As your dog’s alpha leader, you need to give your puppy an education. Time spent performing dog training for obedience, is time that directly builds up your puppy’s good mental health. Through this training, your dog’s emotional needs are being met. So, what goes into the training process?
How Does Dog Training for Obedience Work?
There are many, many tools and techniques that can be used hand-in-hand with the different dog training steps I’ll cover in this section. You can use clicker training, dog whispering, leash training, crate training, marker training, and so on.
No matter the style(s) you choose, you should always use positive reinforcement. The bottom line is that, by teaching your dog to obey you, you accomplish many important goals, like:
- Dog training for obedience establishes the best possible relationship between master and dog.
- Once training is well-underway, you’ll be able to communicate very well with your dog.
- Your dog will learn what it takes to please you, which is something every dog wants to know.
- After enough dog training for obedience is done, your dog will be confident in himself.
- You’ll establish that obeying you, instead of his own instincts, leads to positive experiences.
- Later, if and when problem behaviors arise, there will be a groundwork for solving them.
Those last two points deserve a bit of a note. There are a lot of problem behaviors that almost every dog will need to be corrected about. Excessive barking, chewing on the wrong things, jumping up, running away, and so on – all these are the result of your dog’s instincts and one of them will probably happen eventually. Dog training for obedience is the best, if not the only way, to correct or prevent these problems.
Specific Advantages of Dog Training for Obedience
- Dogs’ minds are complex enough that they can get confused about where they “fit in” and how they’re expected to behave. Dog training for obedience eliminates that confusion.
- Dogs’ minds are also complex enough that they need mental challenges to stay healthy! To them, if it’s done right, the training process is just plain fun.
- You’ll be able to take your dog out in public or let him wander alone with no worries.
- Your dog will be safer, because you can communicate important things. Working with power tools? “Go to your spot.” Dog’s rushed out the door and heading for the street? “Come!”
- The training process not only gives your dog confidence in himself, but also confidence and respect for you.
- Dog training for obedience results in a dog that is good with visitors and small children.
- Dogs expect a job, and they expect their alpha to provide that job… and you’re the alpha! Dog training for obedience provides that in a fun way, that includes exercise and social time.
- If you don’t use dog training for obedience to establish the master-dog relationship in the right way, your dog’s instinctual reaction will be to become family alpha himself.
- It is not true that “old dogs can’t learn new tricks.” Untrained dogs can’t learn new tricks if they grow up without obedience training. Those who were trained for obedience learn just fine.
On the Other Hand, Without Dog Training For Obedience…
I apologize in advance, for the fact that these points aren’t very pleasant. Still, it’s important for you to know just how crucial dog training for obedience really is:
- One of the top causes for adult dogs ending up in a shelter or pound, is lack of training.
- Obedience training is a need in your dog’s pack mentality. Without dog training for obedience, your dog will feel neglected and unimportant, like an outcast among the family.
- Aside from that, an unruly dog will be an outcast – he won’t be allowed to participate in anything that his disruptive behaviors aren’t fit for.
- Dogs believe every family needs an alpha leader. If it’s not you, then prepare for your dog to try and dominate you and everyone in your family. (Keep in mind that some dogs will “test you” during the training. This is natural, just be calm and firm.)
- An unruly dog spends a lot of time being punished and scorned, which is an unhappy way to live. Dogs are complex enough to think deeply about the fact that they “can’t get it right.”
Rules for the Trainer:
Do’s and Don’ts During Dog Training for Obedience
Before you start down the path of training your dog, please learn these general points on how to perform dog training the right way:
- You should personally be involved in your dog’s obedience training to the maximum extent possible. This makes it clear you are the leader.
- Find out what your dog’s favorite rewards are. Use them as incentives to pay attention and learn.
- Expect dog training for obedience to take time. Until you’ve been consistent and done a lot of repetition, each lesson is a mystery to your dog. Forgive, be patient, and keep working.
- Never punish your dog for failing at things they haven’t fully mastered yet.
- Always reward the correct behavior. Do correct the wrong behavior, but keep in mind that the best correction is not a punishment or scolding. Cutting off social contact, for example suddenly refusing to acknowledge your dog’s presence, is usually very effective.
- If dog training for obedience isn’t fun, and brief, then your dog will start to dislike the training process – obviously, that’s no help!
- Consistency is key. Failing to be consistent undoes any progress your dog has been making. This means everyone in the home needs to be “in on” the training process and needs to be aware of these “do’s and don’ts.”
- Dogs’ minds work fast, so feedback should always be instant. If the feedback comes even 5 seconds after your dog has done the right or wrong thing, they won’t learn.
- Be mindful of the “challenge level” of your dog, and don’t push them too hard. Teach one thing at a time; start every lesson simple and don’t add challenges until they’re making progress.
- Once they are mastering the current training step, repeat it in new situations, distractions, etc.
- Weave dog training for obedience into the entire relationship. Issue commands that your dog knows on a routine basis as you go about your day together.
- Always keep your dog’s mind in mind. Work with his instincts, even when you’re working against his other instincts.
Note: This part of my website draws on my own hands-on experience as a life-long dog lover, but you can benefit – just as I did – from direct advice given by true “masters” of dog training. For people seeking advanced help with dog training for obedience, I suggest you click here and look into a Dog Obedience Training Package. You, and your dog, will thank you!
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