through out.