Points To Remember In Dog Training
If a dog owner wants to train his dog, he should prepare for the right mindset. This would prevent him from violating any dog rules, an act that could really detriment the dog’s interest on learning.
Following the rules of training will also prevent the owner from doing the things that could harm his relationship with the dog. There are certain rules in training a dog that must be followed including the following:
Stay focused
Incompletion of a task usually leads to confusion. Make certain that when a command is given, both you and your dog will follow through. Refrain from being distracted every time you give a command.
If you are commanding your dog to sit. When the command is given, make sure both of you follow through with it. Do not tug on the collar of your dog and stop halfway and be distracted. Always finish one command first then move on to the next.
The dog should sit completely and not just bend his rear legs. If you do not make this happen, the dog will think that next time you give the command it would be okay for him not to complete the task or to ignore it completely. Always stay focused, this way, you would eliminate the possibility of confusion and maximize the obedience to a command.
Rewards and punishments
Many owners are anxious to let their dogs hear a string of praises or be rewarded with several cookies instead of one whenever a command is accomplished. On the other hand, a lot of owners give too many punishments on a single wrong thing that the dog did instead of punishing him just once. Both may affect the training of the dog.
Never over do the rewarding or punishing of the dog’s behavior. If you are using praises as reward, do not over praise the dog. Praising your dog will make the dog realize that you are in favor of his abilities. This should be said immediately after the command is accomplished.
In the same way, a single pulling of the check cord will be enough if the dog did not follow your command. A signal will be sent to the dog to inform them that something is wrong.
Overdosing the dog with either rewards or punishments will distract him from learning. He would only remember the praises or the punishments and not the thing he did or he did not do.
End with a positive note
For every training session, make it a point that the training will end with a positive praise. The dog will welcome the next session as they will feel the need to please you. Also, ensure to it that the last command was accomplished correctly so that the dog is oriented properly to following commands.
Do not lose patience
Often trainers become impatient with the dog when the results are not achieved. They then may do something that will ruin the training.
Dog training lessons should be an enjoyable experience for you and your pet. You should try to determine your pitfalls if you begin to lose your temper and your dog remains disobedient.
Dog training is really a difficult business. If you are not prepared for it, you could get help from dog training classes and instructors.
