Do Not Make Dog Training Your Last Resort

Everyday at our dog training business in Northern Virginia, we get calls from unhappy owners telling us that they are at their wits end with their dogs and “your training is our last resort or we have to get rid of him.”

These calls are for numerous reasons, dragging the owner down the street, knocked them down, attacked another dog, bit a person, destroyed something valuable in their house, and the list goes on and on (literally).

Anytime I get these calls, I am usually more upset than they are! I always ask myself (and often times them), “Why do you let it get to the last resort?”

Training your new dog should be the “first” resort for many reasons:
-Makes both of you happier
-Learn how to effectively communicate with your dog
-Teach them your expectations
-Builds a closer bond
-Builds confidence in your dog
-Teach them manners and pack leadership
-A way to manage and control their behaviors
-An outlet of energy giving them physical and mental stimulation
and so much more!

At our dog training facility in Northern Virginia, on a daily basis I am comparing how dogs are much like kids, this blog is no exception either. Your puppy (or adult dog) does not know how to behave, they do not know what is acceptable/unacceptable, they do not know what manners are, etc. These are all things that you have to teach them through effective communication.

Just like a baby or a toddler, imagine if you never talked to them, never taught them what was unacceptable, never taught them what your expectations are, and never taught them manners (etc). Would you be surprised if 3-5 years from now, they were pushing you to your “last resort?” Of course not, so why would you expect anything different from your dog?

So, just like with a toddler, you START them off by teaching them all of these fundamental things, which eliminates future issues from arising. By doing this, it eliminates you from seeing training as a last resort.

What I see all of the time is the dog’s negative behaviors start to become a snowball effect. Meaning, they saw something and dragged you down the street leaving you bruised, 2 weeks later they jumped on a kid and knocked them over, 1 month later they took off out the front door and you spent 2 hours chasing them, and as your frustrating is rapidly growing, yesterday they destroyed your new couch while you were gone! This was it, this is what pushed you over the edge!

I literally hear sequence of events like these on a regular basis. Just think, what if you would have gotten training after the first event? Even better, what if you would have gotten training BEFORE the first event.

So, do not hold off on training until you cannot stand your dog. At our dog obedience training in Northern Virginia, we literally hear every single day, “I wish I would have done this 2 years ago,” or “I wish I would have done this with my last dog.”

Remember, look at your dog like a child, you should not wait until they are seven years old and riddled with issues before you “start” trying to address the issues, just do it from the beginning and give yourself and your dog a happy, confident, obedient, and problem-free life.

www.offleashk9training.com
www.facebook.com/offleashk9
www.youtube.com/offleashk9training

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]