Dog Obedience Training for Man’s Best Friend
By Andrew Wilson
Owning a dog can bring joy, security, and companionship to both the dog owner and the pet dog. However, the need for dog obedience training is extremely necessary to cultivate the dog’s good behaviors and habits to make them more appropriate within the domestic setting. Although such training does not guarantee to rehabilitate all behavioral problems completely, it is nevertheless considered as a good foundation in knowing how to deal with the dog properly.
Training a dog how to be obedient demands much patience from the owner. It can be frustrating at the beginning, but in due time, the dog can catch up and learn what is being told to do. It is important to know that dogs can be taught exactly what the master wants it to learn. Remember, though, that dog obedience training involves a reward system every time the dog performs accordingly to a given instruction or command.
Common Obedience Training Styles
There are many styles of dog obedience training, but the most popular ones are the leash/collar training and the reward training. Even though both styles have been used in the past, many prefer the traditional leash and collar method because it is more reliable and more effective in motivating a dog to obey its master.
As the name implies, the method uses a leash in teaching a dog how to behave. Once the dog has grasped the command, the leash becomes an instrument for communicating or correcting the dog’s mistake or misbehavior. It is important to establish a trust relationship between the trainer and the dog. It then becomes easy to position the dog in a stance even though the posture is against its liking. Using the leash can enable the master to safely manipulate the dog and assume the alpha role in the dog’s life. At this stage, the leash becomes a useful tool to establish the leadership role of the master.
Eventually, as the dog is able to form its good habits while the trainer acquires the skills for training a dog, the leash can be substituted with whatever appropriate tools are available at hand. Although leash training is considered an effective method to develop a strong bond between the master and the dog, it is not close enough to substitute the bond of trust that results when the pet is treated fairly.
Looking at the training style more closely can tell us the reward is often used to entice the dog to behave or perform certain acts without having to resort to forceful manipulations like pulling the leash. It eliminates the odds of making a physical contact with the dog. This, in a way, is safer considering that it is the natural tendency of the dog to be defensive or agitated when touched. Dogs are generally sensitive to touch. When touch during training, a dog may pay more attention to the feeling of being touched and completely ignore everything around it.
Training a dog how to be obedient demands much patience from the owner.
