People who have tried to train their dogs and puppies know exactly how hard and overwhelming the entire process can be. Many can’t help but envy the professional dog trainers and their skills and are amazed at how they make it look so easy. While not everyone can acquire their level of knowledge and expertise, you can benefit from the little nuggets of knowledge they have for you.
Thanks to the helpful and generous dog trainers across the world, we have made a list of the top five dog training tips by the pros. Take a look to make your dog training task a little easier:
1. Know Your Dog’s Breed
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to dog training. It works effectively only when you are in awe of their personality, understand their behavioral characteristics, know them on an instinctual level, and use the right motivator for your dog. And how do you know that? By finding out the breed of your dog and learning about it.
There are more than 350 dog breeds out there, and they all have different traits and personalities. Professional dog trainers always encourage the owners to find out the dog’s breed before starting their at-home dog training, so they know what motivates them, what comes naturally to them, and what distracts them easily.
2. Start Early
Most dog owners go easy on their puppies and let them play and act however they want for a while before starting their training. Professionals, however, always stress starting training as early as possible. Every second your puppy is playing, they are learning something new. This is the time to teach them right from the very beginning, instead of making them unlearn behaviors later.
3. Remove Distractions
One of the reasons why professional trainers are so quick to teach the dogs various things is because they are mindful of the setting. Training a dog in a quiet and relatively empty place with no distractions leads to an effective training session. One of the biggest training mistakes dog owners make is taking their dogs to a dog park or backyard for training. Choosing an indoor area for training is a far better option with no birds or small animals to trigger their chasing instinct.
4. Find the Currency for Your Dog
Treats are like currency for your dogs, and the yummier the treats are, the more motivated they’ll be to learn and repeat. That is to say, just because a pack says treat on top doesn’t mean your dogs like it. Spend time with your dog, experiment with different brands, and do not fear human food either. Once you figure out your dogs’ favorite food items, get armed and start training.
5. Don’t Punish
Majority of the dog trainers are strictly against punishment. Instead, they prefer redirection. Not only is that humane, but it is also way more effective than punishment, leading to several behavioral and psychological issues in the long run.
And that’s that. These are some of the most shared dog training tips from professional trainers. The next time you get down to training your dog, keep these tricks in mind, and you’d know that the pros know what they were talking about.