The Top 10 Dog Training Tips Every Dog Owner Should Know
Ok there are a lot more then 10 but these are the 10 basic training things that every dog owner should know… maybe I will do another post including more basic information that dog owners should know.
1.Management
If you don’t want your dog to do something set up their life so they can’t do it. Hate them getting into the trash? Get a locking can. Hate them jumping on guests? Stop letting guests in while your dog is out. Behaviors become habits and breaking habits is harder then just training good habits from the jump.
2. Know Your Value
You are not sexier then a squirrel if you haven’t trained to be. You need to know what your dog values vs what you have control over. If you are taking your untrained dog out in public and think you will be more fun to look at then the dogs, people, cars, deer, squirrels, cats, etc. hate to tell you that you are lying to yourself. Bring different level reinforcers (things your dog likes) with you so you are ready for the different levels needed while you are out!
3. Focus On the Dog In Front of You
Just like we have good and bad day, hours, or minutes so does your dog. They could be tired, hungry, annoyed, scared, stressed and so many other emotions. (Yes dogs have emotions but that is a whole other post) Stop comparing your dog to someone else’s.
4. Stop Skipping Ahead
So many people come to me wanting me to train their dog to work “off leash”, a service dog, therapy dog, to take their dog everywhere but they seem to forget they have to start at the basics and work up to that, and its not an overnight (or even over months) thing. Proper training takes time because we have to work at the dog’s level (see above) and also prep them in every type of environment. That mean in rain, heat, forest, parks, stores, around screaming kids, other animals and so many other things for each and every cue. Stop trying to jump to the end because your dog will practice bad behaviors and those behaviors become habits (see point 1).
5. Drill The Basics
Super advanced training is just the basics done very well. Lets look at heeling, this behavior is teaching the dog to focus on you (no matter what distraction is going on) while maintaining a certain proximity to you (loose leash walking). If you want your dog to do some “advanced” skill try to break it down like I just did for heeling and work on each piece separately then combine them together.
6. It’s Ok to Say NO
No to people asking to pet your dog, no to the dog birthday party you were invited to, no to your family wanting to bring their dog with them to stay at your house, no to the cashier offering your dog a cookie. You know your dog and your goals. If you want your dog to be a service dog, who by definition has to be more focused on you then anyone else why are you letting them get so many reinforcers from strangers? If your dog is stressed out by other dogs why do you feel like you have to let people bring their dogs to your house?
7. Dogs Don’t All Love Each Other
I want you to think about when you are walking down the street of a busy city or walking around Walmart, do you stop say hi and play with every other person you see? When you do talk to strangers or watch someone talk about something on TV or social media, do you agree with everything? Do you love every single person in the world? No ? Then why do you make your dog say hi to EVERY SINGLE DOG YOU SEE?
8. You’re Dog Doesn’t Have To Love Everyone
In line with the above point STOP getting mad when your dog doesn’t love everyone (human or dog)? While polite society has social rules like you can’t just go around punching people you don’t agree there are no rules that we all have to enjoy every interaction with every person that we engage with. This is something we train and work with our dogs on, with the understanding that they have the emotional regulation of a small child so we will still be the adults (see point 6.)
9. Always Be Ready to Leave
Whenever I go somewhere with one of my dogs, no matter what I have paid for, plans I have made, distance I have driven. I am ALWAYS ready to leave if my dog needs me to. Nothing to me is more important then the work I have put into my dogs, I can’t tell you the number of events I have left because my dogs weren’t feeling it (see point 3), the people weren’t listening to the word NO, or it was just to stressful for my dogs because someone else there wasn’t controlling their dog.
10. Training Isn’t Linear
As much as we would like to say there is a start and finish to dog training and its always moving forward, it would be a lie. (see point 3) As your dog ages different things are going to happen in their brain and with their hormones (if you leave them intact). Also, if we are honest, we don’t always practice each skill equally. I can not tell you the last time I practiced play dead with my dog so he probably wouldn’t preform it as well as say down. Think about the last time you used the knowledge of a frog’s digestive system or the last time calculated the circumference of a circle from its radius? Do you think you could do teach anyone else about those things right now without a refresher course (or google)? This is what we tell you their is no end to training.