5 Things To Avoid During Dog Training
In training your dog there are a few major downfalls that you are
sure to encounter. Knowing them before you reach this point is very
helpful to avoiding stressful situations later. The biggest mistake
most people make is also the easiest for new trainers to fall victim
to. This is the danger of expecting too much.
Dogs are very intelligent creatures and, by and large, very
trainable. Thus when you visit the park with your untrained dog and
the person next to you is playing Frisbee with their German Shepherd
and the Poodle down the way is sitting patiently rather than
attacking picnic goers, it is easy to think your dog should know
these behaviours from birth. We often times forget the many hours of
training that have been put into these wonderful dogs. Your dog can
learn these very same antics but it will take time for these lessons
to be instilled. Do not expect your dog to learn all of these
routines over night. This would merely set you up for downfall
number two.
The second problem people encounter is losing their temper. This
usually results in an out of breath owner who is yelling at the top
of the vocal capacity, a frightened dog and possibly a visit from
the local animal welfare department depending on how the individual
vents their frustrations. To avoid this downfall, make a conscious
effort never to yell at your pet and hitting is always wrong.
Raising your voice to your pet will do little to correct their
errant behaviour and do much harm to your relationship with the
animal. It will result in a nervous animal that cowers from you
rather than obeys your commands.
The third thing to avoid falls at the other end of the spectrum.
These people let the dog become the master. This is equally
detrimental to your relationship with the animal as the animal has
no control to its behaviours and can quickly become a danger to
itself and others. Dogs are pack animals and quickly decide who the
leader is and who follows. If you do not take the leadership role
from the beginning, you can rest assured that your pet will. A dog
without a master will run amok and will quickly get into trouble
chasing cars and people, destroying property and making a nuisance
of itself. This mistake is tantamount to animal abuse and is very
nearly as bad as the previous one.
Fourth in line of things to avoid is the mistake of giving up. Many
a dog owner has a pet that has never reached its full potential due
to the owner losing interest in their training. Dogs love to learn,
especially when the owner rewards well learned behaviour traits.
Many owners, lacking the time or perhaps the patience, will be quite
happy to have a pet that merely answers to its name and stops
barking when repeatedly shouted at. Please do not let yourself fall
into this trap. Your pet is a highly intelligent animal and is
capable of learning so much more. Occasionally, dogs have even been
known to develop neuroses due to boredom from not being challenged
enough. This results in an unhealthy animal that can be poorly
socialized and destructive of furnishings or even its own body. Your
dog can and will respond to your training efforts if given the time
to do so.
A fifth point that we keep reiterating (and well we should) is
people's failure to be consistent. If you tell the dog to sit and
your pet doesn't do it, stick with it until they do. Always use the
same command words and enforce the same action each and every time.
Manually enforce the command if it is necessary to get the desired
reaction and reward the animal with some play time or some verbal
praise for properly performing the routine. Consistency is the major
key to training your pet. Repetitive lessons taught on a regular
basis with consistent rewards are necessary to the effective
training of your pet.
Knowing these five downfalls ahead of time will save you many
frustrations while training your pet and will result in a much a
healthier and happier relationship with your pet.
Dog Article
courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com