7 Reasons Your Pet Training Routine Is Failing

Posted by Deakster on March 2, 2009

Any professional dog trainer will tell you that there is no such thing as an “un-trainable” dog. The real reason for this is because all dogs had to learn their behavior patterns from somewhere. No dog is born knowing exactly how to sit, stay, or come when called. Nor is any dog born with uncanny ability to ignore you and only you.

Because we know that all dog behavior is learned, we also know that if your dog is not well-behaved, then they simply have not learned the right stuff, yet.

Now, this does not mean anyone is a bad trainer, it just simply means your dog is not learning the stuff it needs to learn in order to be properly trained. Unfortunately many people do not realize that sometimes the deck is stacked against them when it comes to dog training.

So here are 7 common things that are working against you when you try to train your dog.

Lack of Pet Training Consistency

If your not being consistent with your training methods, then your pet will not be consistent with it’s learning. Even humans have confliction issues when we are told one thing and then told another way. Your dog needs to hear the same commands over and over again. Repetition alone is not enough, but Consistent Repetition is.

Lack of Pet Training Control

We can only directly control our pets when we are there with them. Once you leave the room you relinquish much of that control and your dog is left to depend on its training. Since the training has not taken yet, your dog does not know what it should or should not do. If there are other people in the room when you left then those people will often try to exert control over your dog in some manner. This adds additional levels of confusion for the dog be trained.

Lack of Pet Training Time

Many people feel they are too busy to train their dogs. This is a society of instant gratification. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does take time to train your pets. It does not need to take weeks or months if done properly, but it will not happen on the first try either. So get used to spending some amount of time to train your pet properly.

Lack of Pet Training Environment

Many people fail to consider how their environment will actually affect their pet’s ability to learn. Sure, we all remember that we like peace and quiet when we are trying to learn stuff. But what about the dog? Well the same goes for them. Find a place that is not quiet, free of distractions and away from the crowd. This will give your dogs’ full attention to you.

Lack of Pet Training Tools

There are many different training tools on the market. These could be leashes, collars, harnesses, or clickers. These tools can often make a big difference when training your pet. For instance, a clicker cannot yell at the dog. It can only click. since yelling at your dog would be bad, your dog may respond better the clicker. This will help to prevent you from yelling and your dog will hear more praise and respond better to you.

Lack of Pet Training Direction

Do you travel across the country without a map? Are you constantly getting lost? If so, then so will your dog. You need to have a well defined direction for your training. Do not simply flip a coin with your dog’s training. Make sure you know what commands you are working on during the training session and what results you expect to receive.

Lack of Pet Training Goals

If you are not sure of what results you wish to achieve, then how will you know if you have achieved results? Sounds confusing doesn’t it? You have to know and track the results of your training session. Use a notebook, pen, and maybe even a stop watch. TRack the time you spent training, the amount of times you issues a command, the distance away you got during a stay. Just track your results. When you have results to look back on then, and only then, can you make a determination of how well your training is progressing.

Better Your Life By Training Your Dog

Posted by Deakster on

Training your dog is a long and rewarding process. By teaching your dog to obey you, you are skyrocketing the standard of life for both dog and master.

As with any healthy relationship, both parties need to develop a knowledge of who is the boss, what their expectancies are, and so on.

Imagine having the ability to take your dog out for a stroll without being jerked around on a leash. Telling your dog to ‘stay’ and knowing that you will not have to keep your leash handy. Imagine letting your dog play with the children and knowing that no-one will need a band help or disinfectant later. When it comes to dog coaching, psychology is simple.

By rewarding good behavior, your dog will learn to enjoy obeying you, and to associate good feelings with good behavior. Likewise, your dog will learn how to dodge bad behavior, and all the headaches that would cause you, and, indirectly, your dog. That’s all there is to it.

Giving your pet rewards is a pretty pretty straightforward process – You either heap praise on the dog, give a radical petting, or give a treat, for doing good things. Care should be taken not to go overboard. If you find that you hate the idea of over-feeding your dog, you may use a strategy called ‘clicker coaching’ to accomplish the same goals.

Trained pets do not need to be able to jump through hoops, they simply need to listen when their told, and do what they are told. Through good praise, use of treats and toys, and a caring trainer, this can be accomplished with time, love and patience.