If you raise a dog, you undoubtedly have a beautiful relationship with him, and you spend pleasant times with him, in return, he may misbehave in some situations, or he may show unpopular behaviors. To get rid of these behaviors, we provide you with tips that will help you train your dog in the skills and behaviors that you desire.
How do dogs learn?
Before you start training your dog on behavior, you should know that dogs learn a lot like young children, as they have brains similar to the brains of two-year-olds, and they also understand some of our words and the tone of our voices. She is smart enough to learn the desired behavior and get rid of the rejection.
Not all dogs have one level of intelligence, but there are types of intelligence, some of them have instinctive intelligence and carry out behaviors engraved in their genes, while others have adaptive intelligence, as they learn from the surroundings and the environment in which they live, and others learn tasks from the orders they receive from the breeder or the coach.
Here are some tips that may help you train your dog for the behaviors you want him to do, and the skills you want to train him to acquire.
Determine the goal of the training
Dog training is divided into two parts, the first is training in basic skills, such as teaching the dog to sit and lie down, and the second is addressing behavioral problems such as anxiety, aggression, and fear, based on behavioral psychology. You must determine which department your dog’s problem belongs to before you begin to treat it.
It is important to take into account the emotions of dogs and the relationship they have with humans while training them, that is, dogs must be trained in skills and behavior together. So, if the dog has a behavioral problem, it is better to resort to a dog behavior counselor, who will be able to teach the dog behavioral and basic skills, unlike a regular trainer who only teaches the dog basic skills.
Do not expect the unattainable
Not all dogs like to go to the garden, and you cannot force them to do so, as dogs are not the same, and they do not prefer the same things, and each one of them, or a different type, has a unique personality, and different characteristics. This relates to several factors: learning, the environment, genetics, and the self, as stated in the book “Meet Your Dog: A Game-Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog’s Behavior” by dog behavior expert Kim Brophy.
For example, your dog may always bark at a stranger or guest who enters your home. You will try to modify his behavior, and you will not succeed if he is a German herding dog, as this type of dog defends his land and property, and humans have used him to defend lands and homes for hundreds of years, and this is preserved in his genes, so the task of modifying his behavior will be next to impossible.
Choose an appropriate training style
There are many methods of training, you can choose what suits you best, what matches the behavior you want to teach the dog, and the amount you are willing to pay for sure. For example, it is possible to attend group training classes or assign a private coach.
Group training classes will be less expensive, but individual training with a private trainer brings more benefit to the dog, but the problem is when the trainer leaves after spending a lot of time with your dog, you may not be able to successfully repeat the exercises similarly to what the trainer did, so you must Participate in training, even for a few minutes, even if your daily schedule is busy. Some trainers may assign you to do easy and fun home activities that don’t take up much of your time.
If you don’t want to pay a lot of money for dog training, you could be looking at free or minimally priced resources on the Internet.
Use positive rewards or punishment
Reward and positive punishment are two common ways to train a dog.
Reward
While training your dog, you can give him a reward, praise, or movement that expresses affection when he performs a behavior that you only desire. The reward may be material, such as giving him a piece of food he loves, or moral, such as rubbing his stomach as an expression of your satisfaction with what he has done. The important thing is to choose the reward that the dog likes, so if he loves food, give him what he likes, and if he wants attention from you, affection is the best reward.
The main point to focus on is to consistently give your dog rewards for the behavior you want, not the behavior you don’t want. It is also important to ask the dog to perform one command to receive its reward, and not more than one command at a time so that it understands well about any action that deserves a reward.
It is also important to use the same thing in teaching one behavior, that is when you train the dog to lie down using the command verb “lay down”, you must always use it, and if you change the words, the dog will not understand it, such as saying to him, “If you do not lie down, you will not get a reward.” In this case, the dog will not know what to do.
In addition, the dog must understand the consequences of the unwanted behavior, and that he will not receive a reward if he does not perform it. For example, if your dog jumps on a person as an expression of greeting, and you do not want him to do that, especially with the elderly so as not to harm them, you should not greet him if he jumps, and do not pay him any attention, but you must turn outside and go out the door and continue to do so until The dog stops jumping. Keep a treat in hand to give him when he’s not jumping. Repeat the same training every time you enter the house, and every time someone your dog loves visits you to ensure that he does not jump up as a greeting from anyone.
Positive punishment
Sometimes the reward method does not work, so positive punishment and negative reinforcement can be used with the dog. Positive punishment methods include a loud voice with an unusual tone, physical corrections, and harsh reprimands to get your dog to behave the way you want. When you follow this method, the dog will be afraid when it performs unwanted behavior, so it will avoid the negative feelings that you will direct to it.
Which is better among the two previous options?
Experts prefer to follow only one method in modifying a single behavior, and choosing one is up to you, as both work. But if you want a pet and a loving dog, you must follow the method of reward, to prevent the development of negative reactions based solely on fear of you, and to strengthen your relationship with love.
Giving him medicines
In some cases, training is not useful in changing the dog’s behavior, as they are considered pathological conditions and must be treated medically, by taking appropriate and necessary medications. These conditions include fear, anxiety, panic, and aggression. They are caused by a chemical or hormonal imbalance and must be treated with medication.
Expect the worst
If you tried to train the dog by various means, or if you resorted to a dog behavior counselor, a special trainer, or medications, and you did not succeed in modifying your dog’s behavior, then your home may be an uncomfortable place for the dog, and you have to change it, and this may be the most difficult option for you if you do not want to give up away from your dog and stay away from it.
Whatever method you follow in training your dog, and whatever behavior you want him to acquire, the training session should be short, not exceeding 15 minutes, and it should be specific and focus on one thing only. And don’t worry, all dogs can be trained and taught, at any age, so you can teach your dog anything you want at any time.