Do you feel as though your dog is just really badly behaved? If so, now is the time for you to try and stop those behaviours from becoming problematic. If you don’t, you may find that they end up escalating to the point where they become very difficult to fix, which is the last thing you need.
Training is Key
One of the first things you need to do is try and make sure that you put a big focus on training. The best dog training will always be consistent, so try and keep this in mind if you can. Teaching your dog to sit or even to lie down may not feel as though it is necessary, but it is. If you can adopt positive reward-based training, this teaches your dog that if they do what they ask, good things will happen. It will also teach them that they can have their needs met in other ways.
Try to introduce a new command every single week, and also practice the older ones as well. A great way for you to get this done would be to consult a qualified dog trainer.
Use Exercise
You should also try and use exercise to your advantage. If you have a tired dog, this is great. If you are gone most of the day, but the only thing you do for your dog when you get them home is a quick walk in the yard, you can expect them to channel the energy that they have into bad behaviour. There’s nothing really that you can do about this either, so you need to keep that in mind.
Puppies tend to have more energy than bigger dogs, so try and make sure that you keep this in mind. Preventing your dog from learning bad behaviours is also so important. If you can, you need to puppy-proof your home and put away shoes and toys.
Focus on Rewards
You also need to try and focus on rewards if you can. If you know that your dog is lying instead of jumping all over people and biting, be sure to praise them for this. If they are working nicely on a lead, you should also try and help them by praising them again. It’s a good idea for you to try and make sure that everyone has the same rules as your dog, and that everyone is consistent.
If you can make sure that this is the case, your dog will have clear messages and clear signals, which will help them quite a lot later down the line. If you are really struggling with your dog, you can hire a dog trainer, as they can help you to get the help you need to make sure that your dog is getting the one-to-one behavioural support they need, while also making sure that you aren’t getting stuck in a rut that you can’t get out of.
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