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Dog Training –
Bond Building is the Secret to Success
By MS du Toit
Building a bond
with your dog is the secret to successful dog training.
As with any relationship, building a bond requires:
1.) Spending quality
time together.
Spending quality time together does not mean just being in the same
room as your dog. It does mean having some routines and rituals
together that your dog can look forward to. Dogs love routine. One such
routine can be to run to your post box together and then giving the
junkmail to Fido to carry to the bin. That makes life worth living for
Fido.
2.) Experiencing life
together.
Take Fido with you wherever you go. If you walk to the shop on the
corner to buy a newspaper, take him along. Let him practice a “sit
stay” outside the shop. Dogs are wonderful companions. Take him along
for your Sunday afternoon drive or when you go on hiking trial in the
countryside.
3.) Establishing and
promoting mutual respect.
Trust and respect are very important in any relationship, even your
relationship with your dog. Your dog will trust you when, over time, he
realises that you will keep him safe. Respect will come when you set
enforceable boundaries. You must be firm but fair. Here also, as in any
dog training, it is important to be consistent. If you don’t want Fido
to jump up on you or your friends, then never allow that, not even once.
4.) Communication
You must develop a way of communication with your dog so that you and
Fido can understand each other. It all developes from a proper dog
training foundation. And the more motivational your corrections and
praise are the stronger the foundation. Communicating with your dog
means that he will understand when he’s doing something right and when
he’s doing something wrong. You can communicate with your voice but
your strongest communication with Fido will be through body language.
5.) Understanding each
other’s needs
If you have reached a point in your dog training where you can
communicate with your dog, you will start to understand each other’s
needs. And that is a magical point. That is when both of you are really
enjoying the training and where Fido will do just about anything to
please you.
MS du Toit has been training dogs for ten years. Please visit her Dog
Training Review Page.
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