Dog Obedience Training: Home vs. Schools
I love dogs. I've been around the most of my life, and have
two myself now. One I got from my wife, a
birthday present idea she
had for me three years ago, and another. I found the other walking down
the street from, believe it or not, a dance lesson I was taking one night in town. To this day
I question as to whether or not, I adopted her or she adopted me. The first one,
Max, a white bull terrier, I trained at home and the second one, Sheila (named
after my wife's mother) we sent to a local obedience school. Both
experiences had upsides and downsides.
Dogs can truly be man's best friend. They can be playmate, companion, confidant,
home surveillance system
and your very own
personal security alarm all
rolled into one. It is important to remember that dogs are animals first and
foremost and as
such, have a range of other behaviors as well- many of which may not be appropriate
or useful. Training dogs can be one of the biggest challenges faced by a dog owner
and is certainly one of the most important ones. A properly trained dog
will undoubtedly be a happier and healthier one- since it is genetically bred
into the dog that he or she is part of a "pack" and that there is an instinctual
need to either dominate or be dominated. Yes, being "nice" to your dog can
actually be very counterproductive.
Training comes in three basic forms- eliminating, teaching new, or altering existing
behaviors. there are different approaches as to how to accomplish this. one
school of thought is "negative", where the dog is punished for not following or
adhering to a particular behavior. One example of this sort is potty training. Dog owners are unlikely to
want their dog's instincts to guide where it goes, so the dog's natural instinct
to choose an area needs to be replaced with an area chosen by the owner. Another
example might be training a dog who normally barks at everything to bark only when
strangers approach the yard, thus serving as improvised, as
would training out a Dogs' normally hostile responses to other animals. The latter
is particularly important to dog owners in rural areas or who often run into a situation
where a young dog will corner a skunk who releases his natural
self defense spray causing no end of
misery to all involved. (Yes, dog
training in PA will be different than dog training in, let's say, New York
City.)
Positive training aims at rewarding the animal when the desired behaviors are
observed. it generally makes more sense to use positive reinforcement than
punishment, as it is easier to show a dog what to do thann it is to show a dog
what not to do. This appliesto everything from housebreaking, to
behavioral "problems", hunting, heeling, or riding well in a car. (FY I- while your dog
may not be subject to
your state's child safety seat
laws, they should be given similar attention as would be given to a small child. Most dangerously,
dogs don't have a clear perception of speed in vehicles and have been known to jump
from speeding cars.)
Dog Home Training
We found Max to be simple to train. He has a good temperament, and it
didn't take very much for us to work with them and get the results we were
looking for. I would like to point out a couple of things:
If training on your own remember that consistency is
very important. In addition, be aware that you have a lot of influence over
the dog and need to be clear in your nonverbal communication with it, since it
can't understand what you're saying verbally. Whatever you are teaching your dog to do must be presented in the same
way every time. Animals learn through patterns and they generally consider you as
other animals to be emulated. While you likely think of your self as the dogs mother
and father, the dog's opinion of the matter is more that you are the pack leaders.
Consistency and forceful presentation (but not actual force) are key to maintaining
your dog's respect. I personally know of a dog trainer, who tells me
most of the time he spends on dog training assignments is focused on retraining
the owners. Once he accomplishes that, training, the dog is easy, if even
necessary at that point.
Dog Training Obedience Schools
Unfortunately, while there was a very strong bond between Sheila and I (and
my wife). She had been poorly trained, if at all. She had a couple of very
bad habits, mainly polling. When we tried to walk or on a leash and
barking. No matter what we tried to do, we couldn't correct these issues
ourselves and we knew that if we didn't correct these issues. There was no
way she could realistically stay with us. in general, particularly violent or aggressive animals might be better off being taken to qualified schools which
can provide the requisite safety equipment as well, although this wasn't the
case with her. we just knew we were over our heads, and we also knew we wanted
to keep her. I would suggest that when choosing a school, take time to attend a
class onsite. make sure the facilities are clean, staffed with competent
personnel, and that your animal will be trained the way you would want to train
him or her if you were doing it yourself.
Whatever type of training your dog needs, you have to make the central decision
to either train him yourself or go to an obedience school. Self training has the
benefit of increasing the bond between you and your dog can be a rewarding and
enjoyable experience if done properly. Obedience schools supply all
the necessary equipment and expertise. I would suggest basing your decision on
what would give the best long-term results.
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