Four Legged Scholars LLC – Hiram Dog Training and Surrounding Areas

There are certain things that you think you need to do to get your dog to listen. Many of them are not true. You can get your to listen to you by having fun and being positive. Our Hiram dog training clients have learned this.

Here are some top myths:

1.) A loud and firm voice is needed to get your dog to listen. Guess what? Your dog can learn to listen to you even when you use a happy voice.

Consequences is how your dog learns obedience. If you dog gets something wonderful like a treat when he listens to do he will learn to listen to your “happy” voice command.

I have found so many more of my Hiram dog training clients enjoy obedience when they learn they can be “happy.”

2.) You need to be alpha or dominant. This isn’t true, your dog listens to you because he wants to. He doesn’t sit there and ask himself if you are alpha or not. What he does pay attention to what he gets when he does certain behaviors.

If he does certain behaviors and gets what he wants, he will do more of those behaviors. If he does other behaviors and they cause the removal of what he wants, he will do less of those behaviors. The American Veterinarian Association has a great article on this.

3.) Your dog needs to learn the word “no.” False. I have found it is hard for me to say “no” and enjoy training my dog. Since I believe training is also about enjoyment, I have found it is much easier to request my dog to do what I want him to do rather than saying “no.”

If my dog is pulling on the leash I can “easy.” If my dog is attempting to get into the trash I can say “leave it.”  By telling our dogs exactly what we want, obedience is much easier for them.

3.) If your dog does something wrong you need to reprimand him. Humans do not enjoy reprimands and neither do dogs. Again, it is much easier to tell your dog what to do. Our clients trainer better obedience this way.

4.) You need to practice training everyday for your dog to learn. False. Your dog has a great memory. Training a few times a week is enough.

Even if you just focus on training your dog once a week, you can create success. Of course our Hiram dog training clients create faster success when they train their dogs more often.

5.) Spoiling your dog is inappropriate. Not true. It is okay to give your dog what he wants. In fact, if you give your dog whatever he wants when he does whatever you want, you are rewarding good behavior. Your dog doesn’t need to be punished to learn good obedience. Hiram is near many happy clients of ours that have learned this.

6.) Your dog cannot go on your furniture. Definitely false. I absolutely love to cuddle with my dogs. You probably do too. Unless it is creating a problem, it is okay to let your dog on your sofa, chair or bed. Sleeping with my dog, Seiki, was so precious to me.

7.) If you use a clicker your dog will be dependent on this forever. The clicker is actually used when you initially train a new behavior. Once your dog has reached obedience with that behavior you no longer have to use a clicker.

8.) If you use treats during your training, your dog will only listen to you when you have treats on you. As long as you begin to fade out treat usage as your dog begins to respond to your command more and more, your dog will NOT become dependent on treats. In fact, he will learn to listen well without getting any reward.

9.) If your dog has aggression issues you cannot train him with positive dog training methods. Science has proven that positive training methods work the best especially when dealing with aggression issues. The American Veterinarian Association has actually researched this.

We just worked with an aggressive Doberman and used positive dog training. Hiram was the location we trained her. She became so much more calm and began to listen reliably to her owner under situations where she use to react aggressively.

We hope you found these myths helpful.

Tell us about your dog.

Johanna Teresi, Professional Hiram Ohio Dog Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC, Hiram, Dog Training and surrounding areas