Celebrate National Train Your Dog Month with your own Dog!
Every month is an ideal month to train your dog, or should…but in January, it’s official. National Dog Training Month celebrates safe, humane, and ethical dog-training and promotes your pup’s continued education. Whether you have a brand-new puppy, a young adult, or a senior dog, training is beneficial! Here are a few ways you can celebrate National Dog Training Month with your pup.
Set a Goal
Is there something you wish your pup did better? Some of the most common obedience problems Pet Parents face include poor leash skills, recall, and jumping up. Setting a goal for you and your pup can help you track progress along the way and focus on what you want your dog to do instead of what you don’t want your dog to do. For example, if you want to work on your dog’s response to you when you call him over, you could say your goal is to have your dog come to you from 20 feet away when you call his name. Goals should be specific so that it’s easy for your pup to figure out what behavior earns the reward.
Want to focus on your dog’s leash-walking skills? Here are tips for enhancing your pup’s manners while on leash!
https://www.campbowwow.com/blogs/2019/may/pro-tips-for-leash-walking/
Attend a Workshop
Check out dog training workshops, seminars, or events hosted at a local animal shelter or humane society or by a certified dog trainer in your area. These events typically have a specific topic in mind, so you can attend one that suits your needs and go home with new tips and tricks to help you work with your pup. This can be particularly helpful if you have a specific need or if you have a dog who is generally well-behaved, but you want to keep up his training to engage his mind and work on a fun activity together.
Commit to 10 Minutes a Day
Spend ten minutes working with your dog every day. You’ll be amazed by what these ten minutes can accomplish! Within this timeframe, you can get your dog to focus, practice steps to achieve your goal, and enjoy some quality, one-on-one time with your dog that helps maintain a healthy and positive relationship between you and your pup. Training isn’t just about your dog listening to you, but it’s also about your dog’s emotional health and ability to learn, adapt, cope, and thrive in the high demand world of being a pet. For more information on a dog’s emotional health, check out this blog: https://www.campbowwow.com/blogs/2019/march/puppy-training-tips-for-emotional-health/
Training can be fun and rewarding for both you and your pup: check out this previous post for tips on making the most out of your ten minutes a day.
When to Seek out Professional Help
If you’re finding it difficult to train your dog, try taking a dog training class. A professional can help you learn the skills needed to make changes in your dog’s behavior. It may be beneficial to seek assistance from someone who is skilled in this area. You can seek out a local, professional, certified trainer through several resources including:
https://www.ccpdt.org/dog-owners/certified-dog-trainer-directory/
You can also speak to your veterinarian about behavior problems you’re seeing in your dog to get a recommendation of a trainer in your area.