Did Santa bring your family a new dog? Congratulations! A new pup or dog is lots of fun but also a fair amount of work. The sooner you roll up your sleeves and begin, the better — and I’m not talking about shoveling poop! Get your new family member off to a great start by enrolling in obedience classes so you can both learn together, the right way.
I know. You’re busy. The kids have after school activities and sports, it’s dark early, it’s cold in the evenings, you’re working, there’s just too much going on — the list of excuses goes on and on. You’ll do the training in the spring, or maybe during the summer when school’s out. Really? Is there a time when you are thinking you won’t be busy?
The problem is, your dog isn’t waiting until spring to learn things. From the moment your new pet entered your home, he is learning and trying out behaviors to see what works. So, if you’re not teaching him what you want, he’s just hit or miss learning things on his own, and you may not be pleased with the results.
Sadly, what too many people do is wait until there is a list of bad behaviors that they want changed to get motivated to get the dog into training. I’m not saying that it’s too late, but it definitely doubles the work (undoing the bad behaviors and then replacing them with the desired ones) and not everyone has the patience it takes. Hence all the teenage dogs surrendered to shelters.
My friends just adopted a 2-year-old dog in the fall. We had talked about the importance of training and they seemed to agree with the need to get him into a class as soon as possible, especially since they are first time dog parents. But life was busy and the holidays were coming and they had one excuse after another and still haven’t gotten him enrolled.
Fortunately he has a great temperament and is not an out of control puppy. But he could be a fantastic dog and that opportunity is slipping away. And although he hasn’t done anything unforgiveable, he has a few bad behaviors that aren’t getting the attention they need. It’s really a shame but the saying is true “you get out of the dog what you put into the pup.” Really, the more experienced the owner, the MORE they value training classes — they’re not just for the novice.
People are often surprised by some of the advice we give about training: “it sounds like raising children,” they say. Exactly right. The theories are not very different. Set them up for success (by managing their environment, having reasonable expectations, etc.), reinforce the behaviors you want (reward good behaviors A LOT!) and ignore or do a quick correction if they do something wrong. Sadly it seems to be human nature to quickly and consistently point out what is wrong but we are stingy on praise when things are going right.
Why not carry treats with you every time you go out with your dog so you can reward good behavior? It’s that kind of consistent praise that will shape positive behaviors!
So now is a great time to get your dog — whether new to you or not — into training. Help your dog become the best he can be with some fun, positive classes. If you need a list of local, positive method trainers, contact the shelter at 707-584-1582 or animal@rpcity.org. We’d love to help you get your pet off on the right paw!
