Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Dog Training Tips
Dogs offer people many benefits. They give us love and keep us company when we are lonely. Dogs can even lower a person's blood pressure. If the dog isn't trained well, our blood pressure may go up instead of down.
Dogs are pack animals. If they lived out in the wild, they would live with groups, not all by themselves. In the packs, there are dogs that are considered the leaders. When a dog lives with people, the humans must make the dog understand that they are the leaders. This is what training helps to do.
Children also have to make a dog understand that they are leaders, too. Small children won't be able to do this. The dog will see a small child as a playmate. It is important for adults to watch small children around dogs. A dog that thinks it is just playing could accidentally hurt a child.
One way to train a dog is to make it follow a command before you give the dog what it wants. This will show the dog that you are in charge. Then the dog will be more likely to listen to other commands that you are giving it.
The first thing you need to do is teach your dog the basic commands, like sit and stay. Rewarding the dog after it follows the direction teaches the dog the command. Tell the dog to sit, and then push down gently on the rear of the dog. After the dog sits down, reward it with a treat.
