Dog training can be a time commitment, but it’s worth it! It enriches your dog’s daily life, builds you into a confident pet parent and sets you both up for success.
It also helps your dog acclimate to being handled and inspected (like nail clipping or at the vet), making these things less stressful.
1. Increases your bond with your dog
Dog training helps you to learn about your pet’s personality and behaviors, which can strengthen the bond between you. You will learn to read their body language and understand what they are trying to communicate.
A well-trained dog can play nicely with other dogs, greet family and friends calmly, and avoid dangerous situations like jumping on kids or senior members of the household. This makes them safer for everyone and reduces stress on the whole family.
Obedience training is the cornerstone of any training regime, and it will help you to build good communication with your pup. Establishing routines such as regular feeding times, bathroom breaks, and walks can also create a sense of trust between you. Regular interaction like play, tug of war and chase can increase the bond, too. Just make sure to use positive reinforcement and never physically punish a behavior you don’t want to see repeated. The love between you and your dog will grow naturally.
2. It’s safer for your home
When dogs are well-trained, they can be better behaved in social settings – like when you have guests over for dinner or visit the dog park. They are also less likely to bark at strangers, chew up the furniture or run into traffic.
When a dog has been trained to follow commands, they are more easily controlled in dangerous situations, like when they chase a squirrel or are tempted to run out into the street during a thunderstorm. They are also less likely to bolt when their owners call them during a home evacuation.
Additionally, trained dogs are typically calmer at vet and groomer visits. They are more likely to sit or lie down and may even greet other dogs and humans with confidence! This translates to a better experience for everyone involved. It also allows owners to have more confidence when leaving their dog with a pet sitter or in boarding facilities.
3. It’s easier to take your dog out in public
Dogs that are well-trained in basic obedience, especially around other dogs and humans, are more calm in public settings. This makes walking your pup more enjoyable and helps prevent them from getting into dangerous situations that may cause harm. For example, if your dog jumps on children or senior family members, this could be very stressful and possibly even result in injury. Training your pup to sit, stay, and go to their bed will reduce this behavior, allowing you to calmly and safely take them into a variety of indoor environments like pet box stores or hardware stores.
Training also provides mental enrichment for your dog, which helps fend off boredom and destructive behaviors such as chewing and scratching. This is important because like our muscles, dogs need stimulation to keep them healthy and happy. Training is an excellent way to exercise their brains and foster a strong bond with you! The best part is that your puppy will love having a job and will look forward to your daily training sessions. Learn more on this at https://www.bulldogology.net/.
4. It’s easier to train your dog
Dogs need consistent reinforcement to learn new behaviors. Using positive reinforcement rather than punishment teaches them to focus on what you want them to do and can make them more eager to try out different tasks and exercises.
Training also helps prevent behavioral issues, which are a leading cause of dogs being relinquished to shelters or even euthanized. Proper training can teach your dog to respect your boundaries, play nicely with other people and pets, and behave calmly in social situations.
Having your dog listen to your cues can help prevent them from experiencing potentially deadly conflict with other dogs or wild animals, running into a busy road, or generally harming themselves in hazardous circumstances. Ensuring your pet listens to you also makes vet and groomer visits easier for you, as well as your dog. If you get frustrated with your training, remember that each dog is unique and will progress at its own pace.