5 Tips To Control Your Adult Dog

A well-behaved adult dog knows that humans are in charge and are willing to listen to any given command despite distractions from their environment. In order to maintain control of your adult dog it’s important that you spend time training them using positive reinforcement and rewards for listening. It’s also important to maintain discipline and stick to your training routine and commands.

If you reward your adult dog for not listening, then they will not always listen to the command. There are plenty of constructive ways to control your dog without harming them. We will review some of the best tips to control your adult dog. For more information about dog training and dog related products, visit Care of My Dog.

Tip #1: Give the dog a reward or other advantageous benefit while your dog is listening

You need to explain to your dog that you are the owner and the best way to do this is with positive rewards. The owner will decide whether or not the dog gets the treat. This gives you leverage and control over your dog if they are food motivated. If your dog is not food motivated, try using their favorite dog toys or other high-value rewards.

Some dogs simply respond to encouraging non-food rewards, such as toys, a stomach rub, a walk, or positive words like “Good boy / girl”. You must know what’s best for your adult dog in order to get them to listen to your commands.

Tip #2: Make sure you are in control.

You need to make your dog think that you are the boss. Thus, you need to be sure that the dog knows they can’t take advantage of you in any given situation. Any human actions can lead a dog to think that they don’t have to listen to you. Some examples of maintaining control over your dog is to make the dog wait for their food at dinner. When your dog waits for their food, they understand that you are the one in control.

Many different dogs will beg or whine or even bark. However, it’s important that you maintain control over your dog in all situations or they won’t feel compelled to ever listen to you. Make sure that you are always in control in any given situation.

Tip #3: Train your dog several times a day.

Making sure you have full control over your adult dog means that you will have to frequently train them. Typically, this involved constant correction if your dog is climbing on your couches, scratching, or barking. One of the best ways to correct impulsive dog behavior is to put your dog in “time out” which can be either in the bathroom of their crate. This needs to happen immediately after they do something they aren’t supposed to do.

In addition, it’s typically a good idea to enroll your dog in dog training classes to learn commands. Teaching your dog sit, down, stay, wait, and other basic commands lets them know that you are in control. This also helps when your dog is out in public and you need them to behave well.

Tip #4: Do not encourage your dog with bad behavior 

You never ever want to encourage bad behavior or reward bad behavior. This will ruin all your dog’s previous training and they will get confused if you punish them later down the line. One of the most common mistakes that down owners make is letting a dog sleep in your bed and then later telling them to sleep at their respective place. If you don’t want your dog to sleep in your bed, you should not allow your dog to sleep inside your bed ever.

It’s important to make sure that you assign your dog a place to sleep so they know that you are in control of the situation. This could be their dog bed, a crate, or the couch. However, you need to create a routine for your dog and not allow bad behavior over and over again. Always be consistent in your training!

Tip #5: Increase your voice so your dog understands

Increasing the sound of your voice when you are frustrated in training will let your dog know that they need to listen. In addition to increasing your voice, make eye contact with them to let them know that they aren’t obeying what you are saying.

In addition, increasing the sound of your voice helps dogs pick up on certain words or commands so they will listen to you.

Conclusion for 5 Tips To Control Your Adult Dog

Dogs are typically very smart and respond well to owners who are in control. Ultimately, you need to figure out what your dog likes and how you can gain leverage over the things they want. Some dogs like the Shiba Inu are going to be toy or voice motivated. Other dogs like the Goldendoodle or Labrador are going to be food motivated. For more information about dogs, you can always visit We Love Doodles. Good luck training your dog and always remember to be in control!