The main mistakes of dog owners in training

Thus, the first major mistake of dog owners can be considered the lack of an idea about training or the presence of an incorrect idea about this noble cause.

In order to avoid such a mistake and not to have to correct it, it is necessary to read several books about this very training before you start training your dog. This is if, of course, the owner plans to train his dog on his own.

If the owner is engaged with the dog on the training ground, i.e. in a dog school or individually under the guidance of an instructor, then in this case it is easier to make mistakes: failure to follow the instructor’s recommendations or recommendations that do not fully correspond to the original are considered errors. Wind on the mustache. By the way, reading a couple of books about training is also not forbidden.

Quite often, owners do not attach due importance to the recommendations of specialists, considering them, for example, excessive or too complicated. Often, relying on their own common sense or the opinion of a neighbor, they simplify them.

So, despite the obvious value of the recommendation to create interest in dog training, only a small part of the owners responsibly approach the dog’s interests. And if the dog is not interested (i.e., not important for her) in training with a trainer, then she does not remember the skills well or does not remember them at all. And why remember something that is not interesting and not important ?! Remember your loved ones at school!

What does it mean to be interested in a dog? This means to arouse in her a burning desire to perform an action or an equally burning desire to possess the result of an action. And for this it is necessary to create appropriate needs and motivations in the dog. But not only to create, but also to maintain at the right level. For example, if the owner is using food as a reinforcer, then the dog must experience canine hunger. That is, to such an extent should be hungry that for a granule of feed it will be ready to go into fire and into water.

What the books describe as a “delicacy” often doesn’t have the necessary value for a dog. You can live without treats!

The same applies to gaming needs. It is effective to use it in training only when the dog will exchange all the dogs in the world for a toy and play with the owner!

If the interest in the reinforcer is low, then the action that leads to such a reinforcer is not important for the dog.

By the way, training sessions should be stopped as soon as the dog’s interest in reinforcement drops.

The next common mistake of owners is the abuse of aversive influences on the dog. Aversives, so you know, are actions that cause discomfort or pain in a dog.

Forcing a dog to act in general and with the help of aversive influences in particular causes negative emotions and fear in the dog. And nobody likes pain, negative emotions and a state of fear. The commands given by the owner, the skills, the place where the training takes place, are associated with negative emotions over time, and the dog loses all desire to interact with the owner. And if learning is unpleasant and scary, then you don’t want to learn. Learn it.

It is considered a mistake to practice both too much and too often, and too little and too rarely. You can practice every day, but little by little. You can practice every other day, then the duration of classes should be increased. But a dog does not become well-bred by itself, it must be brought up.

Lesson duration? The lesson lasts as long as the dog retains attention and interest, as long as she has a desire to engage in this very training with you. It is best to stick to this regimen: a couple of minutes of boring classes – a couple of minutes of a fun break. And again: a couple of minutes of classes – a couple of minutes break.

You can not repeat the same exercise for a long time. Dogs get tired of the monotony just like people do.

Often, owners stop using the leash as a means of behavior control too early. This leads to the fact that dogs quickly understand that when the leash is unfastened, the owner’s power ceases. It is more correct to single out three stages of skill formation: on a short leash, on a medium-length leash and on a 10 m long leash. The leash should be unfastened only when the dog is guaranteed to execute commands on a long leash.

Many owners repeat the command over and over and use a threatening intonation of the commands. Believe me, dogs are well aware that the main thing is the consequences of words, and not words at all. Give one command in an orderly tone, but be sure to get it done. Then the next time the dog will know what to expect.

And you should not violate the generalized learning algorithm: from simple to complex and from general to particular!

Good luck!