When Is It Time to Call a Dog Trainer?

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CALL A DOG TRAINER?

Is It Time to Call a Dog Trainer? Are you or your dog are in trouble? Or is it too late by then and you should have called one early on? Here, blogger Andrej Kovacevic looks at some research on training and shares his thoughts…

Your dog’s education begins from day one of your time together. You need to be patient and resilient and you need to master the basic dog training techniques to get things off to a good start. However, when your puppy looks into your eyes with that adorable face, it is excruciatingly difficult to say no to a lot of things. This is usually where things start to turn sour. Why? Because fast-forwarding a few months, when the puppy becomes a young adult, it is going to be quite a handful. It will not obey your commands and it will try its hardest to dominate you. But have you actually reached the point where you need professional help? When is it time to admit that you need to call a dog trainer?

Recent research sheds some light on when, exactly, it is appropriate to seek out a dog trainer. Specifically, a trainer’s services are warranted if you aren’t feeling confident in your own abilities to effectively use behaviour modification techniques to encourage appropriate responses from your dog. If you feel compelled to punish your dog for bad behaviour, a dog trainer could be instrumental in helping you understand how to achieve a more positive outcome.

According to the researchers, a majority of dog owners reported that their dogs were exhibiting at least some undesirable behaviours. These included aggressiveness and biting.

Their research also focused on the response of the owner to this undesirable behaviour. In particular, their goal was to determine the circumstances under which a dog owner might decide to resort to ineffective and outdated punishment-based dog training methods. They also sought to understand what might be holding dog owners back from using more effective, positive reinforcement-based dog training methods.

Unfortunately, there are significant numbers of dog owners who persist in using punishment-based methods in hopes of stopping a dog’s aggressiveness. What these owners often fail to realise is that punishing a dog for aggression may actually make the aggressive behaviour worse. In this sort of situation, a professional dog trainer can help guide a dog owner towards using positive reinforcement to achieve a more successful outcome.

Who Is the Dog Trainer?

The dog trainer is somebody who understands canine behavior extremely well and who is able to use this knowledge to entice a dog to develop more acceptable habits and conduct. The people who choose to become dog trainers are experts in both canine and human behavior and, most importantly, they can help you improve your communication with your dog. They will work with your dog individually to build a steady foundation for its training. At the same time, the trainer will work with you as well. You will have homework to do after every session so that you know how to establish healthy communication with your dog. Then, when both you and your dog are ready, the trainer will work with you together to help you practice everything you’ve learned. In the end, you will have a dog with proper manners.

The lazy guide to dog training

5 Signs that You Need to Call a Dog Trainer

It is extremely difficult for owners to pinpoint the exact moment when their dog’s behavior is problematic enough to require professional help. To make it easier, we’ve outlined 5 red flag situations that every dog owner should recognize. If you are experiencing any of the following 5 issues, then you may want to consider working with a trainer:

1. Your Dog Is Biting You and/or Your Family

In every family with a dog, there is some playful biting once in a while. This means that there are no bruises and certainly no blood. Anything past a playful biting is problematic behavior and it should be a red flag. It is dangerous for your dog to be biting you or any other member of the family. This could easily get to the point where you or somebody else in your house is afraid of the dog, which is quite dangerous. You must be able to control your dog at all times for your sake and that of the people around you.

2. Your Dog Is Very Aggressive to Other Dogs

If you can’t take your dog out for a walk because it barks and bites every other dog in sight, then you have a problem. Your dog needs to be social with humans and dogs alike. If it is endangering other dogs every time it is out, then it is your responsibility to teach it that aggression is not the right behaviour.

This can be a tricky situation for an owner to sort out. Research has revealed that there tend to be several different possibilities for primary causes of dog-on-dog aggression. This behaviour often results when a dog has, itself, been attacked by another dog in the past. In a minority of cases, it can also happen as a result of insufficient socialization to other sorts of dogs. In either situation, working with a trainer could help tremendously to curb the aggressive behaviour.

3. Your Dog Does Not Follow Any of Your Commands

The interaction between you and your dog depends heavily on domination. From day one, your dog is trying to dominate you and if you permit it, you will have a dog that does not follow any of your commands and that has no boundaries. If you say “No!” and your dog continues to do what it wanted anyway, then you could benefit from some training sessions. These could prove extremely useful in the long run because it might keep your dog out of danger.

4. Your Dog Responds Aggressively When It Wants Food

Dogs get extremely excited about food. So much so that they bark, they wag their tails all over the place and look impatiently at their bowls. But if the situation gets to the point where the dog becomes aggressive when there is food around, then you need to intervene. As its master, you must be able to touch its food at any time without the fear of being bitten. Being hungry should never be an excuse for your dog to bite you. If you have to think twice before touching your dog’s food, then you need some assistance.

5. Your Dog Won’t Walk on a Leash

If your dog does not accept a leash, then you need to seek professional help. It is essential that it is able to walk down the street by your side without making sudden movements or refusing to move. Aside from being a difficult behavior, it is also dangerous. When your dog is close to cars, you must be able to control it in order to keep it safe. If you don’t feel that you have control, then you need to seek professional help.

These are the red-flag situations that should tell you that you need to seek the assistance of a professional dog trainer. If any of these sound oddly familiar, then a few sessions with a trainer might help you keep your dog safe.

About the author
Andrej Kovacevic is a freelance copywriter & blogger who enjoys contributing to the pet blogging community. You can connect with him on Twitter.