Getting Started With Training Your Dog

With New Year’s having rolled around, it’s resolution time. If you’ve been living with a dog that has behavior issues, then one of your resolutions is likely to be getting your dog trained.

There are several good options available for training. You can buy a book, enroll in a dog obedience class, go online, or even have someone come to your home to assess and train your dog. To figure out which option is right for you, there are a few things you need to know.

First, the most important aspect of dog training is obedience. Basic obedience covers commands such as Sit, Come Here, and Stay, but it also refers to your right as the dog’s owner and pack leader to select the rules that you want him to follow, including appropriate behavior around other dogs, people, and animals.

Second, dogs learn to respect the people that train them. One of the subtle benefits of training is that it is time you spend instructing your dog. Being in charge establishes you as the pack leader and makes it easier for you to get your dog to be obedient.

Third, dog training is an incremental process. This means that you build a well trained, obedient dog one day at a time. This holds true regardless of whether you’re a novice dog owner or a seasoned dog trainer. A seasoned, skilled dog trainer can often create instant changes in the dog’s behavior, but those changes will only stick if the training is continued on an incremental basis. Otherwise the improvements will soon disappear.

Taking these three things together, what they tell you is that dogs learn to be obedient a little bit at a time, that they respect the one who teaches them, and that these short, easy training sessions are what leads to a well trained dog.

The good news is that those are all things you can do.

Books are good because you can study on your own time and at your own pace. There are many topics and authors available, so you can be selective and read up on the topic that concerns you the most. Popular authors include Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, and Cesar Millan.

The downside to books is that you have to pick out the knowledge you need, which can be a challenge if you’re unfamiliar with dog training. The better authors attempt to solve this problem by providing chapter highlights, tables, and takeaways.

DVD’s provide visual instruction on how to interact with your dog. That can be helpful when you are learning the importance of body language, both yours and the dog’s. DVD’s downside is that the information provided is often slim as the time constraints and script limitations lead to overly concise information. In addition, good DVD’s tend to be on the expensive side as they are produced by professional dog trainers who don’t have the capital or market to make lots of copies, instead selling fewer DVD’s at a higher price to match expenses with income and leave a little profit to make it worth their while.

Online programs provide the convenience of accessing the information wherever and whenever you want. A well organized online program provides visual instruction, detailed information, and an opportunity to interact with the site’s community. Dog Academy offers personalized, free online training courses. You can check out the <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://students.dogacademy.com/assessment.aspx" target="blank">Dog Behavior Assessment Form</a> here and enroll in your personalized training program.

Online training, books, and DVD’s are not well suited for handling extreme cases. All three are best suited for normal to disobedient dogs that have problems but that aren’t a real threat to family members or other living beings.

Dog training classes provide a place to go and work with a dog trainer. The trainer will provide an outline for the class as a whole as well as for the individual classes. She will lead the group through the basic commands, imparting wisdom and giving helpful advice throughout. The benefits of dog training classes are access to a trainer, the opportunity for your dog to meet other dogs, and the chance to ask direct questions.

The downside to dog obedience classes is that the more disobedient your dog is going in, the harder the sessions will be on you. Some people end up so distracted by their dog’s antics that they hardly get a chance to learn from the trainer. You also have to travel to the training location.

In-home training sessions are an appropriate option for dogs with major issues. A certified dog trainer, often an expert in the problem area, visits you at your home, observes the dog in the natural environment, and then makes recommendations on how you can solve the problem. The trainer will work with the dog in your presence, showing you how to make effective changes.

The downside to in-home sessions is the price. People pay for in-home sessions when the dog’s behavior has rendered other solutions ineffective.

Each of these options has its benefits and drawbacks. But don’t let that discourage you. With a small time investment of only 10 minutes a day, you can improve your dog’s obedience through training (and don’t forget to provide some exercise for your dog!)