By Ashley Skipper, AlphA and Omega Lead Trainer.
Whether you have a furry companion already living with you or are thinking about adding a new member to your family, there are five essential practices you should implement to help increase your relationship with your pooch, improve their respect for you as a leader, as well as elevate their overall obedience. Oftentimes, we are so excited and full of love for our dog, that we neglect to implement training and boundaries which can negatively impact their behavior.
Daily Practices:
1. Have your dog sit and stay at boundaries, such as doorways, fences, street crossings, and when getting out of the car.
Enforcing these boundaries will help them to practice self-restraint and impulse control.
If you can exit the boundaries without your dog breaking position, it means your dog respects your leadership and this will strengthen your relationship.
2. Make your dog work for their food.
Hand-feeding your dog is a way to have them work for their food. Using their food to reward for obedience and teaching tricks is a great way to spice up mealtime, offer mental stimulation, and reinforce obedience.
When feeding from a bowl, before putting the bowl down, have your dog hold a sit and stay until released — or run through a few commands/tricks.
This is also good to do when giving treats, chews, or table scraps.
3. Turn playtime into an obedience game.
Instead of just playing a game of fetch, add in your obedience commands and use the ball as a reward. The same can be done with tug or any other game your dog enjoys.
Take a ball or tug toy on your walks with you. Playing a game as you walk will keep your dog engaged with you, as well as a reward for good obedience, which means they will offer good behavior more often.
4. Have your dog hold a place when you’re not having direct interaction with them.
When having guests enter your house ,have your dog hold a place until they are calm. This will help them respectfully great guests.
When having meals, have your dog hold a place so they cannot practice behaviors of begging for food.
If your dog is a puppy or a dog with destructive tendencies, this will help to not give them the opportunity to practice destructive behaviors.
5. Recalling your dog to give them love or a reward.
We often call/recall our dogs to do things they don’t want to do, such as being leashed up to leave a park, getting a bath, etc.
If you recall your dog at random for love or a reward this will increase their drive to come to you.
We understand dogs and we love what we do! A well-behaved dog is not a luxury. It’s a necessity — and we can help you achieve your goals! Visit our Facebook page or give us a call at 844.739.0990 to learn all the ways we can help to improve your relationship with your dog!
