Everyone’s Best Friend!
Can you blame anyone for wanting a dog as a companion animal? They’re loyal, sensitive, compassionate, and there are a seeming number of breeds with their own unique attributes and quirks. We all love our dogs, but loving a dog isn’t the same as letting it get away with objectionable behavior, like jumping up on couches, barking constantly, or peeing on the floor. Sometimes, your furry family member’s behaviors need to be addressed, and that might mean you need online dog training schools to help.
Fortunately, dogs are quite intelligent creatures, as well as being sensitive, and they can be conditioned out of their habits with a little discipline and help from online dog training schools. If your dog is in need of help with its socialization skills, online dog training schools can help in a few ways.
1) Starting as Young as Possible.
A puppy that is mature enough to get around and about the house when they’re about eight to twelve weeks old is perfectly primed for online dog training schools. Puppies this age have yet to form bad habits or develop problems with socialization, and training them early gives them a head start with disciplined, regimented, and mannerly behaviors early in their formative lives.
2) Reinforcing Positive Behaviors.
Your furry friend has its own “personality” that distinguishes it from all other dogs. It has emotional reactions to things it likes and doesn’t like, and it will act on its desire to express these emotional reactions. Your dog is also a learning animal, and online dog training schools perform what is called conditioning, which is to reward behaviors that would be a benefit for your dog to learn, and to cultivate a habit of reinforcing that behavior. For instance, if you would like your dog to “sit,” it will learn by reinforcement of sitting with a treat or a toy.
3) Addressing and Changing Troublesome Behaviors.
Of course, the flipside of your dog being a learning animal with its own feelings, desires, and impulses is the capacity to act impulsively. On a whim, your dog may jump up on the sofa or on visitors, try to run away while out for a walk (forcing you to tighten your grip on your leash), or bark excessively at the slightest noise. If you wish for your dog to be socialized properly, online dog training schools will use similar conditioning techniques to regiment your dog’s behavior and root out some of the troublesome ones.
4) Teaching and Reinforcing Positive Socializing Skills.
Finally, online dog training schools have comprehensive programs in place that instruct on healthy practices for your dog to be socially adept around both people and other dogs. Remember: dogs are sensitive and intelligent animals that have needs and require contact and socializing in order to be healthy. Some positive socializing skills that are used by online dog training schools include obedience to commands and controlling and inhibiting impulses.
The Final Word.
A note of caution: if your dog is suffering from a severe psychiatric problem, such as anxiety, depression, or aggression, online dog training schools are not appropriate. It is best to take your dog to see an animal behaviorist.
A properly trained dog will ease stress on both you and your furry companion. With its impulses under control and its positive attributes reinforced, your dog will benefit from online dog training schools with an increased ability to properly socialize, leading to a healthy, happy, and potentially long life.
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