Overlooking Behavior Training
Since I shed some light in my previous post on why living in rainbow land backfires with dogs, I’m assuming if you have these issues you want to fix them.
An important tip to remember is that obedience training and behavior training are two separate things. A lot of owners have already done puppy classes or trick training. These are obviously great starting points but too many owners focus on this and neglect everything else. They think once their dog knows sit, stay, and lay down that everything else will follow suit. That’s never the case. Everything we do with our dog influences them. As crazy as it sounds, when you get a puppy, micromanaging its every move is crucial. This is so bad behaviors don’t develop such as chewing your favorite pair of shoes. That usually happens because we left the puppy to his own devices. Free shaping behaviors as well as giving them time to relax is very important.
On the topic of training, some people fear training their dog and wonder if their every move is going to affect their dog’s relationship. Of course, it’s great to be alert and mindful, but don’t let this cripple you into not training your dog.
How To Manage Stress In Dogs Properly
When training a new behavior in your pup, it’s important to read them and see what kind of effect it’s having on them. It’s important to not overstimulate your dog to the point you have to stop training and try again later. The biggest error I see with dog owners is they push their dog to understand too quickly. The best tip to remember is not every training session is going to be successful. Not every session does there need to be leaps and bounds and then onto the next subject.
Every dog learns differently and at various speeds, so don’t stress if you think your dog isn’t getting it. Some dogs have the “perfect” temperament where they are confident in every situation you throw at them. Other dogs you ‘ll notice once you get them out of the house to somewhere new, they’re overwhelmed and can’t even remember to sit.
It’s important to slowly guide them and give them the confidence to succeed in a new environment, but maintaining a threshold where they aren’t too overwhelmed. This is commonly overlooked in dog training. Proofing a behavior 100% inside then slowly moving to the outdoors is crucial to make sure that command is understood anywhere. A common mistake is not working on a command enough in a distraction-free environment, and then moving on too quickly to distraction city. Don’t rush the process and be patient.
Signs Of Stress And How To Work Through It
When training a command such as a place, you may notice when you start teaching it they will pant, yawn, or object to having to relax. Some trainers will deem this as “stress” (which it is) and say to stop training. Now I want to make it clear this is where stress managing comes into play. It’s your job to decide if the stress is a good or bad thing and if it’s possible to work through it.
In my experience working through this part is critical to proofing. Your dog will not want to sit and relax. However, it’s your job as pack leader to stay consistent and reward when they finally do settle. Putting a halt to training because of panting is ludicrous because you’ll never get anywhere. If you stop training once they pant or seem uncomfortable they will never learn impulse control and the art of doing nothing. This leads to further issues down the road such as overexcitement when guests come over, and constant pacing.
If you have a work presentation tomorrow and you’re nervous or agitated are you not going to go? Are you going to cancel it? Are you going to quit your job and stay home? No, you’re going to do the presentation and be better from it. Maybe you drew to light something the company has been overlooking and you got a raise because of it. We deal with stress every day and it’s important we manage how we deal with it, same with dogs.
Helping dogs how to deal with stressful situations will give you and your furry companion more freedom outside of the home. This allows you to do outdoor activities such as biking, hiking and walking in busy areas peacefully; without your dog lunging, fixating, and being anxious. Leading your dog to be able to cope with stress will be better for you and the dog in the long run.
