How to pet a dog - Dog Obedience Training Mini-Lesson

There are many benefits to knowing how to pet a dog correctly, not only is it enjoyable and relaxing for you, it also has great effects on your dog.

Every time you pet your dog it's sending little sparky a message, but depending on how your actually petting the dog will lead to different outcomes in the dogs behavior.

Petting along the direction of the coat generally relaxes dogs, also petting slowly, along the whole length of the body from head to paw can allow your dog to reach higher levels of relaxation. This is great because it promotes a relaxed atmosphere whether you're at home or at the dog park.

Petting against the direction of the coat or a more excited stroke will intensify your dogs excitement. This is extremely useful for positive reinforcement during play when you want your dog to remain pumped with energy.If you're dog is already super excited about everything you do already it may be advisable to stray from using this 'excited petting' to often. Many dog problems are linked to excitement, and if not stopped early these excited tendancies can be hard to break.

It is important to note that dogs think highly of petting and regard it to be a form of praise along with other stimulus such as vocal praise, food/treats, play. You should never pet your dog immediately after it has performed an unwanted behavior as this will reinforce the message "what you did is ok".

Did you know? Hitting, punching, kicking are all forms of punishment for humans but for dogs it's abuse. You should never hit a dog, if you are that angry then you need to take a time out from your pup. Hitting a dog only strengthens "Learned Helpness" a terrible circumstance in which a dog gives up on wanting to learn through fear, we'll discuss this concept and how it can be avoided in a later article.

We are going to cover positive reinforcement, its timing and its importance soon on my blog, so make sure you check out the link at the bottom of this article.