Improper Dog Training Could Be Harmful To Your Dog

The Importance of Proper Dog Training

As dog lovers we sometimes forget that our dogs by nature have a pack mentality. By that I mean they are trained to obey the leader of the pack. Which means that it is important that you dog views you as the leader. At the same time it is important to show your dog love and affection, “BUT” never lose track of the fact that you are the leader of the pack. This is where many dog owners go wrong. It’s extremely important for a dog to recognize the status of your relationship.

A dog who has been properly trained to obey his master should have no problem when his master gives him a simple command like “STOP!” On the other hand, if dog training is ignored, it’s likely that your dog will have a discombobulated view of his life. You dog may be confused about the pecking order of the relationship between you and him. Confusion is an extremely bad state for any dog to be in, nothing good will come out of such a state. The truth of the matter is dogs like having clearly marked boundaries, and everything spelled out clearly in black and white. A lack of dog training opens you both up to the possibility of a tension filled power struggle. This power struggle is an attempt made by your dog to dominate you. This is a dangerous and most undesirable trait in any dog, and must be eliminated as soon as possible, through dog training.

Proper dog training helps you to be aware of your dog at all times. What this means is that when you are out with your dog, you are absolutely certain of how your dog will react in any situation. This also means that your dog knows exactly what is expected of him. If your dog hasn’t been properly trained to respond to your commands and obey them, you expose him and others to danger when you go out with him. In fact, you expose your own family to danger because you can never be one hundred percent sure of how he will react to a situation or a person.

A dog that has been well trained to obey through proper dog training is more confident and self-assured. You will be more confident having him in the house as well as outside around others.

Proper dog training has been found to be very stimulating to your dog mentally, and leads to a happier and well-adjusted dog over all.

Here are a few ways to increase the effectiveness of your dog training:

• Use positive reinforcement for desirable behaviors.
• When the behavior is undesirable, make use of proper corrective methods.
• Make sure you don’t ignore any kind of behavior, whether desirable or undesirable.
• It causes confusion if you don’t follow a sign of progress with a reward or words of praise, or if you ignore undesirable behaviors like chewing.
• Never correct him if he hasn’t done anything wrong at that exact moment. This is crucial.
• Timing is of the utmost importance in dog training. Don’t wait to correct him; ensure he makes the correction between his bad behavior and your correction immediately.
• Make use of repetition to establish proper learning.
• Keep training short and simple. A ten to fifteen minutes a day is quite sufficient.
• Start with simple commands, and once these have been firmly established, progress to more advanced lessons.
• Make obedience training a daily part of your life. Commands like “sit” and “heel” can be used in everyday situations.
• Be consistent with the commands you use, and make sure each member of your family is also aware of this. You don’t want to end up with a dog that’s totally confused because every one in the house has their own methods training.
• Ideally, you should be the one training your dog, because you’re the one living with him. When you’re the one training him, he learns to recognize you as the leader of his pack, someone to be obeyed at all times.

Owning a dog is more than feeding him a healthy diet, exercising him and providing for his other basic needs. A dog needs to be mentally challenged, and trained to know his place in the world. Proper dog training is the only way you could achieve this.