There are many areas relevant to dog welfare, but the one that is beneficial to having an obedient dog is obedience training. Obedience training is an essential ingredient for a good dog-human relationship and creates a happy and healthy relationship between dog and owner. Before I get into the secrets, let me share with you the positive aspects of training.
1. The training will establish a safe and non-confrontational way for you to establish control. This is especially necessary for a dominant dog personality.
2. Aggressive dogs that climb on furniture or push their owners for petting or petting are less dominant, but still must obey the rules. Training keeps them in check and lets them know their owner is the dominant one.
3. Dogs are descended from wolves, who live according to rules and have a social structure. The pack operates under a single leader, with clearly defined lines. Although dogs have allowed themselves to be domesticated by man, they still have a natural instinct to prove their position. Training lets your dog know that you are the only leader and that you must respect and obey your position in the pack at all times. No matter what breed or how small your dog is, he is still a dog and you should know his place in the family. This understanding is what makes the owner and the well-being of the dog happy.
4. Training will strengthen and build a healthy relationship between you and your dog.
5. Opens a clear line of communication between you and your dog.
6. Establish rules and limits that educate your dog to become a dependent member of your family and society.
7. Prevents the growth of unwanted unacceptable behaviors such as nipping, growing, jumping, chewing and digging to name a few.
8. Eliminate confusion because your dog will know his place and come to respect yours.
9. Obedience training provides your dog with crucial needs for exercise, mental stimulation, and a loving relationship with his owner. Another vital component for the well-being of the dog.
10. An obedience trained dog or puppy is a much safer dog.
11. Gain trust and mutual respect with your dog.
12. He behaves well when he has visitors at home or takes him out for a walk.
13. Helps to avoid stress and anxiety in the dog and the owner
14. Reduces the risk of getting caught up in a dominance fight with your dog.
15. Training promotes a happy, healthy and confident dog, eliminating problems like separation anxiety, which is serious and very common, and often causes pet owners to abandon their dogs.
It’s important to remember that obedience training is a step-by-step process that you build over time with your dog. It doesn’t happen overnight. Start training your dog as early as possible, even at 3 months of age.
Secrets for an obedient dog
Never underestimate the power of positive reinforcement. In the workplace we are aware of 2 types of managers. There is the manager who uses fear, loud voices and threats to get their employees to perform, and then there are the managers who use a positive, affable and calm approach. I have personally worked for both types of managers and let me tell you: there is no comparison! A positive approach is not only less stressful, it creates a happier, more productive employee, not to mention an employee who will honestly give more than 100% productivity and feel good doing it. Positive reinforcement in obedience training contributes greatly to the well-being of the dog and has a high success rate.
Your dog acts as your employee, and providing a positive environment with positive reinforcement will allow you to achieve faster, more productive results while building a strong, trusting relationship.
Moment
Giving your dog a treat for good behavior is a great idea, but timing is the most important thing. If you wait too long, your dog won’t be able to associate the treat with his good behavior, which means his efforts are wasted. This same understanding applies to punishment for misconduct; The punishment must be immediate or your dog will have no idea why he is being punished, and this can also cause other problems later on. When it comes to punishment, you need to catch your dog in the act for the chill to have a positive effect on his behavior, otherwise the punishment won’t work to fulfill his intended desire.
Dr. Nicholas Dodman (an excellent veterinary behaviorist) gives us these principles for effective training:
1. The training must not involve any negative or punishment-based components. There should be no yelling, hitting, pulling chains, hanging, and absolutely no electric shocks. Each session should be upbeat and positive with rewards for a job well done.
2. Remember that the opposite of reward is not punishment; it is not a reward. If you ignore unacceptable responses, your dog will not be rewarded for his failed response. Most dogs want to please their owners or, at the very least, to obtain precious resources such as food, toys, or attention.
3. Reward good behavior immediately. The reward must be immediate so that the dog associates the reward with the behavior.
4. If praise is used as a reward, say it in high, sing-song tones, which are most pleasing to the dog. Use an enthusiastic voice. If petting is to be used as a reward, it should be in a way that the dog enjoys, such as stroking the dog’s hair on the side of the face in the same direction it grows, or scratching it on the chest.
Methods and Consistency
There are several approaches to obedience training.
1. Only Trainer and Dog. You can hire a professional trainer who will house your dog, train it, and return it to you. The pet owner will be taught the commands and the basic rules around the commands so that the owner carries out the consistency of the pattern that the trainer has used and so that your dog knows that now it is up to you to obey. But the hard work and time is taken by the coach.
2. Private or group training – dog and owner. You and your dog can attend private or group training classes where you and your dog learn the different commands and the owner learns how to handle their dog. Most of these training courses are 4-6 weeks in length; however, keep in mind that a dog is not fully housetrained in this time frame and still requires you to continue her training at home when the sessions are over, especially if she is training a puppy. This method is a great way for you to also socialize your dog with other people and other dogs, which is another important area for dog well-being. A well-socialized dog makes for a well-rounded dog and a happy owner and contributes greatly to the well-being of the dog.
3. Just you and your dog. There are many wonderful pet sites today that will walk you through the individual commands and give you tips and tricks on how to best handle your dog. Pet owners can also research this same method based on their breed of dog for advice on how to handle that particular breed. This is also effective because different breeds have different personality traits. Many of these sites provide free information; all you have to do is follow the method and be consistent.
Whichever method you consider, it is important and relevant to your success that you stay consistent and on track. If you have older children, it can be very helpful if you train them on the procedures and allow them to help you when you are busy or overwhelmed with other responsibilities. The other benefit of this is that your children will learn how to perform obedience training, approach and gain your dog’s respect. It is vital that everyone in the family knows the command being taught and practice with the dog. This will build a good relationship between the dog and other members of the family.
Obedience training with positive reinforcement, along with time and consistency, are keys to having a healthy, happy, well-behaved dog, which means you’ll get a lot out of your life as a pet owner, and it’ll be worth the work . Remember that obedience training does not happen overnight and is an ongoing process over a period of time. Start training as soon as possible. Puppies aren’t too young to start learning the rules and, in fact, should begin their training as early as possible, with age-appropriate measures that will expand and grow with age. These tactics will go a long way to your dog’s well-being and will make you, as a dog owner, bark to a happy tune.
TIPS: Did you know that most dogs do not like to pet a dog on the head?
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