At last! You have your very own puppy and you can’t wait to play and do all sorts of master-dog bonding things together. You want the very best for him because he deserves it. That’s great! Do you know one of the most important things you can ever do for him? Puppy obedience training.
Dogs that are trained early on are found to be friendlier and better in adapting to new situations and people. Consequently, puppies that have not been brought up with the proper training can be aggressive, domineering and difficult to have around. There is nothing pleasant about a destructive and stressed out canine. You need to put in hours of training when he is still young to prevent this from happening.
Now, hold on. You might be thinking this requires some extreme torture or stringent disciplinary measures. You just want to love on your new dog and what’s the fun in putting him through dog training? Wait, whoever said training can’t be fun? When you do it right, puppy training is a great experience you both can share together.
Dogs and humans have different language skills. It’s a pretty obvious fact but surprisingly, people forget easily and become annoyed when their pet cannot understand what they are being told to do. When you train your dog new commands, be sure to give him the exact same word each and every time so he will not get confused. Be aware also of your body language and voice inflections as dogs pick up on this and react accordingly.
So if logic and reasoning do not factor in when communicating with our dogs, what can we do to get through to them? Simple, we do what is called “parent conditioning”. This is rewarding the behavior that they displayed appropriately. If he does something you do not approve of, scold him and give him a light spray to the face (dogs don’t like this); if he completes the task you asked him to do, praise him lavishly or give him a doggie treat. He will learn gradually to do the right things by associating the sensations to the act itself.
Of course, you should never be excessively harsh to your pet. Positive reinforcement is the best way to train your pet, and only scold him exactly when he is doing the undesirable act otherwise, he will not understand why you are scolding him and confusion sets in.
There are various tools that can be utilized for dog training. A dog clicker and leash can help in reinforcing your training. You can also avail of some fantastic resources in this article to further help you in your endeavor to build a happy and well-trained dog. You will find that these are the best investments that go a long way in improving your dog’s quality of life.
Puppy obedience training should be the priority of every loving and responsible dog owner. You won’t regret it. Enjoy many memorable years ahead with your amazing dog!
