How to Train Your Dog?
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It’s fairly easy; you just have to teach it what is allowed and what isn’t.
But when we think about training a dog, we mostly think about this:
And that’s not right! A clicker and treats are great for behaviors like sitting and lying down, but they don’t work at all for others, and they will not help you if your dog is afraid of something.
You need to train your dogs with their natural instincts, and by using these instincts, we can do this:
- If he/she wants something (a toy): tug! The dog has learned that when the human wants his toy, it’s allowed to fight for it.
- If he/she wants to play: the human plays! When you have big fun with your dog, your dog will learn that it’s allowed to have even more fun because of the “play signal” (licking, laughing, etc.).
- If he wants to greet people: we let him greet people! The dog has learned that when you want to greet people, it’s allowed and that this will lead to something nice or at least no punishment.
- If he/she wants to run: we let him run! Dogs enjoy running, so we work on their stamina, and finally, we can give him the freedom he deserves – with respect to our garden, society, and traffic rules.
- If he/she is afraid of something: we help him face the fear! The dog has learned that it’s allowed to be a bit fearful. But after some time (for example, three seconds), we distract him and show him something he can enjoy.
If you follow these instincts, your dog will become a happy dog! And if your dog is happy, you are happy too.
In every case we have to use the same rule as with children: as much as possible as soon as possible and as little as possible later on! In this case, the reward (toy, game, etc.) must be given immediately; otherwise, you will confuse your dog. Also, it’s better to do something your dog enjoys than just throwing a toy around for five minutes.
At first, it will be difficult, but after you have trained your dog for 10 minutes every day for three weeks, things will get better and easier. But if you never train your dog, nothing will ever change! So I suggest doing something nice with your dog for at least two hours a day (walking, playing,…).
If this is too much for you, then it’s better to have your dog neutered. Because dogs are happiest when they are working and if they are not doing anything, they will find something themselves! This can be digging in your nice garden, barking at passers-by, or chewing on your sofa.
Oh, and those dogs who just sleep all day long –are the very first ones to run out of energy and pull on their leash.
I hope you understand that neutering is a good thing because it stops your dog from adding to the hundreds of thousands of dogs already killed in Germany every year.