Managing Dog Behavior In Families – Dog Training 101 – How to set realistic goals and where to start: a life pack If you’ve searched the internet recently for “dog trainers near me,” there’s a good chance you’ve come across the immediately with the options, qualifications and vocabulary. There is a lot of information out there! So we consulted some experts on where to start. Here’s what they say.
Winnie, Samantha Balaban’s dog, shakes hands with her human. Balaban says dogs can benefit from working with a trainer, whether it’s to improve their skills, manners or behavior. Photo by Becky Harlan / hide
Managing Dog Behavior In Families
Winnie, Samantha Balaban’s dog, shakes hands with her human. Balaban says dogs can benefit from working with a trainer, whether it’s to improve their skills, manners or behavior.
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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include additional steps on e-collar and shock collar training that are addressed in the audio portion of the story. Listen to the episode above for more information.
My dog (Samantha), Winnie, has always barked at the door – whether it’s at the mail carrier or her best friends. This was always a bit awkward, but manageable. Until we moved to a nine-unit condo in DC. That’s nine doors, plus the front door, and Winnie was barking at them all.
I tried to say “UH UH” and pointed my finger angrily. She was motionless. I tried to give her a treat every time she stopped barking. She was still barking. I tried to separate us through a door. I never tried to set up another Zoom meeting again.
This story comes from Life Kit, his podcast to make life better – covering everything from exercise to raising kids to making friends. For more, sign up for our newsletter.
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“Helping the dog feel comfortable in their own skin, comfortable in the lifestyle you have together – that’s a really good basic goal that I would have for any dog out there,” says Kayla Fratt, a certified dog handler and guide dog training consultant.
Regardless – whether you recently brought home a puppy from the breeder or have had your dog for years – every dog can benefit from training in life.
But where does the process begin? If you’ve searched the internet recently for “dog trainers near me,” there’s a good chance you were immediately overwhelmed by the options, qualifications, and terminology. There is a lot of information out there! So we consulted some experts on where to start. Here’s what they say:
Margo, Winnie and Zero show off their skills in the gifs below. Photo by Becky Harlan / hide
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There are (basically) two levels of dog training. If you are interested in skill training, or basic procedures such as teaching your dog to sit, stay and lie down, that is the area of dog training. If your dog has a behavior problem – anxiety, aggression, nervousness – what you need is a dog behavior consultant, like Brianna Dick of Pack Leader Help.
“The way I approach dog training is based on behavioral psychology,” says Dick, who is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals. “We don’t just look at the physical behavior of dogs. We look at their emotions and the relationship they have with their people.”
If you need both skill training and behavioral training, start with the more complex of the two: behavioral training. A dog behavior consultant will also know how to teach your dog how to sit, but a dog trainer will be much better equipped to help your dog deal with separation anxiety.
As Fratt says, “Just like not every human learns to love going to raves, not every dog learns to love going to the dog park.”
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Kim Brophey is an applied ethologist, family dog mediator and owner of The Dog Door Behavior Centre. She also wrote a book titled “Meet Your Dog: The Game Changing Guide to Understanding Your Dog’s Behaviour.” Brophey uses a framework called L.E.G.S (learning, environment, genetics, self) to explain dog behavior. Say for example, your dog barks at your guests.
“That could be a type of dog that was selected for hundreds of years to protect against people walking in your front door,” says Brophey. Because you can’t train the genetic impulse of a German Shepherd to to protect its borders, you may have to change your expectations, instead.
When it comes to training methods, you have a few options: group classes, one-on-one training, board and train, day training and self-directed training, to name the most common. Group classes are cheaper, but less personal. Board and train facilities are more expensive and more dangerous, says Fratt.
“If the trainer spends that time training the dog in this particular context and then basically just gives you the leash, takes your check and walks away, yes chances are you won’t find this new thing capable of strategies and skills…successful in your home.”
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Your choice will depend on your budget and your training goals. For example, if your dog acts aggressively against another dog in your home, he may not be well served by training that takes place outside of your home.
Also know that you need to be involved in training your dog, but it doesn’t have to take up a large part of your day. Fratt says she spends about five minutes a day training. Lots of homework that trainers give you can also be fun and easy to work into your everyday life.
If you don’t want to pay a lot of money for dog training, our experts recommend the free or low-cost resources you can find online:
Dick has also compiled free resources on her website, and Fratt has a series called Training Tuesday Free Lessons.
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Dog training is a completely unregulated field, meaning anyone with a website, Instagram page or storefront can claim to be a dog trainer. This also means that there is no definitive rule book for which methods should be used when training a dog, and many trainers agree. However, many trainers fall into two broad categories:
The first is advanced strength training like Fratt. Positive reinforcement means giving your dog something good – like a treat – when they do something right, so they repeat the behavior. Or give your dog something good so they associate something (they think is) scary with a positive experience.
The second is fair trainers like Brianna Dick. Balanced trainers use positive reinforcement techniques, but are also more willing to incorporate corrections, such as e-collars, into their training.
E-collar training involves “a collar that your dog wears, which you control remotely, that provides stimulation to your dog’s neck – a shock, a sound or, say, a citronella spray – or requires have corrected,” explained Dick. E-collars are divisive in the dog training community, especially those that shock.
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Dick says to be wary of any trainer using e-collars on any dog. “That’s cookie-cutter, and it’s never going to produce great results,” she said. “You want someone who teaches you, your relationship, your lifestyle with your dog.”
If what you need is a solid list of positive reinforcement trainers or balance trainers in your area, a good place to start is with lists compiled by various professional associations. There are many, including:
And then do interviews! Call previous clients. See which trainer makes you more comfortable. Make sure they can explain their training methods.
Changing your dog’s brain chemistry can be scary. But if your dog is suffering from anxiety, fear, panic or aggression, it cannot be treated by training alone. And you have to treat it like the medical condition it is.
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“It’s like a diabetic patient, right? You don’t give your dog insulin for his diabetes, because that’s what it takes to maintain the appropriate level of hormones in his body,” said Dr. Andrea Y. Tu , a behavioral veterinarian and the medical director of NYC Behavior Vets.
What if you’ve tried everything—from advanced strength training, balance training, medication to changing trainers—and nothing has worked? Maybe your dog can’t get over her fear of your kids, or she’s too scared to look outside on a busy city street. At the end of the day, and this is not a fun topic to bring up, you may come to the conclusion that your home is not that suitable for your dog.
“It’s difficult, but I think to get back, if you have a good option for a dog … where all the conditions can be set to take care of that dog, it’s probably the best move better,” Brophey said.
There should be no shame in thinking about transitioning. Sometimes this is the sweetest decision you can make. But we hope this is not the case for you! There are many things you can try to train your dog before you get to that point.
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As Fratt says, most dogs
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