Your family has welcomed a lovely new puppy into your home and you are starting to train it. Right now, it’s a little ball of fluff that’s full of energy and life. But, you know that it needs to be trained to avoid peeing on the furniture or causing all sorts of mischief. You’ve never trained a dog before, so you are also wondering if you should get help with this task.
Do you need help when training your dog?
To be honest, you don’t. Most people are able to train their pets all by themselves. In fact, it can be beneficial to go through this learning process together as it strengthens the bond you have with your puppy. They learn to understand your voice and actions, making them more obedient when you speak to them. Obviously, it is going to be a long process with lots of trial and error. However, with enough patience, there’s no reason you can’t train your dog without any outside help.
Nevertheless, there can be circumstances when you desperately need a bit of extra support and guidance. So, we’re going to look at some of the situations when it makes sense to get help. Before that, we’ll see where and how you can get help when training your dog…
Where can you get dog training advice?
The internet is a wonderful resource full of free content that will help any new dog owner. Take a look at a pet magazine and it should provide you with a whole host of articles or videos relating to dog training. Here, you can get advice on common issues, learning how to work through them without hiring any extra help. YouTube is also a fantastic site because you can see instructional videos and get more detailed help with dog training.
Of course, if this doesn’t help, you can hire dog trainers to help you out. But, this is a last resort kind of thing. Most of the time, you can work through any issues with your dog by yourself – and by using online resources.
With that in mind, when does it make sense to talk to a dog trainer and get some extra support?
When your dog is overly aggressive
Remember, dogs are animals. Yes, they have been domesticated over the years, but there is still a bit of wolf in all dogs. This is why they bark whenever they see other dogs or they still pee to mark their territory. Behaviours like these are ingrained in their minds despite years and years of evolution. As such, some dogs still have a bit more wolf in them than others. Also, the way they have been bred can make them a bit more aggressive than usual.
If you have an aggressive dog, this doesn’t mean they are nasty. It just means this is how they think they need to act for some reason. Most of the time, they’re aggressive to other people or dogs as a defence mechanism to protect you and your family! Clearly, an aggressive dog is not good as it could cause some safety concerns. If you feel as though yours is overly aggressive, getting some extra help is a smart idea to train them to be more docile and relaxed.
When your dog is overly excited
Likewise, a very excitable dog can be a problem for you and many other people. While not aggressive, your dog is full of energy and loves running around the house yapping away. It can make life difficult because they cause a lot of mess – and they also make it hard for you to settle down. If you have neighbours, they may also be annoyed at your dog, causing tension on the street.
Again, some dogs are more excitable than others based on how they were bred. You want your dog to be active, but you don’t want them to be too buzzed and hyper. Therefore, working with a professional dog trainer can help you make them less crazy. You’ll train them to relax more and quieten down on command. A lot of the time, excitable dogs can be trained really easily using games to keep them occupied. Puzzles for dogs are really good here as they spend ages trying to figure them out, which stops them from running around like a crazy person!
When your dog doesn’t listen to you
You’ve been online, you’ve watched countless videos and you feel as though you’ve followed all the steps. However, your dog simply does not listen to you. You’re trying so many different techniques and ideas, but you can’t get them to perform simple tasks. They won’t sit when you ask them to, they won’t be quiet and they aren’t house trained. It’s a pretty big problem because you basically have an untrained dog.
If this is the case, your only option is to get some outside help. Working with a dog trainer can help you learn how to connect to your dog on a deeper level. Hopefully, after some intense training, they become more obedient and aware of you. After this, they hang onto your every word and listen to everything that you say.
Mainly, these are the three instances when extra help is probably needed. Some people wonder if you need assistance if this is your first dog. Truthfully, there is no need to get extra help unless it is necessary. Most people will be able to train their dogs by themselves – or with the help of some articles and videos. I would say your best bet is to do this, but keep an eye on their behaviour. If your dog seems too aggressive, too excitable, or doesn’t listen to you, then you will need the extra help. But, you can save a lot of money by trying to do things on your own, to begin with. Too many dog owners instantly splash the cash on training, only to realise they could’ve done it all themselves with no outside help.
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2 comments
We had a dog trainer come to the house. She was a bit extreme but as a result we have a dog that thinks it’s human. It’s hilarious. She’s very smart but not a fan of dog parks.
Been there done it and got the tee shirt too many times. My wife has helped as a trainer and used to train her own. I think this will be our last dog we have now but we will see