Top 5 Training Mistakes Dog Owners Make
All dogs require training in order to learn basic obedience commands. The decision whether you do the training or you hire a professional trainer is largely matter of how well trained you want your dog to be. If you only desire your dog to know the basic commands, then you can probably get away with doing the training yourself and saving some money. If this is what you decide to do, there are some commons mistakes that people make when training a dog that you need to be aware of.
Be Consistent
Perhaps the most important thing is to avoid confusing your dog by being inconsistent in your commands. Your dog is capable of learning a large number of commands, but if you show him something slightly different each time he will become confused and even stressed. This will set your training back.
Be Patient
Some dogs learn one trick almost immediately and then the next one, seemingly just as easy, takes forever to master. Many owners lose their patience because of this. It’s better to only spend a few minutes a day per trick. This will allow both you and your dog from losing patience. If the dog senses your frustration, he will become stressed and be even less likely to do want you want.
Start at the Right Time
Some people start their training too soon. Puppies just don’t have the attention span needed to learn obedience. They must mature both physically and mentally before they are ready for serious training. The right time to start training most dogs is at 4 months. If your dog doesn’t seem ready, it’s OK to wait until up to 6 months. By hti sage all dogs should be ready for training.
Don’t be too Generous
Dogs need to receive some sort of reward for successfully completing a task, but many owners give these away too freely. The dog needs to learn to perform the trick without getting a treat every time. Instead of using treats each time, use other forms of rewards like petting. This can be just as effective since dogs crave attention.
Confusing with Punishment
Let’s say that you are trying to train your dog to come when you call him. Now he has learned the trick and is good about performing it. One day you are mad at him and you call him. He comes to you and you punish him. He has no idea it’s for something he did earlier. He thinks it’s because he came to you when you called. Don’t confuse reward actions and punishment actions. Do not punish your dog by sending him to his dog crate, he will be confused.
Training your dog is not hard and can be fun for both of you. Just keep in mind that dogs are logical creatures and little things like those mentioned above can seriously confuse them and make training difficult.