Training your dog by yourself can be very rewarding. In addition to helping your dog learn various forms of etiquette, you will also learn the art of leadership, patience, and persistence. As you train your dog, there are a number of things that you will want to avoid, because allowing these pitfalls to interfere with your training can prevent you from teaching your dog the skills it needs. The first thing you must keep in mind is that you should never expect a lot from the dog at first.

Even though dogs are highly intelligent, it will take them time to learn various tricks or commands. It takes months of training in order to get the dog to come to you when called, or to sit and stand. In all honesty, you shouldn't own a dog if you're unwilling to put in the time that is necessary to train it. Many people avoid training their dog because they claim its too hard, or because it takes too much time. The fact of the matter is that training your dog will make it a much better companion, and you can avoid many of the long term frustrations that come with not training the dog.

When you are in the process of training your dog, you should never lose your temper, or even become frustrated. If you should find yourself becoming either angry or frustrated, it is time to stop the session, until you've had time to calm down. You have to remember that the process of training a dog is gradual. Reserve a set amount of time to spend with your dog every day, and show it the commands or tricks you want to teach it each day. If you spend at least 30 minutes doing this each day, after a few weeks or months, the dog will begin effortlessly following your commands.

Getting angry at the dog will not help matters, and will actually send a negative response to it. One thing that you must always do is establish the role of leader as soon as you bring the dog home. Get it to understand that you control it, and not the other way around. You don't have to resort to brute force in order to get your point across. It is also important for you to never give up. Many dogs never reach their true potential simply because their owners get tired of trying to train them.

It is for this reason that many owners don't bother to train their dogs. However, one thing which you must remember is that not training your dog will cause both of you to miss out on a much higher level of interaction, a level of interaction that can only be obtained with the time and patience that comes with training the dog. It is important to spend a lot of time with your dog, and make sure it is properly socialized, because a lack of these things can actually cause the dog to become unhealthy.