A dog is man’s best friend and there are millions of instances that make us all believe that no matter what happens, your dog will never leave your side. The canines have been a major and a crucial part of our Armed Forces and even the Police Force. Seeing the military dogs, one can often wonder as to how the men train these dogs to be as obedient and disciplined as a dog could possibly be! While training your new pup can be daunting and hopeless, it can also be quite frustrating at times since you don’t get to see immediate results.
Your pup will rely on you for guidance and protection, in this relationship; you are the alpha unlike the human- human relationship where both the persons are equals. It is important that your dog obeys you since if he/she doesn’t obey one command (sit, stay or heal), it is likely that he/she will not obey any other command as well. There seems to be a popular belief that dogs don’t learn new things and commands after they pass a certain age; whatever they can learn is only possible in their puppyhood. However, there now seems to exist contrary evidence to this belief. Dogs, like humans, are constantly learning and they can learn new things irrespective of their age.
The training process should ideally start when there is a considerable amount of trust between you and your dog. When you feel that what you tell your dog to do, he/she will, you should start the training of your dog from that point of time. There is, as such no timeframe for training your dog.
Following are some tips that you can follow and use while training your pup to make him/her as disciplined, loyal and obedient as the military dogs.
- Build the trust with your pup.
It is highly essential that you establish trust between your pup and yourself at the very initial stage of training since the trust forms the pillars of the training process. As mentioned earlier, you dog looks up to you and expects protection and guidance, so you might want to begin with establishing trust with your dog. Show him/her that you care and love them and that you can provide for them. They’ll automatically accept you as their ‘guide’ and that forms the base for proper training to begin. - Be positive.
Do not train your dog with the only intention of training him/her. When you enter the training area, let the dog do whatever he/she wants; run, play, whatever. Slowly and gradually imbibe the training routine in his/her play time. It is essential that you know what kind of a reward does your dog like; is it a snack or a toy? Make that reward available to your dog that he/she best likes. The ending of the training session is equally important. The start and the end, both should be on a good, playful and a positive note. Do not get stressed and sure as hell do not stress your dog. This is supposed to be a fun activity for the two of you, a learning experience.
- Maintain consistency.
The choice of the place where you train is important. You want to select an area which has minimal distractions so that you and your dog both, can focus on each other. It is important that you grab the attention of your dog and maintain that attention. By keeping the place of the training the same, after some time, your dog will come to understand that this is the place where he/she gets trained. However, it must not lead your dog to feel that it’s time for him/her to do ‘tasks’. Keep it fun and enjoyable. - Be patient.
Patience is highly crucial in training your dog. Nobody can learn skills and tasks overnight. It takes time. The same is true for your dog. Give your dog considerable amount of time to absorb whatever it is that you’ve been teaching him/her. The worst thing you could do is to take your anger and frustration out on them. It’ll only make your dog more anxious and stressed. Your dog will learn so long as you remain consistent, patient, and positive, because really, all they want is to please you. Let them take their time and at some point it’ll come to them.
All your dog wants from you is love and affection.
