Whether your too busy or inexperienced, taking your pet to dog training courses is a great way to ensure a happy, well behaved and obedient pet. If you only take one thing from this article, let it be this:
Dog training courses aren’t just for dogs.
Half, if not more, of the training is for you! It’s very important that you learn as well during the courses. If you expect to walk out of a course and do everything exactly how you did things before you got your dog, then save your money and don’t bother attending the course. Your dog can do great in his/her course but if you aren’t consistent outside of the course then your dog will never behave the way he/she should. It’s also very confusing for your dog as well.
Consistency is the key to a well mannered and happy dog.
Dogs LOVE consistency. Anything else is confusing and frustrating.. for both of you! Worst yet, it can be very upsetting to you, which transfers to the dog when he/she notices how upset you are. A dog loves knowing exactly what he/she is and is not allowed to do.
“Why coud I jump up on the bed yesterday but not today?”
Another important thing is if you have a partner, bring your partner to the courses as well (or make sure you discuss fully what was done in the course). If your partner lets the dog on the couch but you yell or smack his/her behind for being there, it’s very confusing to your pet. Consistency needs to be maintained by the entire family.
If you feed the dog scraps from the dinner table but your partner doesn’t allow it… your dog will ALWAYS beg for scraps from the table.
Dog Training Courses Near You
If you live in a large city or town, chances are there are at least a few different dog schools to choose from. If you are unsure where to look, try going to your local pet store and asking there. There is a good chance that a class is being taught out of the store, or at least one employee knows or has attended one. From my own experience, most people who work at pet stores have a pet.
Amazon also offers a number of books and videos. Click on this link to check out Dog Training Books and Videos.
Online courses are becoming more and more popular these days. Doing a simple Google search will usually result in numerous pages of online courses. Here are a few Google generated lists:
