Every day people buy or adopt animals. We’re browsing websites with unique pet names and provide our adorable kittens and fluffy puppies with fancy snacks and quirky toys. They’re so cute we would do anything for them.
However, as it turns out later, that anything appears to be too much when pets start to require more attention and consistent training. Many pet owners decide to give their friends away instead of trying to understand their behaviour and work on the problems.
Dogs are especially demanding furry creatures. With this article, we’d like to help you understand your dog’s point of view and the importance of careful training. Let’s get started!
Why Is Consistent Dog Training a Must?
Deciding on a dog is linked closely to making a firm resolution to take care of the animal’s health and well-being. Believe it or not, but a proper dog’s education is also a significant part of both these aspects.
Dogs need being well-trained not only to make our lives easier. They need that to stay mentally stable, maintain their inner peace, be able to calm down quickly, and learn that they can trust their owner and other people.
An uneducated dog, on the other hand, will not only be irritating and problematic for you and those around you. An untrained dog is exposed to much more stress, emotionally distraught, and aggressive because he doesn’t understand what is going on around him and what you want from him. A consistent training helps him figure out the world as well as he can.
What Is This Consistent Training?
Simple — it’s training without giving up! It’s also a binding agreement between you, your family, and friends to stick to the training program firmly and equally. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples:
Fighting the separation anxiety disorder: the disorder is an extremely common problem among dogs. One of the steps in the battle with this kind of anxiety is changing the way you’re coming back home. That is you’re not greeting the dog nor paying any attention to him until you take off your coat, make yourself some tea, and sit down calmly on your sofa.
The same no-greeting rule is obligatory to every single person coming to your place — no exceptions!
Preventing the dog begging at the table: moony puppy eyes, standing on two legs, and whimpering may be funny and adorable for the first time. But it’s just unhealthy and letting it happen can easily lead to such unacceptable behaviours as stealing food from the table, nipping at your guests’ ankles or jumping onto the table.
You can stop this inappropriate behaviour with, i.a., not paying attention to the begging, telling your dog to go to his place/bed/crate, setting feeding time, and definitely not giving the dog a single crumble from the table. Absolutely all your guests should ignore the presence of the dog while eating.
Stopping the dog from sleeping in your bed: even though it may be warm and cosy to sleep in the company of your dog, it may also intensify his separation anxiety disorder. That’s why this adorable idea is rather discouraged by dog behaviourists.
Not letting your dog to the bed or even isolating from him for the night can cause a lot of fuss, disorientation, whining, and barking. The reactions usually are inevitable and no one in the house must break!
Basically, a consistent training is like creating a common language between you and your dog. It’s giving your dog the idea of how you work, makes him feel safe around you and other people speaking the same language you taught him.
You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks…
Or Can You?
Obviously, it’s much easier and quicker to educate a puppy. Unfortunately, this simple fact creates a harmful myth that stops people from adopting senior dogs — you can’t train an old dog just the way you’d like him to be. It actually is a harmful statement in general.
First of all, it’s impossible to raise an animal just the way you’d imagine it to become. Even animals have their own character and temperament. The only things you can have an impact on is their behaviour and reaction control.
Second of all, it is absolutely possible to re-educate a senior dog! Senior dog training takes more time and is more challenging but is just as effective. One serious obstacle will probably be getting rid of the dog’s old inappropriate behaviours and habits.
It’s Worth All the Potential Costs!
If you can feel that training your dog is getting out of control or that you don’t have enough patience to do it by yourself, don’t hesitate to contact professionalists. Look for dog training centres and dog behaviourists in your area.
Maybe you only need a couple of sessions together to get into the rhythm and start understanding how the connection between you two is developing.
Don’t ever give up on your four-legged friends. They only need your love and patience to become better puppy beings. Give them the warmth they fully deserve and watch them grow together with you. It might not always be as easy as we wished but the end result is priceless.
