We know that you want to be the best dog owner that you can possibly be, and sometimes you just aren’t sure if what you’re doing is the right thing. So to help you out we’ve come up with 5 things bad trainers do, so you’ll know you’re on the right track.
Bad trainers:
- Use physical punishment– Aversive training practices, like collar corrections or hitting, can create fear and anxiety, neither of which are an effective learning state. Stick to positive training techniques if you want a happy well-trained pooch who learns quickly.
- Change the rules– People sometimes allow behaviours in a puppy that they don’t want in an adult dog, like jumping on people. It might not be so bad when your Golden Retriever is 5 pounds, but it’s not so fun at 55 pounds. Changing rules is confusing for your dog. Think ahead, make a rule and stick with it.
- Don’t praise the dog’s attention– If you want a well behaved dog, you need his attention and the only way you can do that is to praise him every time you get it. And, of course, a treat for good behaviour will never go astray.
- Train too long– Just like us, dogs get tired when they have to concentrate for long periods of time. Keep training sessions to about 15 minutes and then break for some play time.
- Lack patience– Dogs are not born understanding English, or which behaviours are appropriate or correct. Expecting them to understand out of the gate is unrealistic. A great trainer knows this and uses repetition, encouragement, and patience to develop the behaviours they want.
Training your dog effectively takes skill and know-how. We want to help you be the best trainer you can be, for your dog. Afterall, creating happy dogs is what we’re all about! Feel free to contact us with any questions, we are here to help. Interested in getting training started right away? Visit our training page to explore your options.
