Owning a dog will bring a lot of joy and happiness to your life. They can improve your health by making you more active, they can make you feel safer, and they can support a number of mental and physical health issues. However, being a dog owner comes with a lot of responsibility and something that is often overlooked is the importance of obedience training. If your dog isn’t trained properly, it can be embarrassing, stressful, and it could even have devastating consequences. One of the main reasons people give up their dog is because of their behaviour, so today, we will be looking into the importance of training your dog.
Training Tools You Need
Before you jump into training your dog, you will need to make sure you have the right tools. If your dog is food motivated, then you will need enough treats (their daily dog biscuits can work fine), and if they love to play, a good toy will work well. One of the best ways to prepare yourself for dog training is to purchase the right tools. Take a look at an online pet shop like timeforpaws.co.uk. You can shop an extensive range of well-priced pet food and pet supplies, so you have everything you need for training.
Teaches Life Skills
When you train your dog properly, you will be giving them the skills they need to live a peaceful life with other humans and animals. You may think that a domestic dog is born with these skills and has an easy life compared to wild relatives, but living in a household will put pressure on them and they’ll need to learn how to deal with it correctly. If you fail to do so, then this can result in destructive and other unwanted behaviours, such as anxiety and aggression towards other pets or people.
Can Alleviate Stress
If you don’t train your dog in the right way, then you will be doing harming them in the long run. When a dog has been trained correctly, they integrate with humans in the right way and are relaxed and calm in their environment. If they haven’t been trained properly, then you will experience stress behaviours. Your dog may act aggressively out of fear or dominance, or they could be too excitable and hyperactive, which can harm visitors, especially if the dog jumps up and chews them.
Reduces Separation Anxiety
One of the hardest parts about being a dog owner is leaving your pooch alone at home. When the time comes for your dog to be left alone, you need to know that they will be comfortable and will behave in the right way. If a dog has not been trained properly, then they may howl or bark for hours on end. The stress of being alone could show as destructive behaviour or having accidents in the home. In order to reduce separation anxiety, you will need to train your dog to be alone from an early age.
Will Avoid Conflict
Your dog must get experience socialising with other people and animals as soon as they become a part of your family. If your dog isn’t well-socialised, this could lead to heaps of conflict, stress, and in severe cases, it could result in an injury. Keeping your canine companion away from other animals is not practical. In order to avoid aggression and anxiety-related issues, your dog should get out and meet other people and animals often. This will make them feel comfortable and will improve their nature.
Keeps Them Safe
As well as avoiding conflict, training your dog properly will make you and your dog safer. A dog that does not listen to commands from its owner will put them in danger. The world is full of harm and hazards that your dog will not fully understand. For example, your dog will not understand what a road is, or the damage that a car can inflict if they get hit by one. When a dog has been trained well, then they will be safer than others, and may even perform the behaviours when separated from you.
Improves Your Bond
Obedience training is important when it comes to educating your dog and teaching them life skills, but as their owner, there much more that can be taken away from this. When you engage with your dog regularly and work to make them a better and happier animal, you will gain a deep understanding of their needs. There is a lot of misinformation about dog training and many people will make their dogs anxious without realising it. Getting good advice is vital, so you should research classes and advice.
Training your dog will require time, patience, and persistence. In order to get the most out of your training sessions, you should seek the help, advice and support from reliable experts. Training should never be rushed and if you do the wrong thing, you could be doing your pet more harm than good.