So you're trying to train your dog or puppy then. Having any success?
Still barking incessantly? Chewing up your shoes? Soiling your carpets? Pretending they're not with you when you're out?
So what exactly do you do? You can spend a lot of money asking a professional dog trainer to do the dirty work for you, but mostly this will be a waste of time and money. Why? Well your dog may well end up with the utmost respect for their new found trainer and act like a saint for them. But their trainer wasn't you! And therein lies the problem. Dogs by their nature are pack animals and follow
their natural leader, the 'top dog' if you like. If you aren't seen as the natural 'leader of the pack' then your dog will quite happily assume that role and then you really are up against it.
So you buy some books on the subject. Great! There are some fantastic books out there that will tell you everything you need to
know about training your puppy or dog. So why then, when you have been following the advice and instructions so closely, does your dog
continue to pretend you're talking mumbo jumbo?
Well it's not enough to just read about training your dog. The reason a professional trainer will have success is not because they know more about dog training than you've just read in your amazing book, but because they know 'how' to apply it. They know how to act around dogs, the stance to take, gestures to use, when & how to use praise & especially when 'not' to use praise. They also know not only what to say, but how to say it. The intonation to use, the sounds to emphasise.
So how do you learn how to do this yourself? Well, when you choose the training materials with which to train your dog, make sure they cover all your training needs not just with words, but with pictures (not illustrations, but photos) or even better with actual video footage. And especially make sure you can 'hear' exactly how to apply the training methods. If you can see exactly what you should be doing and hear exactly what you should be saying and how you should be saying it, your chances of training your dog successfully are infinitely improved!
These days there are many options available for meeting your dog training requirements that enable you to achieve great results without paying out a fortune to professional trainers. There are of course videos and DVDs, but in more recent times the advent of multimedia eBooks on the internet are a fantastic way to learn about just about anything. Not only are they instantly accessible and generally very cheap, they achieve all of the aims described above. And unlike videos and DVDs, often the authors of these products are available to contact should you have further questions or require additional advice.
Whichever method you choose, good luck and enjoy being 'top dog'!
Best Wishes,
Dave
