CREATING A COMPLIANT COMPANION

Intro By Michelle Mantor, Opening

Perhaps the number one stress factor for dog owners is their dog’s behavior. Whether it’s housesoiling, aggression, pulling on the leash, stealing food or destroying shoes, it’s all paramount to an untrained “tornado” wearing four furry paws.

The need for training our dogs is most likely stating the obvious but what you may not know is the tremendous strides made in the science of dog training. From positive reinforcement methods to understanding the canine social make-up, the world of dog training has progressed nicely into the 21st century with studies from the last 30 years offering us ideas as to how we should interact with our dogs.

Remembering that dogs were “domesticated” into our lives is a key element. The responsibility rests upon our shoulders to understand their world when we are asking them to live in ours. Because we owe it to this species, Canis Familiaris, to not expect something from them that they don’t understand, the fact that dog training has progressed to a deeper understanding of their behaviors, learning patterns and communication elements is a call to pet owners to embrace, learn and deliver on our commitments.

Houston boasts many knowledgeable, experienced trainers and PetTalk is proud that many of them are also our advertising sponsors. We asked our experts to give you some brief tips on various training topics. Books can and have been written on the topic of canine behavior so we are merely scratching the surface of training advice in this feature but we invite you to enjoy these thoughts and if your dog is in need of behavior modification, please contact one of our authors to learn more about how you can change or manage your relationship with your dog.