If you find a good trainer for your dog make sure you ask about the training philosophy of the company. The philosophy behind the training methods they’ll be using on your dog must be backed up by science and research to achieve desirable outcomes. You wouldn’t want to leave your dog in the hands of trainers that do not share the same values and principles as you do, right? How will you be able to know what training methods are acceptable and what aren’t? You’ll never know unless you do some research. As a dog owner, it’s your responsibility to gather pieces of information about the different dog training methods. This will help narrow down your options when finding a good dog trainer for your pet.
How trainers handle each dog varies because not all dogs are the same. Think of them as children in a classroom. Every child has a unique personality and each of them behaves differently. The same is true for dogs, which is why trainers need to get to know the dog first before deciding on a training approach.
Basically, training a dog involves 2 parts: rewarding a dog for good behavior and correcting the dog for negative behavior. To do this, the trainer will use positive and negative reinforcement as well as positive and negative punishment. The terms can be a bit confusing but generally when you say positive it means you’re adding something and negative simply means you’re taking something away. How does positive reinforcement work?
When you use this approach, you’ll have to reward your dog if it obeys your commands or behaves appropriately. A good example of this approach is when you hold a treat right above the head of your dog to persuade it to sit instead of pushing the back end of your dog until it sits. This is considered negative reinforcement. In negative reinforcement, when the dog achieves the correct position, it will be rewarded. When this approach is done consistently during training, it will let your dog remember how it’s done by associating the treat with the behavior.
Negative punishment may be shown in different forms like when you ignore your dog when it begs for food at the dinner table or turning your back on your dog when it starts jumping on you.
Another training approach is called dominance training where you perform certain actions that will show your dog that you are the pack leader and that it should listen and obey you. Some trainers use other training methods like shock collars, choke or pinch. These are extreme training methods that should be used with great caution.
One of the questions pet owners want to know is what type of rewards are acceptable. Rewards come in 4 types: clicker, vocal praise, toy, or a treat. The clicker method is different from all others because you need to reinforce the light or sound with a reward until your dog will be able to associate the light or sound as the reward for good behavior.
Takeaway
Dog training is not as easy as you think because your dog is not a robot. It can get tired, it can get cranky, and it can get lazy. Besides having proper knowledge of dog training, a good trainer must be kind, patient, respectful, and persistent to be able to correct and change a dog’s behavior in a manner that’s safe and healthy for your dog. Training your dog is not only beneficial to your pet but to you and your household as well. The important thing to remember is to make sure you use the correct approach.