Dog Training Tips - 5 Things To Avoid For Successful Training

Dog obedience training is a crucial part of your relationship with your dog. A well trained dog is a credit to you as the owner and will give your pet confidence in social situations and help him fit into the structure of your family. So all dogs should receive some kind of training and many people opt to do it themselves. This makes sense from a financial sense as proper lessons can be expensive. It is also less of a commitment when you are doing the training yourself as you can do it when you want or at weekends. However many people are less than successful in the training partly because the inherent flexibility of doing it yourself equates to unfocused training or because they fail to do enough research into dog training methods. This article will list five common traps that people fall into when embarking on obedience training their dog.

1.As already mentioned the biggest problem is not being committed. But this is not really a surprise to you, I am guessing as a lack of commitment in anything will ultimately lead to a poor outcome. Staying committed is about returning to what first motivated to undertake the task and then being disciplined.

Reinforce in your mind what prompted you to want to obedience train your dog. Think of the pleasure you will receive from a deeper relationship with your animal than, say, playing ball with him. Take heart from the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your dog is less of a danger to himself and the wider community as a whole.

Committed also encompasses keeping an interest in the task. Find out more about the characteristics and quirks of the breed of your dog. Look into training methods and learn through trial and error what best suits your animal. Keep on learning about the breed of your pet and don't stop learning. This will strengthen your relationship with your pet and help you come up with new training ideas and generally make the process easier.

2.Being inconsistent. The main reason why this might occur is because you will get bored and want to move onto another command. Remember to go at your dog's pace of learning. Whether it is boring or otherwise you have to repeat the same command over and over until your dog understands. Start with the easy commands to begin with. Only teach one command at a time as shifting from one command to another will only confuse the dog. Having said this, your dog will also get bored from time to time so keep the sessions short.

3.Being negative rather than positive in your training methods. Don't punish a dog for not doing a command correctly or failing to understand what you asked of it. This is cruel to the dog but also confusing. Ultimately, pain will have a negative affect on the animal and lead to psychological problems. Results have shown that positive reinforcement, through encouragement and even a reward, is far more effective. Quickly your pet will want to please you and this will make training easier for both of you.

4.Not open to new ideas. Don't stick to one idea rigidly merely because it was recommended by the dog whisperer or some other celebrity. Always see techniques as a framework to follow or disregard according to results. Remember that dogs are as individual as humans and some will respond better to one technique than another. The more you work with your dog the more you will understand his preferred teaching methods.

5. Try to keep a balance between being consistent in your training and keeping the process interesting. Avoid getting into a rut that will make the training dull and boring. Try to keep the training fun. Again this will be dependent on your pets temperament but why not try going to different venues. Why not make the lessons short and then add a bit of play time at the end. Alter the incidental parts of the training but don't play around with the core components of the lesson - one command per session.

About the Author

Learn more about dog health and training tips, including a review of best selling dog training course sit stay fetch and dog health care advice and information.

Source: Hobbies Articles on ArticlesTree.com





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