Dog Behavior Training
Dog training is an essential part of raising a puppy, or even a grown dog. Training can help make you and your pet’s lives easier and more fun.
Dog behavior training requires patience and consistency with commands you and your family use.
Dog behavior training is an important aspect of dog ownership, and can seem daunting. It’s true, that there’s a lot dogs need to learn, but with the proper mindset and execution, you can have your dog following your orders in no time. Training can help with behavior problems, obedience, and companionship. Before you start, though, you need to train yourself and learn the basics. Here’s how to do just that:
Prepare Yourself
- Be Patient: Dog training is as much about your mindset as your dog’s. Before you begin training sessions, make sure you are mentally prepared. Dog behavior training requires patience and understanding. If you get frustrated teaching your dog something, you can bet your dog is frustrated as well.
- Be Consistent: Another important thing to know about training your dog is to be consistent. If you are training your dog and using different commands each time you do it, your dog will never be able to learn. Make sure you and your family know what words you are using with which commands, and be consistent in these. Additionally, you should keep rewards and treats consistent.
Dog Behavior Training Methods
When your dog successfully follows a command, a reward positively reinforces this behavior.
- Positive Reinforcement: While some people might tell you a strict demeanor is the key to training, this is not always true. When beginning dog behavior training, it’s essential to maintain an air of positivity. When your dog successfully sits or comes to you, a reward will reinforce this behavior. Giving your dog rewards, whether they are actual snacks or just praise and petting, is the only way to get your pet to learn the dog training basics. Giving rewards, though, obviously doesn’t work when discouraging bad behavior. To do this, simply make sure your dog does not get rewarded for behavior problems. Ignoring them or simply saying, “No” usually works well.
- Keep it Simple: Dogs don’t just learn how to do elaborate activities right away when training. They need to learn the parts of each exercise, so you need to start your pet off with dog behavior training basics. Start with the simplest tasks, such as sitting or staying, before graduating to more complicated commands. When teaching something difficult, break it down and teach it step by step. This will make it easier for your dog to understand.
- Good Scheduling: If you are doing a dog training basics session, teaching him simple commands like sitting and coming, make sure you do these on an appropriate schedule. To reinforce the activities, make sure you do training every day. Try to keep every session short, so your dog doesn’t get frustrated or bored, and always end positively.
Read more about Dog Training Basics and Sending Your Pup to Dog Training School.
