If you have ever raised a dog, you know that they develop bad behaviors on their own. Very negative behaviors, however, never spring up suddenly, without warning. Basic obedience training can help to prevent many of the behaviors that frustrate most owners, but we have occasionally been contacted by owners who say something like, “We’ve tried everything. Dog Training is our last resort before we get rid of him.” These calls are often made by owners of dogs that have hurt another dog or a person, have destroyed the house, are difficult to walk, or have extreme anxiety.
It is never a good idea to get to this “last resort” place with your dog. If you are just now considering training, you have certainly not considered all of your options. More to the point, dog training should never be the last resort for a dog. It should be the first resort. As soon as you start to notice that your dog is aggressive around other dogs or people or even that he seems to get a little nervous when you leave him home alone for an hour, you should start training.
One of the most common misconceptions about dog training is that it is to correct bad behaviors. While this is a component of training, it is actually designed to make your dog a well-adjusted member of society. You learn to communicate with your dog, he learns what is expected of him, and both of your bond. It makes your dog more confident, teaches him essential manners that all dogs should have, and provides you with a system for identifying and control behaviors even after training is over. The training sessions themselves can also be a great way to give your dog the mental stimulation and physical exercise that he needs to be happy.
Dogs are not so different from human children. When they are given expectations and structure in the home, they grow into more successful adults who are much better adjusted to the world. When there are no rules, no structure, no expectations, and harsh punishments that the receiver does not understand, the child continues to act out and grows into an anxious, unhappy adult. Dogs are exactly the same. If small negative behaviors are quickly corrected, they are never allowed to snowball into bigger issues that are more difficult to deal with.
It is important to emphasize that these “last resort” behaviors do not just come up out of nowhere. You might not really mind when your dog yanks on his leash while walking, but allowing this kind of behavior to continue tells your dog that he is in charge on a walk and he can do whatever he want to do, which includes barking at other dogs and jumping on people.
Too many people get rid of their dogs because they have these “last resort” behaviors. They try training, but because they do not understand the fundamental concepts behind training a dog, they will start to believe that it is too late and instead of trying to provide a nice, safe home for their dog, they’ll just turn them over to the shelter. This is often heart breaking for the owners and is certainly heart breaking for the dog, who does not understand what they have done wrong. Training can absolutely help to correct even the worst behaviors, but you should not wait to start training until behaviors turn from bad to worse.
