Friday, April 11, 2014

Important Details On Dog Training Atlanta

By Anita Ortega


For people seeking to teach dogs certain behaviors, it takes time and patience will be required. When considering dog training Atlanta residents have various essential tips. The fortunate thing is that dogs are fast learners and not too much effort will be required in getting them to learn the desired traits. The most important thing is to remain consistent and know how to treat the pets. All members of the family are supposed to use the same commands to avoid confusing the pet.

One way to ensure consistency is to post the commands where all members of the family can see them. Even more importantly, consistency will involve rewarding desired behavior and not rewarding undesired actions. As such, the ways rewards are given should be very consistent. Positive reinforcement is very ideal for teaching pets commands and reinforcing desired behavior. For instance, the dog may be required to sit down before feeding him, letting him out of the door or petting him.

Care must be taken not to use positive reinforcement inadvertently to reward unwanted behavior. For instance, there are times when the dog barks at noise in the neighborhood. At such instances, the dog should not be left without warning; otherwise it will act as reward. Therefore, the most important thing to remember about positive reinforcement is that it is only effective when used in the right way.

It could take time for a dog to grasp certain behaviors. A technique known as shaping may have to be used. It involves reinforcing something close to the response that is desired. After that, one will gradually require more before the dog is given a treat. Positive reinforcement includes among others food treats, petting, praise or a favorite toy.

Most pets are motivated by food treats, which is why these are the best tools to use. As much as possible, the treats chosen need to be enticing and not easy to resist. The best treats for the pet can be determined through experimenting with the different varieties. In addition, the treat needs to be small in size such that it is gulped by the dog, then they look forward to more of the same. A wide variety of food treats should be used to ensure the pets do not become bored.

The issuing of food traits should be coupled with verbal praise. In the case of pets that are not motivated by food traits, there can be the use of toys, brief play or petting. Frequency of treats should be increased when new behaviors are being learnt. This is referred to as positive reinforcement.

Once the desired traits have been grasped, one should switch to intermittent behavior. Nevertheless, the rewards and praises are continued, only on a limited basis. The animal is rewarded with treats with less frequency. The frequency reduces over time until it is occasional.

For those that are not able to effectively train the pets, involving professional trainers is recommended. These are people that have professional knowledge on dogs and will make the exercise easy and effective. There are many firms that offer professional services.




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