When Dog Training Really Matters
Dogs
can be very sociable. In fact, they sometimes get too sociable and get aggressive.
That is why it is important to train your dog to control behavior. Moreover,
dog training is important to avoid dog biting incidents. Statistics show that
77% of dog biting cases are mostly those that are within the family. Hence,
with dog training, bad habits are removed and dogs have better control of their
feelings and behavior towards environmental and social variables. However,
implementing dog training is not that easy. Certain things must be employed to
have positive results. The thing most needed in dog training is what experts define
as “positive reinforcement.” This refers to the way people reward their dogs with
treats, praises, or both whenever their dogs show positive behavior. Through
positive reinforcement, dogs are able to comprehend that treats and praises will
come whenever he shows good behavior. For example, when the owner gives his dog
some treats for obediently obeying his commands, the dog will think that obeying
commands when told equals treats. But this does not necessarily mean that
when the dog did not obey the owner’s commands, punishment is needed as counter-reinforcement.
This should not be the case because punishments will only make the matter worst.
What will happen is that your dog will be confused and it will begin to doubt
your feelings. The next thing that you must remember when training your
dog is that people should avoid training their dogs into a bad habit. Actually,
many people are not aware they are doing this but there are instances wherein
the people’s reaction towards some behavior of the dog will inadvertently train
the dog in a bad way. For example, when dogs bark, it is common especially
when they do that because they see something strange or unfamiliar things. But,
when dogs continue to bark, even if it includes a familiar person, that becomes
a problem. In this case, most people have the inclination to yell and tell
their dogs to shut up. This particular reaction of dog owners will confuse their
dogs and will only make them understand that the reason why their owners are yelling
is because they are also enjoying the shouting scene and that they are “barking”
along with their dogs. The key point here is to avoid paying attention to
the dog. In time, he will stop. That's when you should reward your dog.
Boiled down, dog training is all about positive reinforcements.
And, as they say, positive reinforcements reap positive results.
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