Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Middlefield And Surrounding Areas
Are you struggling at getting your dog to listen? We can help you.
It is a good idea to be aware that your success in creating peace with your dog depends on many variables. We wanted to share these with you so that you can get your dog to listen now.
Your Rate of Success Depends on the Following:
1.) How often you train your dog with the homework you are given. If you practice a few times a week your progress will probably be much slower than someone that trains multiple times everyday.
Your homework can be found through reading dog training books or from working a professional dog trainer. Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Middlefield is happy to help you.
2.) How fast your dog learns. Some dogs learn quickly and other dogs learn a bit slower. This generally has nothing to do with a dog’s intelligence. It usually has to do with how stress the dog becomes.
The more stressed the dog gets around the triggers the longer it will generally take him to learn. If their stress is minor around triggers the progress may happen faster.
3.) How long your training sessions last. If you are given homework involving systematic desensitization it is best to have sessions last at least 20 minutes in length. Shorter sessions may result in slower progress.
4.) Are you doing well with management? If you are constantly subjecting your dog to the stressful triggers and your dog is reacting (barking, lunging, whining, etc.) then this old behavior will win.
You can train an alternate good behavior but if your dog is practicing the old behavior often than your progress will be slow or may never happen.
Management can be tough for some of my clients. Dog training (Middlefield) owners will benefit from learning as much about management as they can.
5.) Do you end sessions on a positive note? If you keep ending sessions when your dog is reacting and is stressed, it will be harder for your dog to learn.
When I am with my clients we always work on positive dog training. Middlefield dog owners also benefit from ending sessions on a positive note. It affects both the owners and the dogs psychologically.
6.) If you need to work around other dogs and people, you need to enroll dogs and people that can help be a decoy in the training. If the decoy dogs are barky and obnoxious, they are not good candidates.
If the people cannot follow directions then they are not good candidates. Finding good candidates / decoys are crucial to your success.
You will need to ask around for support with your dog training. Middlefield is an area where you can get to know your neighbors. Do that because it will be easier to enroll people.
7.) Are you able to work at the pace of your dog rather than pushing your goals onto your dog. It does no good to pressure your dog.
You need to work at your dog’s pace. Make sure your dog has fully integrated the step you are on and that your dog is feeling relaxed before moving to a harder / more stressful level.
8.) Ask questions. If you don’t understand how to do the training or things don’t make sense ask. Not asking questions results in assumptions, which will damper your progress.
9.) If you determined to create progress you will create faster progress. If you are constantly a victim of your dog’s reactivity, then your progress will be slower.
10.) Having a positive mind set that constantly sees the goals that you are wanting to create, will result in faster progress.
11.) Tracking your progress creates success. Science has proven that you will get results faster if you write down and track your progress.
12.) Science has also proven that dogs will learn faster and better through positive reinforcement rather than through punishment (shock collars, prong collars, spray bottles, yelling at your dog, etc.).
13.) You will have faster progress if you can shift quickly to a solution when a problem arises. If you stop practicing for days because things don’t go as planned then you damper progress.
You need to re-evaluation what you can do differently to keep moving forward in a positive direction.
Unfortunately, I have seen many owners damper their success with dog training. Middlefield was a sad place when this happened. Make sure you keep moving forward.
12.) After you are done working with me, you still keep doing your homework and keep training your dog with the tools you learned.
I have had dogs that have shown significant changes in behavior in just 1-3 months. Some dogs and owners take 6 months to 2 years before a huge significant change will occur. You must be determined and keep moving forward to get progress.
Johanna Teresi, Middlefield Dog Trainer, Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Middlefield
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