Many people assume that training their pets is easy. You give a command, they follow, give them their treats, and done. That’s from the truth, especially if you’re training a furry friend for the first time. Many owners make mistakes while training them. Because anyone can call themselves a trainer, others unconsciously make serious mistakes. For your peace of mind and dog’s comfort, don’t hire someone who makes any of these.
That’s because studies show that these mistakes might be inefficient or are putting your dogs at risk. Educate yourself to keep your furry friends fun and safe during training.
Not Starting It at a Young Age
Train your furry friend the moment you take them home, regardless of their age. Waiting until they’re older will complicate things, allowing them to learn bad habits. Behavioral management and dog obedience training are two different programs. In training your dog, you have to teach your furry friend how to respond to phrases and shape their behavior.
It might be hard to train young puppies with advanced commands, but you can start with the basic ones and house training. Over time, you’ll build a deeper connection with your pet, allowing them to grow accustomed to their training sessions. Then, you can try fun activities like advanced training that entails animal-assisted therapy or agility.
Using Choke Collars or Shock
Based on research, using choke collars, prongs, or shocks is dangerous. That’s because they’re aversive methods. Using these techniques will only result in a bad connection, aggression, stress, anxiety, and fear. Most aversive methods use negative reinforcement or positive punishment. Unfortunately, most trainers will insist on the opposite because the dog training industry doesn’t have any set guidelines.
Most aversive methods only work because something terrible happens to your furry friend when they make a mistake, or they can avoid something awful when they stop making that mistake. If you’re using a training collar to stop your dog from pulling the leash, try using a head halter or harness while training them to work correctly.
Not Dedicating Time for a Pet
Most owners have a busy schedule, forcing them only to train their furry friends when they have the time. It also makes consistent training more challenging; however, if you have a dog to train, you must dedicate enough time to train them and be as consistent as possible. Other particular breeds are more challenging to train and might need more time to learn commands than others.
But you must still bear in mind that training a dog requires commitment. Find time in your busy schedule to train your dogs until they get accustomed to command. Lastly, don’t forget to reward them with treats and more playtime for their hard work.
Not Training Your Pet Enough
Training your dog isn’t a one-time activity. You’ll only get the best results if you do it regularly and consistently, even if they’ve already mastered a phrase or command. You can start with picking an activity to work on at a particular time and complete short, productive sessions weekly. Teach them new things, but don’t forget to test their knowledge of the old basics occasionally.
Training a pet is a lifetime commitment. That’s because you still have to train your furry friend, even if they grow old. Ongoing training will keep them sharp and active, allowing you to connect with them more deeply.
Using an Aversive Technique
Dog trainers also consider leash corrections an aversive technique. In fact, a study has compared a session that uses leash corrections and an activity that uses positive reinforcement. It showed that dogs trained with positive reinforcement by giving them a treat are more optimistic. Dogs trained through aversive methods are less likely to bond with their owners. Find the right harness that will stop your dog from pulling its leash.
Using a harness is a much better alternative.
Training Them for Long Hours
Unfortunately, some people overtrain their pets. Despite how determined you are to succeed, everything has its limit. For example, a smart dog might still have a short attention span. If you push them for hours, you’ll lose their food drive, retention, or interest. Training them for hours will also affect your dog’s motivation for the next session. To begin, slowly start with a fifteen-minute training, break it down to a few shorter sessions to keep them engaged and sharp.
Bear in mind that training should start early. That will help stop your dog from acquiring bad habits. Find a place that puts them at ease. Being a fur parent isn’t a walk in the park. You might experience difficulties while training them and teaching your pet a new command. Don’t make these mistakes to make the training sessions faster and easier.