Are you a pet parent going through the phase where you have put your dog through training? Are you hoping to make sure that they are in their best behavior at all times? Do you want to ensure their safety by making sure that they follow your commands when necessary? Then putting them through dog training was one of the best decisions for you and them.
While they are being professionally trained by a dog trainer of your choice, it becomes important that you also positively contribute to the training process. This means that when the dog training is going on (the few weeks/ months that it takes to complete one full course), you might have to do a little practice at home to ensure that there is continuity and practice of the training done by the professionals in between the sessions. While doing this, you might get confused on what to do and what not to do, especially if you are a new dog parent. Don’t worry! That is a completely natural happening in the journey of pet parenting. So we thought we could help you out a bit in that scenario. We have listed out a few things that you should ideally never do when you are trying to train your dog. Do take a look –
- Do not fool them – If you show your dog a treat or promise them playtime in exchange for good behavior/ obedience of a command, then make sure that you go through with it. Do not make them think they will get a treat and then deceive them. This might send a message that regardless of whether they do the task or not, they might not get what they were promised. This will lower their motivation to actually pay attention, learn the command properly and follow it every time it is said.
- Do not be violent – Under no circumstances should you hit your dog or be violent with them. If they are not following a command, or not in their best behavior, you can choose other ways to let them know that you are not happy with them. Some of these ways can be – withholding their treats at that time, verbally reprimanding them and showing them through your expressions and actions that the behavior is not okay.
- Do not repeat yourself – Every time you give a command, ensure that you are not repeating yourself several times. This might give them the impression that it is okay to not obey you for the first few times. Sometimes, it might also send across the message to your dog that they have to obey a command only after you have said it a few times. Either of these two outcomes are quite frustrating which is why it is best to avoid them.
- Do not over-pamper – It is extremely important that you do not overdo the positive reinforcement part of the training. However proud you might be of your pet baby for learning a command or being at their best behavior, if you pamper them too much as the result of it, they might think that it is the new normal. They might start expecting that treatment everytime they do a particular task
- Do not lose patience – It is important to know that you cannot lose patience easily while teaching your dog to train. Since we are teaching them to learn our language, remember that they might take some time to understand and follow the commands you give. You might have to show them the commands by doing it yourself so they can see and learn faster. Do not automatically assume that they are disobeying you.