Thursday, February 4, 2010

Dog Obedience-What They Don\t Want You to Know

Dog obedience instructors want you to believe they are the holders of the key to knowledge. What a load of rubbish! In reality, dog obedience is simply learning a few physical skills, paying attention and using common sense.

There are no ninja tactics, no magical clickers and no secret, dog obedience shroud guarded by temple warriors in the Himalayan mountains. Dog obedience is a skill almost any dog owner can learn well enough to solve their dog behavior problems.

For the sake of brevity, we're going to break dog training down into its three most basic components and then briefly describe each. These are the three hurdles you need to overcome when you train a dog.

1. Physical

2. Mental

3. Emotional

Now, let's have a look at each one.

Physical hurdles - OK, think about the laws of physics. If you weigh 85 pounds and your dog is a 200 pound Great Dane who likes to pull, "Houston, we have a problem." You better start thinking about equipment alternatives and learning proper technique. You can do amazing things if you learn proper leash handling techniques. Even a small man can lift more weight than a big man if he has good technique. Training a dog isn't just knowing whether to correct and praise, it's knowing exactly how to correct and praise. Sincere, loving praise and proper angles of correction are just as important as know when to praise and when to correct.

Mental hurdles - You need to pay attention and observe your dog. Anticipating your dog's next move is critically important when training your dog. If your head is somewhere on the far side of the moon, your dog is going to have a distinct advantage over you. Watch your dog and learn his strategies so you can solve problems before they're big problems. Accept the fact that training your dog will require a certain level of attentiveness, so you need to step up to the plate and pay attention to what's going on.

Emotional hurdles - The laws of nature that have skillfully molded the evolution of dogs don't care about your social or political beliefs, your viewpoint on religion or how you feel about vegetables. They rely on forces greater than the sum of all our ideas about who we are, what we want or what we want to be.

Let's say you have an untrained dog who likes to run off and not come back to you when he's called. If you feel sorry for him and take him off the leash knowing that he could be killed by a car, you're not doing him or society and favors. You need to be emotionally strong and accept certain truths about your dog and dog obedience.

In conclusion, if you simply learn how to handle your leash, pay attention to your dog and learn his strategies by observing him and accept the fact that you will have to submit to the forces of nature and evolution, you will be able to manage many of the most difficult dog obedience problems.

About the Author:
To see "Before and After" videos, go to: http://www.dog-training-lifeline.com. A great example of real dog trainers and real dog training obedience. These guys are good and they have skill and integrity. The K9 Lifeline Training System - The Difference That Makes ALL The Difference

Keyword tags: dog obedience,training a dog,dog obedience problems, dogs, obedience

0 comments: