- Why
train my dog?
- What's the best reason to train my dog?
- Who
trains my dog?
- How
should I train my dog?
- How
often should I train my dog?
- Why should I understand 'Pack Behavior'?
Training
your dog helps you to bond (become closer) with your dog. The
more you train him, the more he will understand you. And the
more you work and play with your dog, the more you will
understand him. Always remember to make training a fun and
interesting game for your dog.
Obedience training is also fun. Yes, fun! You
get to take your dog out in public and meet other dogs and new
friends. You both get some exercise and you can learn tricks
that are fun to show to your friends. When friends come over,
they will be happy to hang out with your dog.
Basically,
a trained dog has more freedom. Training helps make your
dog a 'good citizen'.
A 'good citizen' is a person or a dog who
follows the rules and is a good member of the community. Good
citizens get to go more places and do more things.
Many
people can train your dog. A professional dog trainer
can come to your house or take your dog for a couple
of weeks. We offer group classes for training so
that your dog not only learns basic commands but learns doggie social behavior
as well. This means getting exposed to plenty of changes in his
environment so that his education becomes well rounded.
Can
you train your dog? Absolutely!
WAGS encourages the entire family to
participate in the training of your dog. The
more people doing the training, the better dog he
will become.
We here at WAGS use a Lure/ Reward style of training fashioned after
methods developed by Dr. Ian Dunbar. You can read more about this
method here. (www.dogstardaily.com)
.
Your
first goal is to keep your dog happy while he's learning. Teach him for short
periods of time. For some, that's thirty minutes and others, only ten minutes.
If you're training a puppy, make each session only a few minutes BUT have lots
of sessions. Stop the training while he is still interested. You can teach
his lesson again, later in the day.
Your
second goal is to work with your dog while you're feeling good. If you start to
feel frustrated or tired, stop and play with your dog. Remember, always
end the session on a positive note.
Like humans, dogs have families.
For dogs, these families are called packs. In a pack there is always one
leader and several followers. The leader is the dog who makes the rules
and watches out for others in the pack. When a dog lives in your house, your
family becomes his family, or 'pack'.
It
is important that you let your dog know who the leader is. If he doesn't know,
he will try to become the leader. It's an instinct (he's born with it) to try to
be a leader. When this happens, a dog may be pushy and not follow the rules. By
teaching the dog obedience and giving him things to do, he will realize that a
human is the leader and he will follow, instead of lead.
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