How To Get Your Dog To Listen? Words Of A Dog Mom
Taking care of a pet isn’t always easy, especially in cases where your pet even refuses to listen to you. This leads us to the main problem faced by all dog owners today; How to get your dog to listen to you? Training is super important if you want your pup to pay attention to your commands.
Highlighting the importance of why your dog should listen to you
Being pack animals, dogs need guidance on their behavioral traits. As a dog mom/dad, training your pup is your responsibility! If you don’t take up this leadership role, then you might end up being the one that’s bossed around in your own house!
It can be quite frustrating when your little canine friend refuses to listen to you and can also be quite dangerous at times. After all, these commands help to keep your dog out of trouble, from eating something they shouldn’t or from running out onto a busy street, which would not only be dangerous for the dogs themselves but also for the commuters on the street.
It can also help keep you sane by helping manage problematic behaviors like furniture destruction as well.
Thus, it’s no exaggeration if we say that good training for a pup is indeed for his own benefit, as well as for the owner’s as well. But exactly how should one go about training their canine friends?
A good strategy to adopt is always to remember, practice exercise first, followed by discipline and then affection.
How To Train Your Dog?
The first step toward training a young pup is removing the excess energy. Like how a hyper toddler is so distracting at times and overly excited, the same is the case with energetic pups who are always raring to go. These energetic little creatures focus on releasing all the bottled-up energy inside, resultantly making it quite a hassle getting them to listen.
Unnecessarily having your dogs kept inside your house would only make them go crazy, and you’ll end up running around the house looking for ways to channel their energy. A good long walk with your pup to the park could end up being a nice bonding session between you two.
Another important aspect is consistency. If your dog is unsure of exactly how he should act, such as due to different treatment from different family members, you will probably have quite a hard time getting him to listen. For example, if you’re okay with letting your little canine friend sleep with you, carrying them around, or even sharing your food with them, your siblings who may have an allergy or might be afraid of dogs may not be as comfortable. These behavioral differences might be problematic.
Try having a family meeting and setting boundaries, rules, and limitations you want for your little canine friend, and make sure you all adhere to them as well. Moreover, dogs usually tend to communicate better with commands that are associated with non-verbal gestures like hand motions. They usually tend to associate your body language and actions with commands at times, call it having a photographic memory.
Try to see what you’re subconsciously doing at the time when your little friend listens to you. Are you holding a baby? Looking directly at them? Making a hand motion? Take notes and remember them for future use!
Next comes truly mastering your energy. If you’re unsure or frantic when giving a command, your dog will tune you out. Dogs tend to follow their pack leaders, and for that, you will have to work on developing using your calm-assertive energy. As mentioned before, dogs are pack animals, direct descendants of wolves, who will follow a leader. What you have to do, is to truly make your little canine friend understand and accept that you are the boss of this house in a calm, assertive manner. Be a leader, not a tyrant!
A good way to do so is to have a friend observe and give you tips. Another way to do so is to video record yourself while giving your pet his instructions. Revisit the video later on and see how you did, take notes and truly be your own best critic.
Another essential is to always go back to the basics and build up from there. Make sure to hold training exercises regularly to ensure your dog truly knows the commands and as they say. It’s a good idea to start training your pups from all over from the beginning to ensure that they truly know the basics and understand the commands that you’re giving them too. It’s no use what you’d do if your little friend is unable to make out how they’re supposed to act next, right?
Lastly, the mental and emotional state of your pet plays a significant role in their tendency to listen to you as well. For example, your dog is less likely to listen to you if they’re afraid such as by the sound of thunder than they would be when they’re offered incentives like treats.
It’s a good idea to start off with short exercises focusing mostly on the most basic of lessons, followed by treats when your little friend successfully completes them! With time, you can start moving on to more complex exercises, but take care to ensure that your pet is well satisfied throughout and truly absorbing its lessons.
In general, beating and harsh treatment of your dog is not a viable solution to opt for. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll either end up with a timid, scared dog who’d be afraid to do even the most basic of tasks like eating well or with a mad beast who’ll only use this treatment to fuel its rage and go wild on you.
Final Thoughts
Remember, your canine buddies are living beings and have feelings. Treat them nicely, and they’ll too break the ice between you and your pup, and soon he will be listening to your instructions!
It takes a lot of time, loving care, and effort to truly earn the trust of your pets, but once you do, you’ve earned a friend for life!
