Dog training – Everything you need to know!

Many people believe that dog training is difficult. Many also believe that some dogs just can’t be trained. Both views are wrong. The truth of the matter is this: all dogs are trainable, and training a dog doesn’t have to be hard work. In fact, training a dog can be fun. It is of course true that some dog breeds are easier to train than others. However, we do not agree with the statement that there are dogs that cannot be trained, because that is very false. What we venture to explore then, are some of the things you need to do to get your dog training right.

Parameters to measure success

You will be considered to have trained your dog well if you are able to pass on the essential canine skills to your dog in a reasonable amount of time.

In addition, your dog will be considered well trained if you consistently achieve essential canine skills. This means, in other words, that you will not be considered very successful in training your dog if the dog forgets the skills taught in one day.

So, in a nutshell, the parameters by which success in dog training can be measured include:

– The length of time spent transmitting the essential skills to the dog.

– The skills instilled in the dog.

– How long the skills are retained by the dog.

Of course, if you are taking too long to pass on certain skills to the dog, if you are finding it impossible to instill certain skills in the dog, or if the dog keeps forgetting the skills it was taught, it is not. it necessarily means that you are not doing things right. You have to keep in mind that there are two variables at play here. The first of these is your skill, aptitude and dedication as a dog trainer. And the second one is your dog’s natural ability, in a context where some dog breeds seem to “do” things faster than others.

Early initiation as a key to success in dog training

In a nutshell, there are some skills that you can only teach a dog when he is young. This means that the common belief that puppies under the age of six months should not be house trained is completely wrong. In fact, there are some skills that you will find difficult to teach to a dog older than six months. It’s worth noting that, unlike us humans, dogs are (in some ways) highly evolved animals, whose process of learning life skills begins the moment they’re born. This is why a puppy that loses its mother at three months of age can survive in the wild, whereas it would be very difficult for a human baby that lost its mother at the same age to survive on its own in a similar environment.

Now, the best time to start training a dog would be when he is learning basic life skills so that the skills you want to pass on to him are also adopted along with the canine basic life skills. That way, the required behaviors would be part of the dog’s personality. They would be more deeply rooted in him or her. This is not to say that a senior dog cannot be trained. It’s just that you would find it more difficult (and less fun) to train the older dog.

It later turns out that some of the people who end up getting the impression that their dogs are untrainable tend to be people who try to teach their dogs certain skills too late in the dogs life. When dogs fail to choose such skills, they are labeled as dumb, whereas in reality it is not their fault that they cannot choose the skills, but the trainer’s fault for not starting the training sooner.

The correct use of rewards and corrections as a key to success in dog training.

When we get to the nitty-gritty of dog training, it emerges that various skills and behaviors can only be passed on and ingrained in dogs through the correct use of rewards and corrections.

The greatest reward you can give a dog is attention. And on the contrary, the greatest correction/punishment you can give a dog is to deprive him of attention.

So, if you want your dog to choose a certain behavior, you need to simulate it (or rather illustrate it) and then reward him (with attention) when he behaves accordingly, and also punish him. her (with deprivation of attention) when she or does not behave accordingly. Looking at the dog lovingly is a way of ‘rewarding’ it with attention. Petting him is another form of reward for her attention. Verbally praising your dog is another way to reward your dog with attention. Sure, the dog may not understand the words, but she can feel the emotions behind them. The dog seems to have that ability.

Meanwhile, if your dog was enjoying your attention while doing something right and you deprive him of that attention the moment he starts doing something wrong, he instantly senses the reaction and makes the connection between his misbehavior and inattention. He is inclined to correct the behavior to get attention back from him. These things work particularly well if the dog you are trying to train is still young.

What you should not do, however, is hit the dog as a form of punishment/correction: the simple reason is that the dog will not understand that being hit is a form of ‘punishment’. Rather, the hit dog will assume that you are just being violent towards him or her. If the dog keeps doing things like running into the street or messing up the neighbors’ things, you’ll want to find ways to restrict his movement rather than hitting him.

Patience as the key to success in dog training

You will not be successful in dog training unless you are patient. Keep in mind that dogs take some time to pick up ideas that seem too simple to us as humans. There are people who have the misconception that you can only be successful in dog training if you are “tough”. On the contrary, this is one of those endeavors where kindness and the ‘soft approach’ seem to work better than the hard Spartan approach to training.

Persistence as the key to success in dog training

Closely related to patience (as a key to successful dog training) is persistence. You won’t be successful as a dog trainer if you give up too easily, that is, when you illustrate a desired behavior to a dog and then give up if the dog doesn’t pick it up right away. The truth of the matter is that you have to illustrate a desired behavior to a dog several times, while using the necessary reinforcements, until the dog eventually learns what is expected of him or her.

Constancy as the key to success in dog training

This is a scheme where, for example, after deciding on a particular reinforcement (reward or punishment), you must apply it consistently, so that the trained dog can understand what it really means. One of the worst things you can do when training a dog is to send mixed signals, because once the dog gets confused, it becomes very difficult to train.

Other keys to successful dog training

In addition to this, you may need to do some more research (online or at the library) before you get started.

And if your DIY efforts at dog training fail, you should consider enlisting the help of a professional trainer before giving up the dog altogether.

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