A few rudimentary guidelines exist to ensure that you and your dog will both enjoy the dog obedience training process. While it is hard work, your efforts and that of your dog will serve to strengthen that bond between the both of you. So before you get down to the nitty gritty of sit, stay, heel, come and other involved training commands, you should know what to expect beforehand. Here are five obedience tips every dog owner should know before beginning the training process:
1. Practice tolerance and patience. This is probably easier said than done! When you lose patience, one of two things will happen: you will both get frustrated and quit or you could take out your frustrations on your dog by yelling. The first scenario will do neither of you any good and should not even be an option. The second scenario could scare your dog, which totally defeats the purpose of the training! Practice deep breathing exercises if you have to. Use a firm, no-nonsense tone without raising your voice.
2. Build a good rapport with your dog. Your dog will not follow your obedience training without feeling a bond with you. Take the time to learn the quirks and habits of your dog. Play with him and have some fun. Building trust is so important and your dog will perform better if you make that extra effort to bond with him. The relationship development should start the moment you adopt your dog or as soon as he is weaned from his mom. By developing that respect in the owner-dog relationship, you are also building trust.
3. Establish that you are top dog, not your pet. You need to show that you are the leader, the "alpha dog" if going by obedience training terminology. Again, patience is definitely a virtue when establishing your dominance. While obedience training involves both of you interacting as a cohesive unit, your dog must be able to yield to you in order to follow your instructions. Again, this "alpha" status links back to developing a good rapport with your dog.
4. Consistency is the key with your dog's obedience training. Do not deviate from your training. Start right from the first the correct way you want your dog to perform a command. Ninety-nine percent of dogs will not catch on the first few times. By teaching them a command in the same, exact way every time, you will likely have a quicker success rate. If you are inconsistent, this will confuse your dog and may actually instill a few bad practices that could be difficult to break later on.
5. Start with the easy stuff. Sit and stay are often the first commands a dog learns. Use those two as a good basis to learn more like come and heel. A good foundation of basic commands will allow you to construct a more intricate set of commands later.
Be prepared for quick advances as well as some roadblocks as well. Just remember that patience is the best asset to have on your side when obedience training your dog. Once they have mastered a few commands, you will start to notice a difference in your bond with your dog. They will respect you and love you all the more!
