How to Get the Most Out of Dog Training Sessions for your Puppy
Friday, February 7, 2020 16:23:00 PM America/Los_Angeles
Congratulations on your first puppy. You now have a true friend who will be loyal to you and who will also become an important family member. Before you start moving around with your puppy, you need to teach him about socialization, obedience, and good behavior. This is where training sessions come into play.
Keep in mind that if you teach your puppy good behavior from the start, you will not only have a great friend but also a dog that is excellently behaved. However, if you are a first-time dog owner, you may not know exactly how to conduct a dog training session and get the most of out of it. Let's go over the basics.
A dog training session is a short period of time that you set aside every day to train your pet on specific actions. This includes behaviors such as using the indoor dog potty, cues, and commands. The best time to use dog training sessions is when you are starting your obedience training, but you are free to use them throughout your dog's life to avoid issues such as housebreaking regression. Dog training sessions offer you an incredible opportunity to reinforce or introduce your dog to new commands. Here is how you can get the most out of your dog training session.
Plan it Out
If you have been going into dog training sessions without a precise plan, you are probably not getting the most you could out of the sessions. Although you might be successful in training your dog to do some things such as using an indoor potty, you could end up wasting on other things. Without planning, you might introduce your dog to a trick that it isn’t ready for or even forget essential training equipment such as toys, treats, training line, and a marker. Proper planning will allow you to get the most out of every minute of your session with your dog. Whether you write the plan down, or go over it in your head before the session begins, it's always best to have a plan.
Always Stay Positive When Working with Your Dog
Your dog has emotions, and it can sense whenever you are sad or frustrated. Your dog will enjoy learning if it feels like it's making you happy. Focus on building a positive relationship between you and your dog and you will start getting the most out of the training sessions.
Reward Your Dog’s Good Behavior
You always feel happy when someone recognizes your effort, right? Your little puppy also needs to feel loved and cared for. Therefore, don’t forget to reward your dog’s good behavior with some positive reinforcement. One of the best ways to reward your puppy’s good behavior is using treats, love, toys, or even heaps of praise.
Let him know when he is getting things right and encourage him to put in more effort. Likewise, don’t ever try to reward bad behavior since it will only confuse him and make the learning process a little bit harder.
Limit Distractions
We can’t deny the fact that life is full of distractions but try to limit distractions during training sessions if you want your effort to be fruitful. Having a dog that can focus on you and you alone even in the middle of a busy town center is a process that may take a long time.
Remember that dogs are capable of learning new skills, commands, and cues, but it's harder when they don't know what to focus on. Make sure that you conduct your training sessions in a quiet place where they won’t be distracted. A high distraction environment will only derail your effort and make you blame yourself or your puppy. Get rid of all distractions such as ropes, indoor pottys if you aren't working on potty training, other animals, and small children before you begin your training session.
End on a Positive Note
Lastly, your dog training sessions should always end on a positive note. This is one of the primary reasons why you should keep them short. A good stopping point for your training session would be when you reward your puppy for doing something good.
By keeping all your training sessions short and rewarding, your pet will always have fun, and he will always look forward to the training session. If your dog can’t seem to perform a particular desired behavior, consider switching to something easier for the last bit of the training session. This will help you end the course on a high and positive note.