Instructions
Get your cat or dog to trust you. Pets will only obey people they trust and respect, so treat them the way you would treat anyone else. Respect their boundaries and do not constantly pick them up or put your face in theirs. Try not to raise your voice unless absolutely necessary, and never aggressively handle them.
Introduce strangers to your pet. This should be done on a regular basis to ensure they become accustomed to meeting new people and do not react badly. Cats and dogs that do not get proper social interaction are more likely to bark unnecessarily or scratch visitors.
Walk your dog and play with your cat. Often bad behavior is a reaction to boredom, so walk your dog at least once a day and dedicate specific time to playing with your cat. This also has the effect of tiring out your pet, which will encourage them to sleep.
Establish a routine. By adopting a regular schedule for feeding, walking and sleeping, your pet will learn when it should do something and where it should be. This also helps with toilet training as your pet should urinate at around the same time every night if you are following a schedule.
Train your dog to go the bathroom outside and similarly teach your cat to use a litter box. Place them in their designated bathroom area at regular intervals. Reward them with food treats if they use this area correctly. Take dogs outside after meals and let them wander around. Expect accidents while they are learning, but persevere. Place them where they should be after they've had an accident to reinforce that they should be urinating there instead.
Teach your pet basic commands such as come, sit and stay. This is a more difficult with cats than dogs, but is very useful when visitors are over or you are walking your pet and need to remain in control. To train a pet to sit gently pat the dog's rear as you are saying sit. When the dog sits, reward it with a treat. Walk the dog a few feet away and repeat the process and reward again. Use this same process for teaching a dog to stay and come, except once they are in a seated position, start slowly backing away while repeating the word "stay" firmly. After a few steps stop and say "come" and let the dog come towards you. Reward again with food. Repeat this process backing further away each time.
Consult a professional. If you are having trouble training your pet yourself look in your newspaper and online for local training courses and enroll your pet. Normally you will attend a class once or twice a week. You will participate in a class with other animals and learn many of the skills listed above until the teacher deems your pet "graduated."
How to Train Cats & Dogs
Training your pet is one of the biggest responsibilities you have as a pet owner, and one of the most important. Teaching your cat and dog where they are allowed to sleep, how to react to strangers, what behavior is acceptable and how to sit and stay can be difficult at times, but ultimately it will make life better for you. A trained pet is easier to walk, live with and causes less damage to your property.