Pet Perch: Two Underutilized Dog Training Tools

Hobby Gatekeepers Continued from page 9 determine their worthiness? 5. Have you ever stopped someone else from being creative as a result of your criticism?

If you answered yes to more than one of these, you’ve shifted into a gatekeeper and have unknowingly become your own interests’ enemy-from-within. I urge you to take a step back and really consider what it was about your interest that gave you joy in the first place. Go back to when you first discovered that hobby or fanbase and consider how wonderful it was to explore and experiment on your own.

Remember the people who supported you when you were a novice and return the favor by supporting others instead of keeping them out. The truth is, once you welcome new members, the community grows and becomes that much more wonderful. By Terie Hansen

A leash and a crate are the two most underutilized training tools. Whether you have a new puppy or adult dog, these two tools are the fastest way to get to a well-trained dog. Some dog owners feel bad about crating their dog/pup. Actually, crating is the best thing to keep them safe and to speed up the training process overall.

If you have or have had children, then at some point you have used a crib. When your baby needed some downtime or a nap, you put him or her in the crib. When you couldn’t supervise or interact with them, you put them in a crib or playpen to keep them safe. A crate is just a crib with a lid. It keeps your dog/pup from getting into things that could be harmful and prevents them from practicing negative behaviors when you can’t supervise.

When you have your dog out of the crate, your pet should be on a leash, even inside the house. When you have a puppy or even an adult dog that is new to you, they don’t know what the rules of your house are. It is your responsibility to teach them. Dogs don’t speak English. Training teaches your dog key words/commands which gives you verbal control of your dog. Before they have learned these commands you still need some form of control and that is what the leash gives you, physical control! This simple tool plays a major role in helping you teach your dog all the basic obedience commands.

One of the biggest mistakes dog owners make early on is giving their new dog or puppy too much freedom, and not enough boundaries, structure, discipline, and training. They allow their dog to roam freely about their house, give them tons of affection via physical touch, toys, treats freedom, etc., and very quickly the dog begins to think it rules the roost and can do whatever it wants. Which is exactly what it begins to do and bad behaviors ensue! That’s the point at which owners either call a trainer, give up the dog, or worse, dump it.

By simply having implemented crate training and using a leash to control a dog while also beginning to train, most negative behaviors can be avoided or stopped as quickly as they begin. Both of these things are not forever if you are consistent in the training process. They are Continued on page 20

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