How To Find The Right Dog Trainer
These days people like to have their dogs as a member of the family rather than just a backyard dog. It then becomes more important that their dog is trained to fit into the day to day running of their households but sadly they have less time to fit this training in. This means dog training is big business these days but it doesnt have to be expensive if you are willing to put some time and effort into this valuable family member.
There are so many option out there how do you know what is right for you and your dog? For me I always start with the local dog club. In these clubs all the trainers are volunteers so they are very affordable with a small annual fee and then only a few dollars for your weekly class. This is the most cost effective way to not only train your dog but socialise them with other dogs as well. The downfall of this type of training is if you have specific behavioural problem, there is probably not enough time in these group classes to address these problems adequately.
If you have a specific behavioural problem like barking, digging, you might find that by spending more time with your dog these problems will be solved but if you have a more difficult problem like aggression, you could ask around the dog club to see if any of the trainers could recommend someone or you could go online and look for a qualified dog behaviourist. If your dog has aggression issues then it is important you find someone that specialises in this area.
There are so many training methods these days and you need to be comfortable with the method you decide to use. Personally I use a number of different methods depending on the personality of the dog I am training. For example some dogs work really well for food rewards, while other dogs arent interested in food but work better for praise and attention from you.
Most problems in training arise when you inadvertently give the reward at the wrong time for example, patting your dog while it is barking at another dog because you interpret this as your dog is fearful and want to reassure your dog, even if your dog is fearful you shouldnt be reinforcing this fear and a good behaviourist will give you methods to use to stop this problem. The other problem is forgetting to reward when the dog has done well. This is especially important when the dog is learning something new or for the more experienced dogs, after they have done a longer more complex range of commands.
The best training advice I have been given, never train when you angry and no matter how badly you think your dog has behaved during training, always end your training with something you know your dog can do well so you can end on a positive note.
Happy training!!!
