Common Dog Training Mistakes - How NOT To Train a Dog
When training dogs, owners often make common mistakes that could easily be avoided, with some extra effort. Many genuinely want to train their dog properly, but often don’t realize the time and effort required for effective training. People often forget that dogs are not like children. While most mature dogs have a mental development equivalent to a human two year old, there are many differences and few similarities. Dogs are able to process a large amount of language, but do not reason the same way that humans do, as they are unable to connect cause and effect in the same way. It may appear that they are ignoring you even when you repeat a command over and over, but as frustrating as it may be, it usually means that they do not understand the command. If they have successfully followed the command before you may believe that they are ‘being stubborn’. While some dogs can act stubbornly, it is usually a case of being distracted, or despite yesterday’s connection, today they are unable to associate the word ‘come’ with previous behavior and reward. It is very rare that a dog is actually being stubborn – instead there is usually a reason for not obeying a command. You need patience in order to train a dog successfully, and must be willing to repeat the same command every day and realize you may not always get the desired result. It can take two years of consistent training for a dog to learn all but basic commands, and to consistently give the desired behavior on command. When training, you need control your temper, even when you are becoming frustrated. Physical punishment may seem the best way to correct a dog’s behavior, but it creates fear, and your dog will find it difficult to continue to learn and trust you. Dogs are much more willing to follow someone they trust than someone they fear. They will follow out of fear, but only when they have no choice. If they are afraid of their owner, they will often suffer the punishment, but will fail to learn anything. As a training technique, physical punishment just isn’t productive or valuable. Here are some tips on how NOT to train your dog: - Forgetting that a dog is not like a human and not taking into account their different nature. - Thinking that dogs can connect cause and effect relationships and will adjust behavior as a human would. - Becoming impatient and frustrated, and punishing them when they don't behave as you want them to. Failing to consider the above tips will result in a confused and unhappy dog, and an upset owner. Be aware that it may be YOUR behavior that needs to be trained before you can effectively begin to train and change a dog’s behavior. More Dog Training Tips Articles: | 