June 8th, 2010 by Jenny

Nearly every dog owner wants to train their dog properly.  However, nearly an equal number seriously underestimate the amount of time and effort it takes to train a dog.  This results in a regular set of misjudgments that are often made that could, with more or less effort, be totally evaded.

Dogs should not be treated as hairy kids.  Even though the typical dog has the psychological development of a two year old human, there are more contrasts than similarities.  While dogs are incredible at processing language, they are unable to deliberate as humans do.  They can’t connect cause and effect the way humans do.

For instance , when you order your dog to “go lie down” you may want him to head to his sofa dog bed or crate .  In the beginning, if you don’t help him to make the connection between the command and his dog bedding by physically taking him there as you are expressing the command, you are setting him up for frustration .

This can start being quite frustrating as the same command is repeated over and over, and the dog seems to ignore the commands.  Most often it is not ignoring the command; it is likely that they don’t comprehend it.  It appears it should be clear because they’ve exhibited the proper behavior many times previously, but today they are being headstrong.

Some dogs probably would be called stubborn if they were human.  However, they can be distracted easily or fail to connect the command of “stay” today with yesterday’s behavior and subsequent reward.  There are some probable explanations for this behavior.

Patience is the one character trait that dog owners need to have.  You must be ready to repeat those same commands again and again, knowing that there are going to be times when you won’t get the results you await and want.  There are many dogs that require two years to start processing commands beyond the most basic to the degree that it really sticks.

Don’t forget that patience means that you restrain your temper when what you actually want is to smack or yell at your dog.  It’s normal to think about taking the easy route of physical punishment as the first reaction for correcting the dog’s behavior.  On the other hand, this should be reserved for only the most serious situations.  The dog doesn’t really comprehend why they’re being hit.  This will not develop into trust and confidence, but to the contrary fear.

However, dogs are like humans because they too will more readily follow those that are trusted than those that are feared.  They only follow those that they fear when they have no other option.  But dogs make choices decidedly different than people do.  They usually withstand any punishment they undergo without really learning from it.  Corporal punishment is not a compelling training technique.

Here’s how NOT to Train your dog:

•  Fail to remember that your dog has a nature different from yours and speak to them like they were human.

•  Continue to think that a dog can connect events across time and circumstancescome to the same conclusion as you.

•  Get angry and intolerant when they don’t behave as you expect them to. Yell at them for not behaving the way you want.

Follow these absolutely fruitless methods and you’ll end up with a neurotic dog and you will be an unhappy owner. But if these aren’t the results you are looking for, be prepared to adjust YOUR behavior, before you try to change the behavior of the dog.