Dogs are people’s best friends, but they can be a real pain and problem too. The fact is, no matter how domesticated, dogs are still animals. Their thinking, behavior, and drive are many times pre-programmed by instincts that simply make them do things that we as humans have a problem with. The trick, of course, is to use training to remind the animal of how to behave for better results. Training can be a powerful offset to instincts, but it needs to be applied correctly as well.
Quality Training Versus Cosmetics
For anyone needing behavior correction for their canine friend, real training happens just like it does for humans. The dog needs to be taken out of their normal environment, put through a concentrated program, and trained consistently with clear attention, skill, and depth. A one-day training or a few hours at a store clinic are not going to do the job. It will definitely be a curious experience, but as soon as the animal is back home, it will go right back to old habits and territory assumptions that it had before. And that means the same problem will occur again.
Instead, the dog needs to be put into an environment where its comfort level is removed. Just like a human, this grabs the animal’s attention fully without distractions. In doing so, the animal begins to focus on what produces better results for what it wants. Remember, dogs are very simple in terms of their wants. They constantly look for food, they want family and bonding, and they want to feel safe. All three come with interaction with people and other animals and their environment around them. So, training that focuses on these elements without any other attention issues helps reprogram the dog’s brain to focus on different rewards.
Training in Phoenix That Provides Real Results
An effective training system for dog owners in Phoenix first involves a location that is prepared to handle dogs of all types. That includes a training facility that is separate and geared for dog work and separation from distractions. Second, the staff involved need to have the experience to train dogs of all types, whether they are already very responsive or are going through their first training ever. Understanding the differences in each animal has a huge impact on the results. Group training, for example, lumps all animals together, so the lessons become confusing as the dogs focus on each other versus the training being applied. Dog training in Phoenix is too complex for a beginner, the dog simply stresses out and becomes agitated. If the training is too simple, the dog practically falls asleep waiting for something better to happen. Trainers who are tuned into their students avoid these problems and produce better behavior results.
The process of a quality trainer starts with an evaluation. This helps directly identify what type of dog is involved, whether there are overt behavior issues right from the beginning, if the dog is going to be stressed out and agitated easily or is comfortable in new places, and how the dog deals with people. Based on the initial review, the training approach for the dog and its level of understanding is then planned. The initial steps go through basic commands and communication. This builds a foundation for the dog with the trainer and more complex training expectations later in the process. If the dog can respond well to simple commands, its attention can be built up to harder and harder commands. Not every dog rises up at the same pace though, and training is adapted for that as well.
Reinforcement becomes the next level, helping the dog remember the commands just learned as well as associating them with results and bonding that ultimately gets transferred to the owner. While these commands at the most basic level can come with physical rewards, like snacks, ultimately a well-trained dog does the command because the bonding effect with an owner feels right, even if it overcomes instinct. That’s the level of high-quality training that really shapes dogs to behave better.
Ongoing Support
Top-notch training facilities also provide ongoing support. Not every dog takes their training away perfectly. Sometimes things don’t stick, and the dog needs more reinforcement. High-quality trainers like Rob’s Dogs and similar in Phoenix know this from experience and provide a feedback loop with additional support and reinforcement sessions to help practice sink in. Ideally, a dog should come out of a training problem able to be comfortable and behave reliably around other dogs and people. That level of confidence and safety comes when a dog has the full trust of its owner to guide the animal accordingly. Ongoing support helps ensure this confidence level solidifies in the animal versus dissipating with time.
If your dog is just operating like a four-legged wrecking ball around your home, people, and other dogs, yelling and punishing the dog isn’t going to help. In fact, it will probably add to the stress the dog is feeling causing its negative behavior. Instead, the effective strategy involves breaking that stress cycle with an immersion into new training in a new environment. That allows the dog to open up again, learn, and re-bond with its owner properly within the context of commands the animal ultimately trusts. The outcomes prove how effective this approach can be, especially as the dog becomes easy to work with and cooperates better with others.