Everyone wants a well-behaved furry friend who goes well with the rest of the family members and one that can give companionship in places like hiking, camping trips, and parks. They want a dog that obeys commands, so they're sure they can keep it under control even without a leash. The good news is that there is no good or bad breed when it comes to good behavior.
It is all about training. But since dogs don't speak our language, training is all about influencing the dog to behave the way we want. In this guide, we will walk you through 10 proven tips that will help you train your furry friend without breaking the bond between you.
Proven Dog Training Tips Every Dog Owner Should Know
According to Coren, a canine researcher at the University of British Columbia, dogs have mental abilities almost like that of a 2 to 2.5-year-old child. In fact, the University of Sussex research shows that dogs can learn and remember up to 75 different words.
The research shows that even puppies can understand commands even when the dog owner uses a different accent. The research also shows that dogs have excellent problem solving abilities, and can understand commands given verbally and in physical gestures.
Although some dog breeds like Border Collies, German Shepherds, and Poodles are more intelligent than others, it means all breeds can learn and remember commands as long as you use the right training tips. Here are some tips that work for every dog breed.
Tip #1: Positive Reinforcement
You have two options when training a dog: aversive training or positive reinforcement training. Aversive training is when you punish a dog for doing wrong. It involves using tools like choke collars, prong collars, shock collars, citronella spray collars, spray bottles, shaker cans, and verbal scolding to make the dog uncomfortable and discourage bad behavior.
There is a lot of controversy about aversive training, with some dog trainers still insisting on using aversive training. Before we dive into our recommended positive reinforcement training, let's show you why aversive training is a bad idea.
- Most of the tools used for aversive training, such as prong collars and choke collars, can injure your dog. For instance, choke collars can strangle your dog to death if they get caught by an object. Prong collars can puncture your dog's neck.
- The painful correction causes fear, stress, and anxiety, which can turn into aggression.
- The punishment makes the dog lose trust in you, which eventually breaks the bond between you and your furry friend.
- Aversive training usually results in unintended consequences. For instance, if you shock the dog for barking when another dog passes nearby, it might associate the shock with the presence of another dog instead of associating it with the destructive barking. So, the dog gets confused. The sad news is that you can never know what the dog associates with the correction.
- The punishments kill the motivation to train. For instance, the dog might try to hide when it sees you holding the training collar. Or the dog tries to hide after a potty accident for fear of punishment.
- Aversive training suppresses the bad behavior instead of completely training it out of the dog. The dog will repeat the unwanted behavior every time it doesn't see the chances of punishment. For example, if you're using a choke collar to discourage pulling, the dog will pull when wearing a harness.
Considering that aversive training is inhumane and ineffective, many behavioral experts and pet health organizations such as the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, CCPDT and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior are against it.
On the other hand, positive reinforcement is when you reward the dog for doing what is right. The rewards can be treats and verbal praises. Here are some advantages of using positive reinforcement training.
- Bonding: Since the dog only gets rewards and not punishments, it will love and trust you more, and your bond will become stronger.
- Motivation: The benefits the dog enjoys from doing what is right will make it more willing to please.
- Reduced aggression: The lack of discomfort that can bruise the dog's emotions means minimal risk of anxiety, fear, stress, and aggression.
- More sociable: Positive reinforcement training makes dogs associate humans with good things. This makes them friendlier to people.
Note that positive reinforcement is about rewarding good behavior such as obeying commands. That means you first need to know how to effectively teach commands, which gets us to the next tip.
Tip #2: Consistency in Commands
According to a 2014 study by National Geographic, dogs have a short-term memory of around 2 minutes. You want to maximize this short memory without creating confusion. The best thing is to maintain consistency in commands, expectations, and rules.
Use the same corrections, rewards, and commands until the dog knows what's expected of it when the command is given. The good thing is that most dogs will learn a new command after 2 to 4 repetitions, and you can teach most basic commands in several weeks' time.
Tip #3: Timing of Rewards and Corrections
Even if dogs have short memory spans, they have strong episodic and associative memory. That means even if dogs can't relive their past experiences like humans, they can connect the emotions they felt when something happened.
For instance, dogs can remember that when I did this, I was given treats. That is why you must make sure the dog associates the reward or correction with the right behavior. For example, if you are teaching your dog the Sit command, you will want to reward it the exact time its rear gets to the ground.
Otherwise, if you delay for several seconds and the dog does something else, like barking at another pet, it'll associate the reward with barking. This creates confusion. For the best timing, we recommend using clickers to mark the exact rewarding time, but we'll get into that later.
Tip #4: Socialization from an Early Age
Dogs are like humans. They take some time to get used to new family members, pets, and environments. Early socialization is about exposing your furry friend to different experiences, environments, animals, and people while he's still young, usually at the age of 3 weeks to 3 months.
This age is the learning time for puppies, and the experiences will leave permanent impressions. This exposure makes the dog comfortable in future real-life situations as it grows. For instance, the dog will become less nervous or aggressive in the presence of strangers or other pets.
When socializing, we recommend you begin with situations that don't intimidate as much and then work your way up. For example, you can start by introducing the puppy to calm and well-behaved small dogs and then move towards unfamiliar and more energetic pups.
Tip #5: Using the Right Training Tools
As we mentioned, you'll be using positive reinforcement training. Since most dogs have strong appetites and are motivated by food, treats are the primary tools you need. Note that dogs are prone to obesity, which results in diabetes, heart problems, and cancer. So, make sure the treats you choose are low in calories
In fact, it's advisable for the dog treats to not make over 10 percent of the dog's daily calorie intake. Another thing is that most dog treats are pea-sized, and you have to get them quickly after the dog obeys. So, get a treat pouch that you can tie around your waist.
Something else: you still need a way to keep your furry friend under control during training. Using normal collars for leash training means the dog can unexpectedly pull, and the leash slips. Large and muscular dogs like the St Bernards and Huskies can even drag you.
We recommend using martingale training collars. These collars tighten when the dog pulls, discouraging pulling. The good thing is that the tightening is limited, and the collar can't choke your dog. To make sure the experience of the martingale collar doesn't turn to punishment, we recommend those ones lined with neoprene, like the Alpine Dog's Martingale Collars.
These collars are comfortable and sweat and odor resistant. Your furry friend won't suffer irritations and chafing. Finally, we recommend getting a clicker. This allows you to mark the exact time the dog did a good thing.
This creates anticipation for the reward that follows the clicker. That way, the dog won't be confused about what it's being rewarded for, even if you take several more seconds before fetching the treats.
Tip #6: Focus on Short, Productive Sessions
Dogs have limited attention spans of around 27 seconds. Puppies have even shorter attention spans. A long training session will only make the dog lose focus and get bored. It'll start getting distracted by other things, and make mistakes.
It can be frustrating, as it seems the dog is forgetting the commands it had already shown signs of understanding. So, for maximum concentration, make the training sessions short and productive. We suggest a maximum of 15 minutes for adult dogs and 5 to 10 minutes for puppies.
During this time, only focus on one command to avoid confusion. Also, hold the training in a place with minimal distractions, like your living room. Over time, you can start introducing your dog to distractions by holding the training outdoors.
Tip #7: Understanding Your Dog's Body Language
Dogs don't have speech like humans, and you need to understand their body language to know how the whole training thing is taking them. This can help you adjust the training accordingly. Here are some body language signs and how to interpret them.
- A hard stare, the ears pricked forward, and the tail vibrating or still and carried high means the dog is aroused, tense, excited, or aggressive
- An averted gaze, the tail pointing down or tucked under, the lips pulled back, and the ears held back means the dog is fearful, suppressed, or appeasing.
- The dog standing at its full height, wagging the tail or carrying it high, the mouth relaxed and open, and the eyes open wide, or having a soft direct gaze means the dog is confident, calm, and relaxed.
Tip #8: Patience is Key
All dogs aren't the same. Some are intelligent and willing to please, and others are simply stubborn and independent. For instance, dogs under the Terrier umbrella are known to be independent thinkers and are a little more challenging to train.
Although they have good problem-solving skills, they get bored by obedience training really quickly. So, don't feel under pressure to train your dog as quickly as your neighbor or friend. Remember, when you lose patience, frustration starts. After frustration is anger, and you might end up resorting to aversive training. So, be patient with your furry friend.
Tip #9: Maintain a Routine
Establish a consistent training routine. This will make the dog anticipate the training session because of the associated rewards. As the dog anticipates the session, it also remembers the behaviors that result in rewards.
The routine also helps you see the training session through to the end. This helps you keep the training process in check, and you won't rush. For instance, most dogs take around six weeks to learn basic commands. You can divide this time into short, consistent training sessions. This helps you gauge the milestones and adjust the training as time goes on.
Tip #10: Seek Professional Help if Needed
Training takes time, and you'll need to keep the sessions consistent. This is challenging for dog owners on a tight schedule. Also, some behavioral problems, such as separation anxiety and aggression, are complex to train against.
Another thing is that it can be challenging to establish a bond with an adult dog that you have just adopted from rescue centers. Most of these dogs have suffered past trauma and lost trust in humans. In such cases, seek professional help.
Conclusion
The best way you can make your furry friend a true companion who accompanies you almost everywhere is to train him so he's always well-behaved around strangers, animals, and other dogs. We recommend using positive reinforcement training, but with martingale collars to help keep the dog under control. Remember, be consistent and patient.