Dog Training Equals a Happy Dog
Educating yourself about dog training is the first step one takes before actually training your dog. Certainly there are plenty of sources you can go to, but sometimes it becomes information overload.
Dog training isn’t really all that hard. An important thing to remember is that almost all dogs simply want to please their masters. The problem can be communication. Obviously dogs and humans can’t talk to each other, and you need to get your dog to understand what you want.
Canine training can be summed up with just a few tips. Lets take a look at some of the methods that I have used in order to train my dog, making both he and I happier.
Try to avoid the negatives that often come with training. Hitting or striking your dog, either by hand or with an object will only teach the dog to fear you. A stern verbal NO, is OK, but don’t go any further than that, or you risk alienating the animal. Focusing on praise and rewards when your dog behaves as he should is the better way to go.
Praising your dog reinforces correct behaviors. Loving or petting your dog for acting positive behaviors is of course nice, but experience has shown better results happen when treats are distributed at the time the behaviors observed. Think about it, food motivates almost every animal, so to it works with our four legged friends.
Body language can also influence your dog’s reactions. Many canines can actually can actually sense and read your body language before any verbal communication is given. A method that works well in doing this is to match a verbal command with a particular movement of either the hand, arm, or even leg.
Never giving up is the final key to successful dog training. Sure at times it is frustrating. It would certainly be easier to give up, go sit on the couch and watch your Direct TV, but you need to be consistent in your training. Nobodys dog is going to train himself, and training always takes longer than you would like. It is so important to keep this in mind when things are tough with your dog. Things will not always fall into place, so do not give up at the first sign of trouble.
Training your dog can be both a difficult and rewarding experience. Keeping these brief tips in mind will help you keep on track in your natural dog training efforts.
April 28, 2008
Dog Agility Scoring Methods
When you participate in the sport of dog agility, chances are you’ll begin by joining a local group and handling your dog on a local course. But eventually, you may want to enter the world of master tournaments, such as the United States Dog Agility Association.
When it comes to scoring a professional trial for a dog agility competition, there are three basic ways the performance can be scored – standard scoring, time-plus-faults scoring, and points-based scoring.
With standard scoring, the dog and handler are judged against the STC, or Standard Course Time that is pre-determined by a judge overseeing the agility competition. The exact time will be set according to the level of the competition, depending on if it’s a starter, advanced, or masters trial.
In standard scoring with dog agility competitions, faults are still assessed a penalty. The winner is whoever has the shortest period of time with the fewest penalties. If there’s a tie, then the fastest time wins.
Time-plus-faults scoring is determined by speed. The score of the handler and dog in the agility competition is calculated by the actual time on the course plus penalties. So if the time score was 38.27 seconds on the course, but the dog incurred 9 penalties, then the score would be 47.27 seconds.
In this case, the winner of the dog agility competition is whichever dog has the lowest score overall. If a tie erupts, then a jump-off is used to determine the winner. The last scoring choice is points-based scoring.
With points-based scoring in dog agility competitions, the winner is determined according to gamblers, snooker, and other classes. Judges assign values to a certain obstacle, and each performance has a time requirement.
The points are accumulated throughout the obstacle course. If the dog achieves something, such as no faults, then he is given extra points for his performance in the dog agility competition.
With points-based scoring, the highest points-earner is the winner. Ties are broken using the fastest time as the key to winning the competition. As you go from beginner or starter status to masters-level champion, you’ll pick up the rules for each organization along the way.