Dog Training Secrets; Five Things To Avoid During Training

In dog training there are a few major pitfalls that you are sure to encounter. Knowing them before you get there is very helpful to avoiding stressful situations later. The biggest mistake most people make with dog training techniques 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, enjoy training. 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 dog training that have been put into these wonderful dogs. Your dog can learn these very same antics but it will take time for these dog training techniques 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 in dog training 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. In lesser cases it can go the other way and a dog decides to defend itself.

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 and undermine your dog training techniques. It will result in a nervous animal that cowers from you rather than obeys your commands or sees you as a threat, you might even get bitten.

The third dog training pitfall to avoid occurs at the other end of the spectrum. These people let the dog become the master. This is equally detrimental to your relationship with your dog as the animal has no control to its behaviours and can quickly become a danger to itself and others. An animal with that attitude will ignore all of your dog training techniques.

Dogs are pack animals and quickly decide who the leader is and who follows who. If you do not take the leadership role from the beginning both through attitude and dog training techniques, 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 for effective dog training 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 uses dog training techniques that reward well learned behaviour traits.

Many owners, lacking the time or perhaps the patience for proper dog training, 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 dog 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 with their dog training efforts. 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 dog training.

Knowing these five pitfalls ahead of time will save you many frustrations with your dog training and will result in a much a healthier and happier relationship with your pet.

By: Tim Guy