There are thousands of professional trainers and each has his or her own ideas regarding the most effective approach to use with canines. For owners who wish to train their pooches at home, the disparate opinions often make the task confusing. Making matters worse, many dog-centric websites offer training tips that are inconsistent and occasionally, poorly-thought; they often do more harm than good.

Because this conflicting information is easily available to owners, a number of fallacies have managed to gain traction. In this article, we’ll expose four of them. By doing so, we hope to give you a much better understanding regarding how best to train your pooch.

#1 – “Puppies Under 6 Months Are Too Young”

Long ago, most trainers used a combination of pressure and punishment to “encourage” the desired behavior in canines. This approach was considered inappropriate for young pups, partly because their bodies were too small and frail for the collars.

Things have changed in the industry. Today, positive reinforcement (usually, with food) and praise have replaced the old method. This means puppies can be exposed to the training at a very early stage. While they typically need more patience and attention than older canines, they can start receiving training almost immediately.

#2 – “Using Treats Teaches My Pooch To Expect A Reward”

This statement is true, but it reveals confusion regarding the motivations of all animals, including people. Animals need a reason to perform any action. They need an inducement. For adults, this inducement may be a raise or a display of gratitude from coworkers or managers. For children, the inducement to achieve good grades in school may be the purchase of a coveted video game.

Canines are similar to humans in this regard. They need a motivation. The inducements that have proven to be most effective are praise and food treats.

#3 – “Dogs Eliminate In The Home Out Of Spite”

If your pooch is urinating or defecating in your house, the reason is not spite (dogs do not think in this manner). There is another trigger. Usually, the reason involves a lack of proper housetraining, poor bladder or bowel control, separation anxiety, or a health issue.

Even dogs that have been housetrained in the past may suddenly begin to urinate in their owner’s home if they have recently moved. The move can disrupt a canine’s routine and thus, cause confusion.

If you’re unable to identify the reason for your pooch’s behavior, schedule an appointment with his veterinarian. That will help exclude any medical issues that may be causing him to eliminate inappropriately.

#4 – “Some Dogs Are Just Stubborn Or Unintelligent”

If your canine is consistently failing to respond properly to your training, the problem is unlikely to be his willingness to comply, or a lack of intelligence. Instead, the issue may simply be due to poor communication.

As noted earlier, dogs are similar to people in many ways. This is certainly true when it comes to learning new information. Consider a classroom of young children. Some will be attentive while others will daydream. Most will pick up a few subjects quickly while showing difficulty with other subjects. Often, the solution is for teachers to use a different method of communication.

Canines are similar. If your pooch is having trouble responding correctly to your commands, try to communicate your wishes in a different manner.

There are many other common dog training fallacies that have somehow managed to persist among owners. We’ll address them in a future article. For now, it’s enough to understand that positive reinforcement (using dog treats) and praise are the most effective tools for encouraging desired behaviors from your canine. With a little patience and persistence, you can use these levers to train your pooch at home.

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Category: Pets
Keywords: dog, dog training, dog trainers, dog training classes, training classes