Dog Behavior Questions - Training Behavior Understood
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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.
You must have patience when trying to develop good behavior in your dog just about as much as raising a child. For the most part we as humans don’t have that much patients. So when trying to train your dog to behave you may need to train yourself.
You will need to have training sessions daily in order for your dog to learn a new skill. The minimum amount of time you dedicate per day should be a half hour, but an hour would be optimal. However, if you are finding yourself losing your patience, you should end the session, regardless of how long this session has been.
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 giving commands, be firm, but do not yell. Do not get angry with your dog when they do not obey. Rather than becoming frustrated with your dog, persist in your practice. Also, do not let the dog become the alpha of your pack. Your goal in training should not be to stroke your ego or to feel like you have power over your dog. The goal should be to have a safer environment for your dog and your family.
Teaching your dog to listen may not be easy. Your dog may be a natural alpha and may not want to take orders. However, it is possible. In wild packs of dogs, the role of alpha will change among pack members when one becomes more assertive than the current alpha. Consistently act as a leader to your dog and repeat these training techniques, and your dog will learn to respect you as alpha and will follow your commands.
Even the best-trained dogs will not an always do what you want when you want. Expecting a dog to too-quickly an understand a new command or to unfailingly remember a previously learned one is a recipe for frustration. The dogs’ memories work very differently from humans so you need to keep this in mind and not expect him to act like one. Take the time to learn your an individual dog’s capacity and limitations.
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.
