Diet, Dog Training & Obedience: 5 Tricks to Teach Your Dog

07 Jun 2024

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Diet, Dog Training & Obedience: 5 Tricks to Teach Your Dog

Training is a vital part of responsible dog parenting - guiding their behaviour is not only part of ensuring safety and stress-free walks in the park but also keeping your dog mentally stimulated.

A huge part of effective dog training and obedience is making sure that you, as a dog owner, have the right foundation in place. Training to your dog’s age, educating yourself with free resources, thoughtfully using training treats and ensuring your dog is properly fuelled on a nutrient-dense diet that supports their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is crucial.

Let’s dive into 5 essential tricks for new dog owners when it comes to top training.

1. Keep Training Age Appropriate

Training in the first eight weeks with your new puppy isn’t just about sit or shake. It's about easing your pup into your daily routines and making them feel safe amidst vet visits, grooming, and socialisation (once you’ve passed the vaccination stage). Training treats can make these experiences positive early on. Plus, prioritise toilet training and teach them to be okay alone for short spells. When your pup first comes home, it's like a non-stop adventure. But keeping boredom at bay is super important - enrichment toys loaded with dog treats aren't just great for kicks—they're key for keeping your pup happy & engaged.

Action: Try loading a puzzle or enrichment toy like a KONG with small nutrient-dense dog training treats and seeing how long your dog takes to extract the reward. Move on to more challenging puzzles as your dog's training performance improves.

2. Start with the Basics

Before diving into advanced tricks to teach your dog, it's essential to establish a strong foundation of basic commands like sit, stay, and come. These commands form the building blocks of more complex behaviours and are crucial for effective dog training and obedience.

Action: Use positive reinforcement techniques, including praise, belly rubs/scratches or nutritionally appropriate training treats to encourage your dog's progress and reinforce good behaviour.

3. Leverage Free Dog Training Resources

There are a ton of free dog training and obedience resources out there to help cover the basics - we love YouTuber’s Zak George and Dogumentary in particular. While most YouTube content does come from across the pond in the US, there are also some Aussie dog trainers like K9iQ producing handy walkthroughs on tricks to teach your dog.

Action: Subscribe to a few different Dog Trainers on your preferred social media channel (YouTube/IG/TikTok etc) - this will give you regular reminders on techniques and new challenges to tackle with your pup.

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4. Repetition & Cognitive Function

Training isn't just a one-and-done deal, you know? It's more like a constant evolution, where you keep reinforcing what they've learned and throw in some new tricks to teach your dog here and there. Repetition goes hand in hand with preventing confusion. It's all about flexing their memory muscles and keeping their minds sharp.

When selecting dog training treats or food for your pup, keep an eye out for ingredients containing EPA and DHA, such as fish, fish oils, and mussels. These nutrients are essential for supporting your dog's cognitive function and overall well-being. Plus when your dog is properly nourished, their alertness should be heightened, making them responsive to your commands!

Action: Set a calendar reminder for training time, and have a routine you repeat each time for a minimum number of reps until the behaviour is fully embedded.

5. Facilitate Great Training with A Great Diet

Keep in mind that if you're doing everything right but your dog isn’t responding well to training or seems moody, this could signal nutritional deficiencies. You can teach a dog new tricks on a lacklustre diet! Just like humans, dogs need quality training, treats and food for cognitive development and calm behaviour. Remember, we eat brain-boosting foods to stay focused; dogs need the same! So, choose nutritious dog training treats and food to boost your pup's engagement, learning, and memory. After all, a well-fed dog is a quick learner!

Typical dry dog food can often be loaded with high-GI carbs like wheat, rice, and potatoes, which can cause sugar spikes. Dogs don’t need carbs for energy; they get most of their calories from protein. They do however need the micronutrients in low-GI carbs. Look for natural dog foods with whole food carbs like sweet potato, broccoli or pumpkin to keep your dog fuelled right.

Next let's talk about amino acids. They're from digested protein and help regulate mood and sleep. If your pup's mood swings or acts hyper, they might need more amino acids. Lack of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, can make them restless. Stable moods mean better training sessions. Look for tryptophan-rich protein sources like free range chicken and avoid vague 'meat' labels. Opt for proteins from wild-caught animals on hormone and antibiotic-free diets for even better balance. Woof, that's a mouthful!

Action: Make sure you thoroughly understand the food you’re selecting for your dog. High quality proteins, purposeful carbohydrates and minimal or zero fillers are key. Check out our guide to ingredients to avoid for more info.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, training your dog is a journey filled with fun, challenges, and rewards. By incorporating the right techniques, resources, and diet, you can set your furry friend up for success. Remember, training isn't just about teaching your dog new tricks; it's about building a strong bond, ensuring safety, and promoting mental stimulation.

At Eureka Pet Co, we understand the importance of nutrition in your dog's training journey.

Our Aussie made air-dried dog food recipes are flexible to be used as a training treat, topper or complete & balanced meal. Featuring a base of over 90% wild-caught and grass fed meat, organs and bone, with 10% purposeful wholefood and low GI fruit & veg. Zero fillers, zero nonsense, and a solid dose of DHA/EPA via salmon oil and green lipped mussels. Every bite is designed to support your dog’s cognitive function, energy levels, and overall well-being.

Check out our air-dried dog food recipes as fuel for your next training session.

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Our Recipes

All natural, nutrient dense food for dogs we love. Air-dried for easy serving. High protein, low carb with no fillers or preservatives to support digestive care. Good for them, easy for you.

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