K Spike
New Member
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to share a personal story of mine...
I live in a small town I did not have too many places to learn how to train dogs. I basically had to learn everything from the only dog trainer around. I took my first dog Spike to his first obedience class and it was there that I learned about corrections, discipline and becoming a dominant pack leader.
I never enjoyed punishing my dog, but it definitely worked for stays and for recall commands, so I thought this was the way that it had to be done. That is, until a few years afterwards when I came across an article which talked about how dogs were becoming more willing to please their owner when trained with rewards.
This got me thinking pretty hard, because I hardly used rewards. Basically my dog either had to do what I told him to or he would get punished. I always felt like my dog didn't enjoy training with me, and that is a given looking at it now, but back then I felt it was still the only way of training a dog.
So I left the subject go, and a few weeks after a friend of mine came over to my home and asked if my dog knew any tricks. I told her 'no', I mean other than sit and down my dog really couldn't do any tricks! So I started to look for more information on training tricks and that got me started on positive dog training.
Basically I started giving my dog treats and praise for a job well done. I had a big breakthrough in my thinking and in my training. I noticed how much more willing and happy my dog was when I trained him with rewards instead of punishments.
Now, I can honestly say that positive dog training has saved my relationship with my dog! It has created a deep trust between us and I feel much closer to my dog than ever before.
Thanks for listening, and hopefully this may help someone who may also have doubts about positive dog training that it can really have a profound impact.
Here is a picture of me and my dog taken recently:
So I highly recommend to everyone to try positive dog training, to train lots of tricks, to give lots of praise and treats to your dog. It can do wonders and it is definitely a more enjoyable lifestyle for me and my dog.
Have a great day!
K.
I wanted to share a personal story of mine...
I live in a small town I did not have too many places to learn how to train dogs. I basically had to learn everything from the only dog trainer around. I took my first dog Spike to his first obedience class and it was there that I learned about corrections, discipline and becoming a dominant pack leader.
I never enjoyed punishing my dog, but it definitely worked for stays and for recall commands, so I thought this was the way that it had to be done. That is, until a few years afterwards when I came across an article which talked about how dogs were becoming more willing to please their owner when trained with rewards.
This got me thinking pretty hard, because I hardly used rewards. Basically my dog either had to do what I told him to or he would get punished. I always felt like my dog didn't enjoy training with me, and that is a given looking at it now, but back then I felt it was still the only way of training a dog.
So I left the subject go, and a few weeks after a friend of mine came over to my home and asked if my dog knew any tricks. I told her 'no', I mean other than sit and down my dog really couldn't do any tricks! So I started to look for more information on training tricks and that got me started on positive dog training.
Basically I started giving my dog treats and praise for a job well done. I had a big breakthrough in my thinking and in my training. I noticed how much more willing and happy my dog was when I trained him with rewards instead of punishments.
Now, I can honestly say that positive dog training has saved my relationship with my dog! It has created a deep trust between us and I feel much closer to my dog than ever before.
Thanks for listening, and hopefully this may help someone who may also have doubts about positive dog training that it can really have a profound impact.
Here is a picture of me and my dog taken recently:
So I highly recommend to everyone to try positive dog training, to train lots of tricks, to give lots of praise and treats to your dog. It can do wonders and it is definitely a more enjoyable lifestyle for me and my dog.
Have a great day!
K.
like you are, too.
It is soooo true; positive reinforcement is the way to go!!!!!
This site also changed my life. It gave me an insight on how positive positive reinforcement training can be!!!! I was a Cesar Millan fan, but after adopting MY OWN dog and joining this site, I will NEVER, EVER go down that road again.
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