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Many dog parents coming to vet clinics complain that their dog does not listen to them, thinking it may be a hormonal problem, or their dog is stubborn. Most of the time, the problem relates more to the individual's behaviour, and the solution lies in the proper Dog Training. Being a dog parent, you take good care of your pet's food, shelter, litter, and other daily needs, but training your baby dog is equally essential
You being a dog parent, are also a dog trainer. If you are not sending your dog for dog boarding, which is emotionally and financially challenging for parents, you must learn how to train your dog.
Okay, I know that you have come to this blog after you tried multiple dog grooming tactics on your fur baby, and you did not get success after all the struggle.
Science of Dog Training for specific Behaviors:
Before we dive deep into those seven tips by using which you can train even your stubborn dog, you must spare your time and read how the Positive Reinforcement methodology of dog training works. The ancestors of dogs are Gray Wolves that are wild, not domesticated. The natural behaviour in the wild is not acceptable in your house. For example, dogs in the wilds fight for food and kill their predators, but you do not want your dog to jump on your neighbour boy when he comes into your home as a guest.
So, you have to work on your dog by giving him rewards every time your dog performs a specific task until it becomes your dog's habit. Each time you reward your dog for a particular action, your dog learns it as normal behaviour.
Now, you understand that when your dog jumps on your neighbour or barks at a stranger, he is not stubborn. Your brave friend expresses its natural behaviour and saves itself from the expected danger.
Like many other dog parents, I know you are also struggling hard to train your dog to sit or run when you call him. You may consider your dog stupid. But I can bet you that your intelligent, brave boy is not dumb at all. You must be making some mistake, not knowing it to be a mistake.
Following are the seven tips you must follow for proper dog training.
1. Start with small actions and frequent rewards:
You can better understand with your example. Remember how difficult it was for you to make a habit of waking up early in the morning or shifting your diet from unhealthy junk food to healthy vegetables. Now you can understand what's happening with your dog. Developing habits is very challenging; doing it for the first time is more complicated. So, my first suggestion is to start with very small goals with repetitive treats.
For example, you want your dog not to get distracted while walking on the street. Please do not go for a long walk; go for a short walk, and each time your dog looks at you, give him a treat. With these repetitive rewards, you tell your dog what you expect of him. You can not expect him to learn a habit in one day.
2. Provide a distraction-free environment:
Yes, a distraction-free environment is essential. Consider a two-year child learning alphabets. That child gets distracted by every little thing happening around. So, you make learning fun through different attractive techniques. In the same way, you have to make the learning room simple and free from any distractions.
Even if you are taking your dog outside, you must choose a quiet place and time with minimum traffic sound or any other distraction.
3. One cue for one behaviour:
It is one of the many big problems dogs do not learn soon. The first thing is that you can teach only one behaviour or action at one time. Say you are teaching him to greet your friends when they visit you by sitting in front of them. At the same time, your husband or brother teaches him to greet by shaking his paw. This is going to confuse your loyal puppy. Similarly, decide only one specific cue, say it is a whistle or clap for one action.
4. Always Reward-Based Dog Training:
This is a very controversial topic that whether there should be punishment-based training or not. Yes, punishment-based training is indeed more successful than reward-based. But the question is what kind of relationship you want to have with your lovely friend. You want your pet to have a love and affection-based relationship with you or a fear-based.
5. Personalized Reward for your Dog:
The list of dog rewards is very long. It can be an outside walk or as simple as a dog treat. You are the parent of your dog, so you should observe the preferences of your buddy and give him a personalized treat according to his choices, not yours. If he wants to play with his favourite toy, it should be his choice.
6. Repeat, Repeat, and Repeat:
Behaviours are unconsciously performed actions because they are the habits of an individual. The only way for successful dog training is to have patience and perform the action repeatedly. Remember if your dog has learned to sit and now you are training him to jump, even then, you must keep on repeating the sitting command along with the jump command.
7. Call your veterinarian:
Yes, you should call your veterinarian to check your dog for health issues. He will refer you to a dog behavioural specialist if there is no health problem. But you should visit your vet after you have tried all the above tactics for a considerable time.
So, after moving slowly, consistently with the right methodology, you can train even the wildest creature like Lion. Then, why cannot you train your dog by applying these seven tips of Dog Training? We recommend you the Positive Reinforcement technique for smooth and successful dog grooming.
