“I don’t want to train my dog. I want him to like me!” We have heard that before but guess what?! Your dog will LOVE because you’ve trained him. Why? Because when you train your dog, you’re spending time with him, building your bond, and getting in tune with one another’s moods.
Also, a well-trained dog is a joy to be around.
Many dogs find themselves in shelters because they weren’t trained. They jumped on people, chewed shoes, barked incessantly, stole food off the table, etc. We know that no pet parent sets out to surrender a puppy and that’s why training your dog or puppy is so important. Remember, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
Set aside time, each day to train your dog – they will love the training time because you will be making it fun and exciting for them AND you will be using positive reinforcement training that will include delicious treats.
Why You Should Train Your Dog
Because January is National Train Your Dog Month and because we so thoroughly believe in positive reinforcement training, we’ve put together a list of six reasons you should train your dog. Enjoy!
- Dogs want to please us and when you train them, they will be eager to do as you ask. Whether you’re teaching your pup to sit, stay, come, heel, drop it or roll over, she will be looking to you for your approval. When you say, “Good girl” or “Good boy!” and/or offer a treat, that is a reward your pup will look forward to.
- A well-trained dog is a joy to be around. If you want to take your pup on vacation or to visit friends and family, you and he will be more welcome if he is well-trained. It’s much better to have a dog who will obey your verbal or hand signals about not jumping or not barking than to have you hollering, “stay down” or “stop barking.” On a side note: If your dog is barking and you’re hollering, he may just think you’re having a loud conversation with him. If you’re in a car you want to travel safely with your dog and that means he should be trained to be in his crate or in a doggie-seatbelt and not bark at passing cars.
- You won’t be tempted to rehome your dog. Many dogs find themselves in shelters through no fault of their own, but because they weren’t trained. Behavior that may seem “cute” in a puppy, will not be so cute when the puppy is a full-grown, full-size dog and is unmanageable. We have seen too many dogs being surrendered simply because their owners didn’t take the time to train them to be good doggie citizens.
- Dogs can injure people if not trained. Imagine if your large dog knocked over a toddler simply because you never took the time to teach her, “down” or “no jump.” You’d feel terrible but the dog would likely be blamed for “hurting” the child or even an adult can be bowled over by an overly-enthusiastic big dog.
- Doggie family relationships will improve. When you introduce a new puppy or even an older dog to your furry family, do it slowly. If the dogs you share your life with right now are trained to “sit” or “be nice” they are less likely to bite a newcomer to the family.
- Have more enjoyable and safer walks. If your dog is trained to “heel” when you’re taking him for a walk, you will both have a more enjoyable time. You don’t want your dog to lunge because he’s seen a squirrel. If that happens you may drop the leash and he could dash into traffic or get lost. Teaching your dog to “come” or “stay” and to understand his name are three things you definitely want to train your dog as soon as you get him.
Once your dog has learned the basics during training sessions and performs what you’re asking without hesitation you can move up to trick training? It’s fun for you and exciting for him because dogs thrive on being both mentally and physically challenged!
Article by pet parent Robbi Hess who shares her life with high-energy poodles and truly understands how catnip for dogs helps her pups chill!
