The benefits of training a dog are well known. Most people focus on the benefits that it gives to the dog, and there certainly are many that are seen quite quickly. It helps them to be a responsible part of the family and it also gives them some necessary exercise during the day. That being said, there are also many reasons why training a dog is good for the owner as well.
If you’ve done any amount of research on training a dog, you already recognize that there are many different ways to do so. Some of them focus on the reward that you provide for the dog and others focus on other types of behavioral modification. In the end, it really depends upon the type of training that you are doing but regardless of the training, you do want to make sure that it is an enjoyable process. It is good for you and good for them.
If there is one thing that makes a dog happy, it is seeing that their owner is happy with them. This type of positive reinforcement can be part of the training program and it may show up in a number of different ways. For most trainers, giving treats to dogs is the best way to do so. You would want to limit how many treats you are giving or perhaps even cut them into smaller pieces so the dog doesn’t get overfed. It can certainly be a part of a happy training time and one that the dog will grow to enjoy quickly.
Dogs also respond to the way that we speak. This is always true of the words that we say but it certainly is true of our inflections and tone of voice. During the time that your dog is being formally trained, make sure that you speak to them in a very happy voice. It is also important to not allow the dog to get away with doing something wrong. You need to strike some balance so from time to time, it may be necessary for you to give your dog a firm “No” and then move on with the positive part of the training.
When you keep the training time light and with a happy overtone, it allows the dog to learn with minimal distractions and minimal stress. It is more likely for them to pick up on what you are saying and to continue to train throughout the entire process, rather than getting overwhelmed and wanting to stop early.
Finally, make sure that you are training your dog in a way that will not promote stress because you’re trying to teach them too many things at one time. This can certainly be a part of keeping the training happy and stress-free. It is better for you to train the dog to learn one particular command or work on one command and then stop for the day once you see some positive results.
