5 Reasons Why Training Your Dog is Important

March 28, 2017

 

By Laurie Darroch

Training your dog is a vital part of responsible pet ownership. Left to their own devices, dogs will do what comes naturally, which doesn’t always work in a human household. To make living with each other more pleasant for both you and your dog, they need certain skills and rules. Training your dog will help them mesh well not only with you and your family, but with other people and animals too.

Getting to Know Each Other

When you make training a part of your daily routine with your dog, it helps both of you get to know all about each other. Training lets you spend time with your dog in a productive and positive way that will foster love and respect for each other.

Don’t forget to include all members of your household in the training. Your dog needs to generalize those training skills and understand that they are required around everyone, not just you.

Socialization

Dogs are social animals, but to be social in the human world they have to behave in acceptable ways when around people and other animals. Teaching a dog how to act around people includes skills such as not jumping up on them, no begging, running around out of control, showing aggression, and so forth. This helps to create a much calmer interaction and environment for everyone. When a dog has social skills, they are more likely to be accepted in a wider range of places and activities. Not many people like dealing with an unruly dog.

Fitting In

Dealing with a dog that misbehaves in social situations – with traits such as aggression, hyperactivity, chewing or excessive barking, for example – is difficult and even embarrassing for you as well as others around you. A badly behaved dog is usually not welcome in someone else’s home or place of business.

Boundaries and Limits

It is important to establish boundaries and limits with your dog. An uncontrollable dog is not pleasant to live with or interact with. Out of control behavior is stressful for everyone. When a dog will not follow commands, you may end up with destroyed belongings and even injuries. Setting boundaries and limits helps your dog understand what is and is not acceptable behavior. They are not born knowing this any more than we are. In this case, we are the teachers and they are the students.

Behavior Adjustments

Training is not an instant accomplishment. With every behavior and every activity, the right way to behave or respond to cues or commands may not be learned in one session. Training takes repetition, praise and rewards to accomplish each goal. You might have to repeat the lesson many times before it sinks in. Along the way, you may find that your training methods need to be altered to work for your particular dog and home environment, but consistency and repetition are important, not only from you but from your friends and family as well.

Training should be a positive and encouraging activity. Make it fun! Don’t forget to reward your dog with verbal praise, a pat on the back, and some CANIDAE dog treats for a job well done, even if they only learned part of the final desired behavior. Sometimes it takes small steps to reach the ultimate outcome, so just be patient.

Training your dog, whether on your own or with specialized help, will make for a happy living environment. You may learn a few things along the way as well!

Read more articles by Laurie Darroch