The Importance of Dog Training
How Dog Training Helps your Pets
We at Urban Tailz believe that training your dogs, and dog training in general, is one of the most important things you should do to ensure you have a happy and healthy pup. Training the dog creates a bond, lets your dog know who’s the boss, helps modify bad behavior, and also allows your dog to relax and realize you’re in control.
Working with a dog trainer will further give you guidance on how to train your dog. They can also work to help with behavior modification when your pet has some behavior problems that need to be addressed. The trainer will give you helpful training tips you can work on with your dog that will help with behavior modification. Dog trainers are a helpful tool that are not utilized enough by dog owners.
There are puppy training and group classes that are beneficial to use as soon as you can get started with your new puppy. The best time to start training your new puppy is right away. If you cannot afford a dog trainer, do not fret. There are plenty of quality resources on YouTube that will help you get the basics down so you are able to train your dog yourself. Teaching your dog basic commands such as sit, stay, down, come, and heel are a helpful start.
Just remember, a dog trained is a happy dog!
1. Help Curb Anxiety
Many times a dog with anxiety could be helped with proper training. A dominant dog with anxiety can be helped immensely because they will come to understand that you’re the alpha of your pack, and that they can trust you and know that you’ll take care of the situation. These behavior problems in dominant dogs are often the result of a lack of training. The behavior stems from lack of leadership in the home vs something the dog is manifesting on his/her own.
A dominant dog with anxiety sees any outside influence (someone ringing the doorbell, a dog across the street, a stranger entering your home, that thunder and lightening during a storm) as something they need to deal with, so this builds up stress for them. By working with your dogs, they will come to realize that you’re the dominant figure in your pack, and that you will handle any outside influence. This greatly reduces the amount of stress your dog will face because they learn to trust your authority.
Working with your dog greatly helps a submissive dogs anxiety because it will both give your pet more confidence, and it will also take stress away because your pet will see you the pack leader meaning they will learn to trust that you can handle any “stressful” situation that might come up.
Crate training helps to curb anxiety as well, and can help with separation anxiety. Dogs are used to living in dens in the wild. A crate is a similar small space that can provide comfort for your pet. A crate, however, should never be used as punishment for a dog showing bad behavior. A crate should only be used to help with training and to provide your dog a safe space. More info on crate training can be found here.
Every dog benefits from training, structure, and guidance, but it’s especially important for those dogs who believe who struggle to understand the hierarchy of your home. You owe it to your dogs to give them structure and guidance!
2. Build A Closer Bond With Your Pet
Trust is important for our pets, and building a relationship through dog training can build that trust immensely. Having a dog that trusts you and follows your command will make things easier for you in the long run. A dog who trusts his/her owner has far less behavior issues.
3. Great Mental Exercise
Training your pet is great mental exercise which can also help wear your pet out. It can be like going on a long walk in terms of exercise. Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise for our pets.
4. Safety
A well-trained pet is far less likely to have behavior problems while on walks such leash reactivity. Even worse, they could run away from you in a stressful situation. A dog who has gone through dog training is far more likely to listen to their owner in stressful situations such as a dog getting off-leash or being around another aggressive dog. Dog training also can help keep dogs with separation anxiety safer. Help keep your pets safer by spending the time with dog training!
5. Far Easier to Manage Your Pet
It’s no surprise that it’s easier to manage and care for a pet who is well-trained vs one that has no dog training. We have all seen that dog that has no training and does not listen to their owner. Don’t be that owner. Training your pet will result in an easier-to-manage pet who loves you and listens to your commands.
6. It’s Fun
It is fun to train your puppy or adult dog and see them learn! It’s such a rewarding experience to see your puppy or your adult dog learn training techniques and follow your commands more and more as you get further into training. It’s like seeing a child learn in school. It gives your puppy or adult dog confidence which you will begin to notice right away.
7. Last, and Most Importantly: It Helps Your Pet!
A well-trained dog who has worked with dog trainers has far more confidence than a dog who has not worked with a trainer. Working with a trainer gives a dog confidence and helps them be a better dog, pet, and friend. Why wouldn’t you want to help your loved one gain confidence which will help them in many aspects of their lives? Dog training is highly important, and something that Urban Tailz recommends starting with your pet right away