If you have a dog and you need to train it but you don’t have the energy, patience or time to devote to it, you aren’t alone. This is an undertaking that requires a lot of all of these things, and what you want is a safe, well adjusted dog and for you to be happy with the results, too. What may help you get there is to hire a professional dog trainer.
When it comes to hiring a dog trainer, in general, the quality and cost will vary. Training philosophies, too, will also vary considerably between trainers, focused on human and animal interactions as they are. Therefore, utilize these parameters to narrow down your selection.
Determine what your budget is going to be. The cost of the services you hire will vary depending on where you live and what services you use. You can sometimes use free services, often supplied weekly to parks or shelters by volunteers, or you may pay $100 or better per session. What’s a reasonable fee for you? That will vary, depending on where you live, the experience of your trainer, how long the program is, and what your goals are for your dog.
Take a look at your schedule. Some training programs happen every week, others do so more often. You may have to leave your dog at the training facility and pick it up afterward, or you may opt to sign up for a program where the training involves you as well as your dog. Most training programs do suggest that you spend some time with your dog training him or her every day, either at the trainer facility or at home.
In some cases, you may want to consider so-called “boot camp” training programs. In that case, your dog will go away to a special facility for quite awhile, up to several weeks. The training the dog receives is intensive, happens over the training period of time, and it happens very regularly, too. However, don’t be concerned that this is too hard on dogs. Dogs love this type of treatment. Near the end of this type of training, you, too, will usually have to participate so that the dog’s obedience is “transferred” from the trainers to you.
The results of these programs are truly amazing much of the time, though. For those dogs that graduate, they become disciplined and are very eager to follow your instructions. This is true even when they’re not special service dogs. Seemingly contradictory, though, these dogs usually don’t show any ill effects or signs of repression. Instead, they are enthusiastic and play happily.
What are your goals? Do you want your dog to be entered in shows, or do you just want a dog that doesn’t chew on your favorite shoes or pick on other pets? Whatever your goals, you’ll need to train your dog — and do so on a regular basis — to get the results you want. How much training is required will depend on your dog, his age, breed, and temperament.
Take a look at your dog’s temperament; for example, is your dog fearful, either because he was mistreated before or just because it’s submissive? Or, your dog may be assertive, either because it’s been abused previously and has had to fight back, or simply because it wants to be “leader of the pack.” The training you choose is going to depend on how you want to influence your dog and the characteristics you want to mold.
No matter what your goals are, and no matter your budget or commitment to time, you’ll want to choose a trainer who has a lot of patience and a lot of energy, in addition to a deep affection for dogs in general. Most have these characteristics in abundance, or they wouldn’t be in that profession.
Beyond the basics discussed, you’ll also want a trainer whose philosophy matches your own and makes sense to you, and who will respect and match your goals. Some trainers have a viewpoint that “dog” training is really about training the owner, not the dog, and there may be some truth to that a lot of the time. Some dog trainers are more permissive, friendly, lenient, and focus on emotionally “connecting” with your dog, while others are much more commanding and demand respect and obedience. Still others use a mix of these two schools of thought.
It’s probably true that no one training style suits everyone, but it’s not absolutely subjective, either. Even if you disagree on some points, there are a few principles that almost everyone can agree with. That is, consistency, patience, and persistence, as well as the need for the human to be in the “alpha” role, are just a few of the common guidelines.
When you look for your own trainer, ask for recommendations from friends and family who share similar philosophies, and shop around. You may have to change trainers at least once if you aren’t happy with whom you’ve picked at first. Don’t change on a whim, though. One of the most important parts of obedience training is that consistency is key, and a regular environment is necessary so that the dog can integrate what’s being taught.
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