Get an early start with dog training

‘Many people think puppies and dogs come into this world trained,” say two area dog trainers with whom I spoke.

This theme is echoed in many books on dog training. The experts say dog training should start before one even gets a dog.

Getting a dog should never be an impulse decision. Consider your lifestyle, and the time and resources available for training and caring for the dog, type of dog, and the age of the dog. Puppies and adolescents require more training and management than older dogs. Choose a type and age of dog with a personality that fits your own lifestyle and time for training. The better prepared a person is before getting a dog, the better the situation will be once the dog comes home.

“It’s important to establish benevolent leadership with your dog as soon as you get him,” says Connie Snavely of Happy Tails Dog Training Inc. “If the person doesn’t take this role, many dogs will — and that’s a bad set-up.”

Establishing leadership is actually fairly easy, and it starts with the fact that the leader of any pack controls all the resources.

“My dogs have to sit, lie down, wait, do whatever I ask them to do before they get fed, get leashed, play tug, fetch a ball, go outdoors, etc.,” Snavely says.

Have the dog do something for you first before you let the dog have something he values. Snavely warns that people tend to give these things away without first requiring the dog to do something for them. This, in turn, sets things up for the dog to misbehave and leaves the owner with little or no control.

Dog training is a 24/7 process. It involves all your daily interactions with your dog, not just when you’re in formal “dog training” classes together.

It’s extremely important to practice and use the commands, words and techniques learned in class in your everyday household interactions with your dog, Diana Rutherford of Companion Dogs Inc. says. This is what helps establish the structure and consistency all dogs crave from their owners. It is when there are no boundaries, structure or consistency that dogs tend to misbehave or run wild.

Rutherford cautions, “Don’t bring a new dog home and turn him loose. You’re asking for a disaster!”

Be prepared to train him, set boundaries, crate-train, house-break and teach him to walk on leash.

Essentially, “training” your dog involves taking the time upfront to build a positive, trusting relationship with your dog.

Training is not merely limited to being able to “sit,” “stay” and “come” when called — these commands, albeit important, are merely the tools we use. Teaching your dog “impulse control” and the ability to stay “calm” in varying situations is at the heart of good obedience training.

Positive reinforcement training is the most humane way to train. In this method, the dog is rewarded for the things you want him to do more of. Force-based and physically punitive corrections are never used in positive reinforcement training. Positive reinforcement trainers believe using force undermines trust and the relationship.

Listen to your own instinct when it comes to dog training programs. Don’t do a technique with your dog if you’re uncomfortable, simply because the training instructor says so.

Before you enroll in class, research various programs, talk to instructors and sit in on a few classes to get a feel for training philosophy.

Obedience training builds a stronger bond and can lay the foundation for you both to have fun in programs such as agility, fly ball, therapy dog and canine freestyle.