The dog learns not only in training

Sometimes the owners complain that they are engaged with the dog, they are engaged, but there is no sense. And the truth is, looking at the dog, you can’t say that it is educated or trained. Why is this happening?

Most often this happens when owners do not follow the principles of raising and training dogs. Namely: consistency and consistency.

The fact is that targeted training is a very small part of the life of our pets. At the same time, dogs learn continuously, 24 hours a day, without days off and holidays. And every interaction you have with your dog is a lesson for him, whether you like it or not. That is why it is important to understand which actions of the dog you are reinforcing and which are not. Unfortunately, sometimes we reinforce behaviors that are not at all what we expect from a well-mannered dog.

If in training you teach your dog to walk on a slack leash, and on other walks you happily fly after him, he will never walk on a slack leash.

If in training you teach the dog not to pick up, but on the way home you missed it, and he grabbed a piece of sausage near yesterday’s “picnic” on the bench, he will continue to pick up.

If you work on self-control in training, but at home you allow the dog to snatch things from your hands or to kick a bowl of food in a jump, what do you think the dog is learning?

And so on and so forth.

Training is a great way to teach your dog the right things. But it is extremely important not to be limited only to training time. And constantly be aware of what you teach the dog in everyday life. Otherwise, at best, a four-legged friend will only listen to you in training. At worst, they will get confused in your unpredictable and inconsistent reactions and stop listening and hearing you at all.

If you can’t manage on your own, you can seek the help of a humane professional to work together to figure out what’s going wrong and how you’re reinforcing the unwanted behavior.