Mary Allen
Education is extremely important for dogs: on the one hand, good parenting ensures that dogs are protected from danger, on the other hand, the dog does not become dangerous to others. But, despite the schools of dog breeding and a huge amount of special literature, many owners continue to make the same mistakes.
Mistake 1: The Dog is Not Human
A favorite mistake of all dog owners is to humanize their four-legged friends. Jealousy, sadness, falling in love, excitement, resentment: we are only happy to convince ourselves that our dog experiences and shows exactly the same feelings as we do. And, of course, this may be true in some areas, but not in many.
If you want to raise a dog, you must always remember that it just doesn’t work and do it humanly, otherwise expectations will quickly and immeasurably rise. And the disappointment is great.
Mistake 2: Violence is Not an Option
It goes without saying that dog training has absolutely nothing to do with violence. If you want to properly and successfully train your dog, you must not hit it or otherwise physically attack it. This is animal cruelty.
Punishments can be important in raising a puppy, but they should be different: ignoring your dog, refusing to reward, or throwing him out of the room is a wonderful punishment. A dog that is afraid of its owner will never obey him.
Mistake 3: Not Consistent
Consistent parenting is essential for dogs. It is a common mistake to make exceptions between the two: then they secretly put something under the kitchen table or, in the case of the puppies, assume they don’t understand it all anyway. Are you joking? You are serious about this!
Dogs are very smart. Puppies, in particular, are very capable of learning: therefore, they should be constantly trained for a few weeks.
Consistent does not mean bad, but reliable – you always need to react in the same way in the same situations. It builds trust and a sense of security. This way, your dogs will quickly know what you want from them and when.
Mistake 4: No Clear Words
A dog is considered a man’s best friend. That’s right, but please don’t confuse him with your best friend: you don’t have to talk to him all day. This only causes the dog to ignore you more and more. He simply does not understand you and will be annoyed if you constantly talk to him. Rather, you should focus on keeping his attention with clear words and commands. He will quickly understand this and will act accordingly.
If you talk all the time, he probably won’t even hear the commands. Sounds cruel? No. It’s just realistic. You don’t have to ignore your dog – show her your love with affection and active play. He understands this. And that creates a connection.
Mistake 5: Don’t Overdo It
Of course: ideally, your dog should be able to master all the basic commands at the age of eight, and ideally the first tricks. Depending on how much you practice with it, this might work as well.
But this is optional! Your dog doesn’t need exercise and training all day long. Give him rest breaks so he will be much more motivated next time. Parenting takes time and patience, and sometimes a little more from race to race. It is only important that you stay on the ball. The focus should always be on fun.
Mistake 6: Praise, Praise, Praise
If your dog does something right, he will receive praise. You can’t be wrong, can you? False praise is a big mistake in dog training. Because it depends on the exact time.
Praise should be followed immediately after the action so that the dog knows that it has just done well. If you wait too long, the dog may have already done something that you did not want, and then the praise is automatically associated with unwanted behavior. A good time to praise, yes, that also needs to be practiced.