Training is not just a way to educate and make the animal behave. It's also a way to make you feel more confident, healthy and happy. After all, dog training is one of the most effective ways to control the animal's various desires, such as stress, anxiety and excessive barking.
Dogs' lives are full of feelings. In fact, they live based on feelings. Because they perceive the happiness or sadness of their tutors and this automatically infects them. Therefore, it is important that there is a mental and behavioral control in this sense. After all, when they don't know the limits, they will hardly be happy in a balanced way.
How to Train a Dog – What to Consider?
To begin to understand how to train a dog, we need to consider some important issues related to the animal's health and also to its behavior. It is critical that you understand that a dog is not a human being. Therefore, some situations cannot be compared or used as a form of training.
As much as we believe in our pet's potential, we need to understand that it has limits. And these boundaries need to be respected. Otherwise, training will be much more harmful than positive. For example, a puppy that is still starting its life has much more potential to learn some behaviors than older dogs.
However, this does not mean that training older dogs is unfeasible. On the contrary. It is extremely possible to train them so that they have a more dignified and peaceful life after age. But in this case, it takes a little more calm and a little more technique.
To learn more, keep reading.
When he's a puppy, start training him
The first step in understanding how to train a dog is to consider the age of the animal. Starting training when the dog is still a puppy is one of the best ways to guarantee the success of the operation. After all, a puppy is still in its learning and knowledge phase. And this is great, because he starts to train and learn behaviors without any kind of addiction or quirks.
As much as it is “easier” to train a puppy, it does not mean that it is simple. It takes a lot of dedication and effort for the animal to feel good with so many teachings. Of course, in the long run, all this will make a lot of difference. But in the act, the dog will not always understand this. And in this case, you need calm and tranquility.
toys can help
Toys can be great allies in your understanding of how to train a dog. After all, these objects can be part of your training “arsenal”, since they will be very important to simulate and insinuate situations. For example, you can teach your dog to fetch an object by throwing it away and, when he brings it to you, reward him with a dog biscuit.
In addition, toys are excellent ways to provide fun to the dog. And this is an important tip: the dog needs to be entertained with training. Otherwise, everything will be just a dull moment for him. And a bored dog can mean a lot of trouble for the tutor, especially if the training process is just beginning.
We know that training will not always be easy for the animal. And for that, he needs to feel motivated every time you start training him. For this, the use of fun toys and objects can be an alternative, since the animal will feel more pleasure in carrying out the activities.
Use short, catchy words
As much as you believe a dog understands absolutely everything you say, he doesn't. He might even show empathy when you talk to him. For example, tail wagging, barking, jumping, etc. But that doesn't mean he understands what you're saying. Although he understands that you are interacting. And this, for dogs, is fantastic.
In this way, in dog training, you can also use words to make him condition a situation. However, these words need to be short and dry. For example, if you don't want the dog to do a certain situation, you can't direct a long sentence at him. You need to say “no!”, short and dry.
Rewards need to exist
Just as a dog can be conditioned to certain types of situations, they need to be encouraged to do so. That is, it is essential that you offer rewards to the animal, so that it wants to earn them. This helps a lot in developing activities and carrying out tasks.
For example, if you want to teach your dog to fetch the ball, he might even do it spontaneously. But if he doesn't, you can show him that if he does, he'll get a reward. In this way, he will condition himself to receive the reward and, as a consequence, he will perform the task.
Training treats can have different tastes and flavors. The most important thing is to find one that your dog loves, and every time he meets a training goal or objective, offer the reward. Although this seems like a bit of blackmail, there is no alternative to making the animals understand.
After all, they are not rational to capture certain messages. But they're smart enough to know what they need to do to get a yummy cookie!
give the animal time
This is perhaps one of the most important tips on how to train a dog. You need to give the animal time! He is not able to process information as fast as we humans do. And, for this reason, it is essential that you use your rationality to understand the situation and let the dog develop skills over time.
Patience is one of the best tools you can exploit in any dressage. After all, with her you will make the dog much more comfortable to learn in his time, without forcing or pressuring. And when the dog feels free to perform functions and achieve goals, the results are much more promising.
Have clear training goals
Another fundamental point for training your dog is to have clear and well-defined objectives for this. It is important that you understand that a dog is shaped by conditioning. That is, it will be conditioned to situations.
For example, dogs that are afraid of fireworks are often instinctively conditioned to have this phobia. In this case, the noise bothers the ears and can lead to even more serious complications in the animal.
Therefore, when the dog hears these sounds, he already knows what it is about. There is no confusion. There is objectivity. And that's what dogs need: objectivity. You need to understand that the animal will not be able to capture any type of training if there is confusion in the steps or even a lack of knowledge of the “finish line”.
It is necessary to use clear and short objectives so that the dog feels capable enough to understand what he needs to do. Focus until the dog understands a certain need and, only after that, leave for another exercise. Otherwise, he could get confused, nervous and stressed. And this is not good for the health of the dog.
Start slowly and don't confuse the animal
Understanding how to train a dog is also understanding that animals need calm. Never rush a training situation, as the dog may feel uncomfortable and it will be difficult for him to remain applied and disciplined. Therefore, we recommend that you start small.
And this regardless of whether the dog is elderly or a puppy. Starting activities calmly makes dogs feel much less uncomfortable. After all, a dressage alone already takes the dog out of the comfort zone. And when this happens, he doesn't always associate it with something positive.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a lot of balance when performing the functions. You have to reward him and give him a lot of affection and love so that he understands that everything is for his own good and, somehow, he keeps repeating it because he knows that the end is rewarding. He never introduces extremely difficult activities at the beginning. After all, the dog won't understand, he won't be able to perform, and you'll be frustrated that you can't train him.
Understand animal behavior
Among so many tips for training a dog, perhaps understanding the animal's behavior is one that makes the most difference. When we're talking about conditioning, we're also talking about repetition. And repetition is one of the best ways to build behavior in a dog. But, even before constituting this behavior, it is necessary to understand the behavior that the dog already has.
And for that, we recommend that you make observations and try to describe all the customs and quirks that the dog may have developed. If he's a puppy, maybe there's still not a very well defined behavior. But if it is a dog that is a little older, it is essential to take these situations into account. Because during training, these behaviors need to be respected. Otherwise, the animal may become irritated and not respond to what you intended it to do.
In addition, affection is fundamental. It is the basis of everything for the animal to feel good, happy and willing to meet the tutor's needs. So always be demonstrating how much you love the dog and make him feel his affection and presence. He will love it and, in time, he will be trained. Good luck!