When you call your dog, do they ignore you? Do they jump on you and your guests and pull on the leash when you try to walk them? If so, you need a dog trainer in Jacksonville, FL.
Here in Jacksonville, the weather is beautiful all year long and there are so many great places to take your dog — to the beach, the parks, the riverfront, the forest. What can spoil the fun with your pup, however, is lack of dog training. It’s frustrating when your dog doesn’t listen to you, and it puts a damper on the good time you wanted to have.
Dogs are pack animals, and as the owner of your dog, you’re the leader of the pack. You must establish this early on and not let your dog take up all the space in the bed or on the furniture. You’re top dog. Your pooch must bend to your will and obey your commands. Otherwise, you have chaos at best, or a dangerous situation at worst.
Learn from a Dog Trainer in Jacksonville, FL
The first thing you have to realize as a dog owner is that your pup is probably not being intentionally naughty. They may fail to obey commands because they never properly learned them. An untrainable dog is rare. To train your dog thoroughly, you must be unfailingly consistent.
Dogs learn new behaviors through positive reinforcement and firm corrections. You must be dedicated to correcting behaviors you don’t like every time. The principle works the same with children. If you tell a child who asks for candy “no” 50 times in a row, then the next time you say “yes,” you will have taught them it takes 51 asks to get a yes.
How to Reinforce Good Pup Behavior
Once your dog has learned commands sufficiently, then it’s time to take dog training to the next level with intermittent reinforcement. With intermittent reinforcement, you give your dog a treat for obeying — but not every time. Studies show that if a subject is given a reward only part of the time, they will repeat the desired behavior longer and more reliably.
When you work with a dog trainer in Jacksonville, FL, at Unleash Fido, your dog will learn important basic commands such as sit, stay, heel, fetch and release. Your dog will participate in group training with other dogs and their owners. This is critical to prevent your dog from becoming reactive, because it helps dogs get used to being around other dogs and people.
To get started working with a dog trainer in Jacksonville, FL, right away, contact us here at Unleash Fido. Our experts will soon have your pooch happily obeying all your commands.