Dog Reports

If you are new to dog ownership, you may find yourself slipping into some bad habits while training your dog, which can result in behavioral problems in any breed. One of the fundamentals of dog training is to retain a calm demeanor.

Remember, that training your dog is a chance for you and your canine companion to bond; it should not be stressful for either of you. Below you will find some of the most frequent errors in dog training. If possible, it is best to avoid making these mistakes with your dog.

Housetraining Faux Pas

Housetraining Faux Pas

Housetraining is usually the first step in any dog’s obedience training. Therefore, it is helpful to start on the right foot, or paw. It is really important, when housetraining your dog, not to punish him, or her, for accidents in the house. If you chastise your dog, it doesn’t understand that you are angry because he, or she, has made a mess in the wrong place. As far as the dog is concerned, you are angry because he, or she, emptied his, or her, bladder and bowel. Subsequently, your dog will become fearful, making training infinitely harder, because the dog’s instinct will be to hide from you when he, or she, needs to go.

Obviously, it can be a difficult time and you may find it frustrating, but the key to success is being able to devote the time to teaching your pet. You cannot expect your dog to learn on its own. So, it is imperative that you take your dog out regularly, especially as a puppy, because he, or she, will need to go frequently.

Painful Punishments

Painful Punishments

When teaching any kind of obedience to your dog, the use of painful punishments is not recommended. Although, it must be said, some trainers advocate the use of electronic collars and certain forms of chastisement. It cannot be denied that some owners have great success when using these techniques.

However, punishing your dog can lead to fear, which can manifest itself as aggression. Moreover, punishment is unnecessary. By nature, dogs respect the alpha member of the pack and, if the alpha member is you, you will find that your dog is very eager to please. Therefore, it can be argued that the use of positive reinforcement (lots of praise for the desired behaviors) is much more effective than the use of chastisement for incorrect behavior.

If you are having trouble asserting your authority and your puppy is displaying signs of dominance and aggression, I would advice taking a tip from a mother dog. If her cubs are misbehaving, she grasps them by the scruff of the neck and shakes them briefly. This does not harm the dog, but it dislikes it greatly.

Calling the Dog for Punishment

Calling the Dog for Punishment

Some owners, especially with a new dog, can find that they only call the dog when they want to punish it or perform an unpleasant, but necessary task, such as cleaning the ears and brushing teeth. Understandably, it does not take your dog long to get wise to this and, unsurprisingly, he, or she, will be reluctant to come to you when called.

The good news is that this is easy to fix, simply make sure that you call your dog for pleasant things, such as treats, dinner or even just a stroke. It is also a good idea to make a big fuss of your dog both before and after you have to do something that it dislikes.

Training a dog can be both enjoyable and easy. Obviously, the mistakes listed are only a few of the common errors made by dog owners, but you may find that by avoiding these mistakes, you will have a far more pleasant training experience and, what’s more, so will your dog.