Dog Behavior Questions - How Your Attitude Affects Training
Contrary to popular belief there are not as many training styles as there are trainers and one of the most interesting dog behavior questions that arise is how the trainers attitude affects the training process. The despite an individual differences people handling dogs fall into clearly recognizable categories. And no matter your an individual style or that of your dog there remain certain truisms.
I can’t think of anything that requires more patience (except perhaps for raising children) then training a dog. Most people don’t have a lot of patience naturally so along with training your dog, you might have to train yourself as well!
When training your dog, keep in mind that daily sessions are needed to reinforce the desired behavior you want. Half an hour to an hour time slots will be most rewarding. Remember that no matter how much time has gone by, if you are starting to lose your control or your patience you must end your training session.
Your goal should be to increase the “time to boiling point” bit by bit every day. Don’t forget that you and your dog are working together in this training and that your dog is only able to understand commands at the level of a two-year-old toddler. This is even true for breeds that are easily trained. There may be exceptions to this, but those are few and far between.
Dog behavior questions can always be answered by thinking about nature. In nature, dogs live in packs where there is an alpha dog or leader. When training your dog remember you are the boss or alpha dog. Remember in order for your training to work you must assert yourself as the leader and not the other way around.
When training your dog remember you are working with your companion. Be firm and assertive not angry or abusive. You are teaching you dog how to act towards others, including children and your neighbors. If you get upset and fail to be persistent you and your dog will fail.
This won’t an always be easy - some dogs are natural leaders. But an even in purely wild packs that role can and does change an among and an individuals when the more assertive an individual insists on taking it. Be consistent don’t give up and your dog will follow your orders.
No matter how well you train your dog, your dog still has a mind of its own and won’t always follow the commands you issue. You and your dog will get frustrated if you expect him to learn a command with too few repetitions or to always perfectly follow one that you taught him before. Your dog does not have the same memory as a human. It is even different from very young humans. Get to know your dog. Acknowledge your dog’s unique qualities, his learning capability, and any limitations he may have.
There are different factors that affect how easily your dog will be to train. One of these factors is breed. Some breeds are easier to train than others. For example, some breeds are energetic- such as terriers, retrievers, and Dalmatians- whereas others are more relaxed. These breeds include basset hounds and collies. Another factor is age. A young puppy is going to have a shorter attention span than an adult dog.
You are trying to teach the dog good behavior, so don’t create any confusing dog behavior questions in your pet by exhibiting bad behavior yourself. Help your dog understand that good behavior will be rewarded and keep punishment to a minimum. Your dog should not be learning to be afraid of you, but to trust you completely.
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