Should You Take Your Dog to Obedience School?
A dog is the best companion you can ever have at home – but they’re not humans, and sometimes their behaviors can get out of hand. Disobedient dogs portray various annoying behaviors, including attacking other dogs and nervousness.
If you notice some unusual and annoying behaviors with your lovely friend, it’s a good indication that you need to take them to obedience school. Sometimes your dog doesn’t need to portray bad manners for you to enroll them for obedience training. Any dog needs training so it can bond well with the human way of life.
Are you wondering whether you should take your lovely pooch to obedience school or not? Here are some reasons to do so.
Your Dog Is Stingy
If your dog growls and snarls when you get closer to their possessions, you need to enroll them in some training program. If your dog gets snarly when you get close to their toys or food, they’re portraying a behavior known as resource guarding. The dog portrays this behavior because they believe they’re protecting something they hold in high value.
Most dogs portray resource guarding behavior because you’ve gotten them used to getting whatever they want whenever they show their teeth. Take your dog to an obedience trainer who’ll teach them lessons on when to leave and take things.
A Young Dog Needs Obedience School
It’s a good idea to start training dogs when they’re puppies because they haven’t learned any bad habits yet. The right age is between 8-12 weeks until they’re about 6-12 months of age. It’s much easier to train a young dog than an older one.
Don’t wait until your little friend starts to annoy you before taking them to school. Treat your puppies like little kids that are easily distracted and uncoordinated. It might be too late to wait until your dog is old enough, as some obedience trainers only admit puppies.
Your Dog Bites
If your dog starts to bite you and is aggressive to everyone, including other dogs, it needs some pet training. A dog that hasn’t been socialized will feel anxious and aggressive to people and situations they find threatening. That feeling of fear and sense of insecurity will make them start biting to protect themselves.
Taking your dog to obedience school and socializing them is the best way to reduce their anxiety. They’ll learn to behave around others and be more-friendly to their owners and people around.
Obedience School Helps Foster Relationship With Your Dog
The main reason why many people choose to own pets is so that they develop a lovely relationship. But that won’t happen if your dear friend is aggressive and doesn’t allow you to take a step near them. Consider attending obedience school together with your pup as the classes focus on both the pet and the owner.
Many obedient schools have lessons for dog owners as well. They’ll teach you how to teach and bond with your dogs.
They’ll also educate you on various dog breeds and their behaviors, so you know how to handle them. For instance, you’ll understand a Presa Canario breed’s behaviors versus a Cane Corso breed. This way, you know how to train and interact with them individually.
Instilling positive reinforcement on your dog enhances the relationship between the two of you. Proper training enables you and your dog to understand each other. It’s an excellent chance to teach your dog new commands and interact easily.
Your Dog Barks Unnecessarily
If your dog often wakes you up in the middle of the night with some anxious barking, you know how annoying this can be. There are many reasons why dogs bark but excessive barking can be disturbing.
They might be scared or simply marking their territory. Other times, the dog might be alerting you of intruders. Others are just vocal and will bark even when a plate falls from your kitchen sink.
Understand what triggers their barking and let a professional trainer help you come up with a course of action. Sometimes, the solution to this problem may be as simple as keeping your dog busy, so they forget to bark.
If they bark whenever a family member arrives from work, train them to move to some part of the house so they don’t see each other. You can also introduce a toy and get them to play around the same time they usually bark.
Your Dog Chews Things
Every dog owner has at one point came back home to a shock of a lifetime. Your beautiful couch has been torn down to pieces, and the culprit is none other than your lovely dog. Dogs can chew anything from your clothes to your favorite pair of shoes.
If your dog seems to be developing this behavior, an obedience school may be the solution. You can also try practicing a new command to eliminate boredom, which can cause chewing.
Also, consider introducing your dog to a new activity. This way, they’ll be too tired to remember to chew the house down whenever you leave them alone.
Your Puppy Jumps on Guests
Just because you love dogs doesn’t mean everyone does. Some people feel uncomfortable near dogs, and it will be a shame to see your dog jumping on them, trying to cuddle. A dog that jumps on strangers is also in danger because someone can take them away.
Keep your dog safe and accord your guests the respect they deserve by enrolling them in obedience training. They can learn common commands such as teaching them to sit whenever there are guests around. Reinforce this behavior by giving them some treats and praises whenever they behave well.
Is It Time for Dog Training?
There are many ways to train your dog and get them to behave. Even dogs that have been to obedience school before can still portray some unpleasant behaviors. So, theirs is no specific period or age to enroll your dog in some obedience training.
Need more help understanding your dog and growing a stronger relationship? We have you covered with more educative content in this blog.
Leave a Reply