Learning About Dog Training

Bringing home your first dog is an exciting adventure. However, that adventure can quickly turn into a stressful situation if you don't take the time to train your new pup and pursue obedience training. Especially for those who have never owned a dog before, there are some things that you should know to understand why obedience training is so beneficial. Here's a look at some of the stuff that you need to know about the advantages of obedience training for your new dog.

Obedience Training Establishes Your Position

When it comes to training a dog and getting your dog to follow your commands, you need to remember that dogs are pack animals. As a result, they follow the hierarchy of the pack and follow the commands of the leader. If you want your dog to listen to you, you need to establish yourself as that leader.

Obedience training will help to do just that. During obedience training, your dog will learn that you are the pack leader and that you have authority. This will make it easier for you to give commands to your dog that will be followed.

Obedience Training Keeps Your Dog Safe

Especially for inexperienced dog owners, obedience training is an essential safety consideration. Remember that dogs are curious, and they are also natural hunters. You may find that your dog tries to get into things that could be unsafe, including chasing cars and going into unsafe areas. If you want to ensure that your dog listens when you tell them no, obedience training is an important investment. Once your dog completes obedience classes, you can be far more confident that your pet will be safer.

Obedience Training Teaches You Important Interactions

Another great benefit of obedience training, especially for new dog owners, is that the classes will teach you some important interactions. In many cases, people instinctively teach dogs bad habits. Remember that dogs learn much like toddlers in that they learn by reinforcement and observation. If your dog begs at your side when you eat, and you give the pup a piece of food from your plate, you're teaching the dog to beg in order to get food. Likewise, when you punish a dog for an action, you're simply teaching your dog to fear doing that action around you. Instead, your pup may hide or wait until you're not in sight.

Obedience training will teach you about training your dog through positive reinforcement. When you reward the actions that you want from your dog and ignore others, you're teaching your dog how to please you, which is what most every dog is eager to do. Look for dog obedience lessons in your area to get started.