Dog Obedience Training – Who’s the Alpha Dog of Your Pack?
The companionship of a dog can truly be one of life’s under appreciated joys. However, that joy can be seriously diminished if your dog exhibits excessive behavior problems. Aggression, inappropriate barking, jumping up on you or visitors, destroying household items and other unacceptable behavior can usually be eliminated through effective obedience training.
Since dogs are, by nature, pack animals, the are most content when they are assured of their place in the social hierarchy.
If the dog’s perception is that you are not a strong leader, he will most likely assume the role of “alpha” dog. Bad behavior will worsen since, as the pack leader, he will believe that he can do as he pleases without regard to your wishes.
Unless you impress upon your dog that you are the “alpha dog”, your efforts to teach appropriate behavior will most likely fail. However, effective obedience training will teach your pooch that YOU are the leader of the pack and that he is expected to comply with your wishes.
When you begin obedience training try to make the activity fun for your dog. Be sure to reward your dog when he does well. Rewards can take the form of tasty treats, petting, giving him a favorite toy or vigorous praise.
Never punish your dog when conducting obedience training. If he associates obedience training sessions with punishment he will do everything he can to avoid it. When you need to correct a behavior problem, try to make it a penalty instead of a punishment. A penalty can be anything from a “time out” (stopping an activity that he enjoys), a quick tug on his leash, or simply ignoring him for a few moments.
When training your dog, remember that rewards are much more effective than penalties. Discover the things that he truly enjoys and make maximum use of it during training sessions. The old adage about training an animal with either a carrot or a stick is not valid. Just throw away the stick and concentrate on providing your dog with a variety of “carrots” that he enjoys.
Professional dog trainers use a wide variety of training techniques. If you are not sure about specific tactics to use, you may benefit from their advice. There are several wonderful guide books and training courses available online that you may find quite helpful in your quest for a well behaved best friend.
Tags: canines, dog, dog obedience, dog obedience training, dog training, dogs, how to train a dog, obedience training, train my dog, train your dog
dog training | Jim Navary | 08 May 2009 |
