But what are the best rewards and treats to give your dog in times of good behavior? Well for starters you won’t be short of treats to try, the markets as it is now is full to the brim of all the fancy rewards and treats you could ever think of.

One of the favourite for dog owners is to treat their dog to homemade treats from recipes that can be found across the internet in many places, some of my favourites and personal recommendations are listed in the products page of www.dog-behavior-training.co.uk along with other tips on dog training there.

Consumer products are also a good choice when rewarding your dog; these include chewing toys which can be very rewarding for puppies and dogs alike. Saving one of their favourite toys for when they behave well makes everything more exciting for your dog and causes them to want to perform more for this reward.

If a chew toy is not to your dogs liking then they may instead enjoy a tug toy, tug toys are good for your dog’s teeth the same as chew toys are and it enhances the relationship between you and your dog as you play with them. Be careful while using these toys as some dogs may think of this game as good behaviour and will start tugging on trousers or other annoying or destructive things.

The last toys I am going to talk about are the throwing toys; these are good to calm your dog down when they are over active or if you just want to reward your dog with quality playing time for their good behavior. These toys range from a simple tennis ball to special durable dog Frisbees and help you to react with your dog wile also training playing the ‘fetch’ game.

There are lots more dog toys available, probably at your local pet shop. It is a good idea to keep in mind what textures and current toys your dog likes to play with or chew before making your choice but as long as your dog enjoys it, it can be used as a good reward and training method.

Dogs tend to be able to eat as much as we choose to feed them at times and feeding your dog till he/she is full is a bad idea at the best of times. A set amount should be given to your dog each day and some notification next to your dogs bowl might help the confusion of who’s fed the dog and who hasn’t.

As your dog becomes older, you will need to check their weight more often as their metabolism will slow down and overeating will become out of control and a problem for your dog. Obviously dogs come in different sizes and shapes so there is not set amount of food that has to be given to your particular breed of dog and a small amount of research or a trip to the vets will be needed to see how much your dog should eat.

Determine the weight of your dog is correct by checking that your dogs’ ribs can be easily felt with little pressure, and are not visibly noticeable. Your dogs’ hips should be easily felt and not are surrounded by too much flesh and fat, and from looking down on your dog the body curves inwards after the rib cage slightly.

If these are all in place then your dog appears to be a healthy weight and this should be maintained throughout their life. Always ensure your dog has plenty of exercise and play time to maintain a healthy dog. If your dog becomes too thin then a vet should be contacted for advice and support as well as if your dog is very overweight.

The first thing that you should typically teach your dog is basic obedience training. This involves simple commands like sit, fetch, come, etc. and can be done easily. Also, this is the beginning, so your dog feels comfortable with these simple commands.

However, you would surely like your dog to do much more than simply sit and stand. Dogs are wonderful creatures that can amuse people with their tricks. It is not very difficult to teach your dog tricks that it can perform. These tricks can amuse you and you can show them off in front of friends.

However, more importantly, training your dog for tricks forms a strong bond between you and your dog which is very helpful to have a good relationship with your pet. Also, teaching and learning tricks forms a welcome break from the otherwise monotonous relationship that most pet owners have with their dogs.

The first thing that you will need to consider is what tricks to teach your dog. This may seem like a simple question – after all, you can look up all the dog tricks you want on the Internet and choose the ones that you like, right? Wrong.

Not all dogs are amenable to all tricks. There is always a certain ‘natural’ inclinations that are unique to each dog. Therefore if the trick goes against his natural tendency, it will be difficult to teach it to your dog. On the other hand, if the tricks in fact go with his natural tendencies, then it becomes simpler to teach the trick to your dog.

Therefore, choosing the tricks you want to teach your dog should not be done in haste. First, you should understand your dog well and only then will you be able to decide which tricks are best suited for your dog.

Once you understand the natural tendencies of your dog, all you have to do is to associate the verbal command with the action. This can take time, but be patient, as it is not very difficult. To reinforce this, you can simply reward your dog each time he gets it right. This will hasten the training process drastically and your dog will learn the tricks much sooner.

Again, remember never to punish your dog but use only positive reinforcement during training. This should be a universal rule to follow during any training that you undertake with your dog, however small or big the training may be.

As an example, suppose your dog loves to raise its paws up. You can now teach your dog how to ‘shake-hands’ on command. All you have to do is associate this action with a command, by saying “shake-hands”. Therefore you simply need to say this command, and deliberately raise the paw of your dog. After a few trials, your dog will understand what you want him to do, and when he gets it right, you can simply reward your dog as part of positive reinforcement strategy to train him. Since it is a natural tendency for your dog to raise its paw, this trick can be taught to him very easily.

Remember that with age, it becomes more and more difficult to teach tricks to your dog. At the same time, you should not start off too early as the puppies may not be mentally developed enough to understand the commands. It is important to strike a balance. Also, you should not undertake tricks training before you completely know and understand your dog’s unique personality and disposition.