Dog Ownership 101 - May/June 2016

the puppy is not only going to have negative
effects on the training. A puppy will be far more
involved in the learning process if they don’t
feel intimidated. You need to be taken seriously
by your dog if you want it be trained well. If
the dog is relaxed and you are obsessive, the
dog will think you’re crazy. If your dog is acting
up, you need to ask yourself what you may be
doing to cause that kind of reaction from the
dog. Are you portraying good or bad behavior
towards them? Remember that it’s probably
your fault, so take the steps necessary to
correct both your and the dog’s behavior.
SCARING OR INTIMIDATING
3 YOUR PUPPY
Try to imagine someone four times
your size hovering over you. Overwhelming
right? Your puppy may be fearful of you or
run, unable to gain anything useful from this
situation. Think about what options you have
available, including treats in order to encourage
good behavior. Puppies, like children have
personalities too. If you’ve owned more than
one pup in your life, you know what this truly
means. Every dog is different. You need to
train him, but in order to do that you need
to understand how their brain works. No
matter their personality, you need to have
positive interaction with your puppy and also
understand them. Dogs love to be included in
whatever you are doing and share their lives
and secret language, as long as you stop to
listen and watch.
FORGETTING THAT YOUR DOG IS
4 A DOG
Just remember that a dog is a dog
and will act as dogs do, regardless of size or
breed. So, dogs shouldn’t be treated as if they
are children or different types of pets. A dog
has a predictable, yet unique, behavior all his
own. He will sleep at night, walk on four legs
and look for affection wherever he can find it.
If you can recognize those behaviors in him,
you can use them as training tools. Your dog
has the need to belong to your family, just like
he would want to belong to a pack of dogs. So
do try to understand the situation from the
dog’s viewpoint and try talking to him in ‘dog
language’. These will help you be on top of any
day-to-day needs like teaching him manners,
as well as the slowing down of bad habits.
Are you looking for the dog breed that will fit best into
your family? If so, you need our introduction to 14
highly respected breeds of dogs on page 61.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
NOT BEING EMPATHETIC AND
5 COMPASSIONATE
You can also make him come out of
assertiveness, hyperactivity, fear or impulsiveness
by being empathetic. Do try and understand
your pet’s style of communication, pattern of
behavior, etc. and change your training methods
to suit these factors. These can make him feel at
home with your family. Dogs are really superior
to other species since they are loyal team players
and define their life in terms of the group activity
going on. She feels like part of the family, but
that doesn’t mean it’s a democracy. Rather, it’s a
hierarchy and if you don’t act like the leader and
train her, she will take over that role and train you.
DOG ownership 101 | MAY / JUNE 2016
71