Dog Health Questions: Dog obedience/training?

Do most people have their dogs trained?

Is it better to have a professional who has more experience to train your dog or is it better for YOU to train your dog?

Dog Training Hand Signals - 2 Important Commands You Can Teach Today

Recommended Answer:
It is always best for YOU to be trained to properly interact with and train your dog by someone who is a knowledgeable and eclectic instructor - this isn't dictated by 'professional' status but can often be found in local obedience and/or agility clubs. You cannot properly train your dog if you are not trained yourself to work with him.

The 'experience' you want is someone who has a lot of differing techniques and has instructed others to be successful in their training/trialing endeavors as well as has trained and trialed themselves at various levels, at least above the one they are training you in. Most 'professionals' are merely bought and paid for certification things from taking six week courses and the like and the people have really very little actual experiences themselves. Take your time to look around for instructors and go watch them in a class situation and discuss their techniques and knowledge with them. They should be able to let you know that they utilize various techniques and are not 'one trick ponies' that can't adjust their training styles and techniques to the variations in people and dogs.

Good luck

Dog Training Basics: 3 Golden Rules

• It's best to go to a professional who will teach you to teach your dog. Personally, I would never ever send my dog away to be trained, your not there to see what techniques their using, plus, the dog needs to respond to you.


• It is better if you and your dog attend classes given by a professional dog trainer.


• I think it is better to have your dog trained professionally only because it will be faster, and they know how to do it, but I would rather take the time and do it myself.


• Trainers cost big time if you have the money, then by all means , take them to a trainer, but if you want to save money and train them yourself , that is the best Choice.Buy a short lease,as in a pet store they will advise you the best of the best to train your pet, If you have the time, train one command til he or she knows it well, then start a new command and continue till your satisfy with the results . Have a great time with your pet and good luck!


• If you are a first time dog owner, you should let a professional do it. Otherwise, its all you.


• Be aware that there are different methods of training.
  Those will fall into 2 main categories.
  
  The traditional way is compulsive training and uses some type of training collar (usually a choker or pinch collar) to give the dog what is often referred to as 'corrections'.
  The dog is forced to respond in order to avoid or escape these 'karate chops to the throat'.
  Not a nice way for the dog to learn and not for the faint-hearted dog owner either.
  The method relies on negative reinforcement and punishment, but is sometimes complemented (depends on the trainer/owner) with rewards for doing the right thing too. The gentler methods are predominantly based on Positive Reinforcement. Some trainers use a lot of luring and rewarding.
  A major improvement is when in combination with an event marker (a clicker is wide-spread used), it resembles marine mammal training.
  You can learn to 'capture' instantaneous responses similar to taking a snapshot with your camera. Things such as lifting a paw, eye contact, head turns, taking a bow (stretch), and of course a sit, down, picking up items, dropping items and basically everything a dog does.
  The dog responds because he predicts getting a reward.
  He wants to respond because the consequences are pleasant -- he LOVES the training sessions because those are opportunities to earn rewards.
  You can teach the most amazing behaviors in small steps, a process refered to as shaping.
  
  I went the route of learning behavior analysis/modification (operant conditioning) myself and I find it is the best thing I've ever done in my life. I've taught her the most amazing things I never before believed I could do. Now, I would never just hand my dog over to a trainer unless I'm absolutely sure he/she uses 'positive' only methods and even then only when I'm supervising.
  
  If you do choose or are curious to head into that direction, here's an excellent starting point:
  
  http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles…
  
  It's also got a mailing list with lots of members and everyone is free to join.Of course, I can't stop you if you choose to take your dog to the first trainer you can find, whether that be positive or traditional. All I can recommend is that if you love your dog, do a little home work first and learn how each method affects a dog's personallity. Training is learning and should be fun -- not a pain in the neck!