Easy Way to Happiness

If you have a dog and you need to train it but you don’t have the energy, patience or time to devote to it, you aren’t alone. This is an undertaking that requires a lot of all of these things, and what you want is a safe, well adjusted dog and for you to be happy with the results, too. What may help you get there is to hire a professional dog trainer.

As with any service, cost and quality are going to significantly vary. And as with any profession, especially those that involve both human and animal interactions, training philosophies are going to vary, too. There will need to be some parameters for you to select the right trainer for you.

Determine what your budget is going to be. The cost of the services you hire will vary depending on where you live and what services you use. You can sometimes use free services, often supplied weekly to parks or shelters by volunteers, or you may pay $100 or better per session. What’s a reasonable fee for you? That will vary, depending on where you live, the experience of your trainer, how long the program is, and what your goals are for your dog.

What’s your schedule? Some training programs are done on a weekly basis, while others happen more often, even daily. Do you want a training program where you have to leave the dog and pick it up later? Or will you participate directly in the training? Most programs also require that you spend some time training the dog yourself every day, whether you do so at home or on site with the program.

Is a “boot camp” training program right for you? In this case, your dog will be taken to a special facility for a length of time, up to several weeks. This type of training is long and intensive, and happens on a very regular basis. However, you shouldn’t have any concerns for your dog, since dogs like this type of training. Toward the end of the training itself, you’ll need to participate in the training, too, so that the dog ultimately sees you as the one to obey.

The results of these programs are truly amazing much of the time, though. For those dogs that graduate, they become disciplined and are very eager to follow your instructions. This is true even when they’re not special service dogs. Seemingly contradictory, though, these dogs usually don’t show any ill effects or signs of repression. Instead, they are enthusiastic and play happily.

What are your goals? Do you want your dog to be entered in shows, or do you just want a dog that doesn’t chew on your favorite shoes or pick on other pets? Whatever your goals, you’ll need to train your dog — and do so on a regular basis — to get the results you want. How much training is required will depend on your dog, his age, breed, and temperament.

Take a look at your dog’s temperament; for example, is your dog fearful, either because he was mistreated before or just because it’s submissive? Or, your dog may be assertive, either because it’s been abused previously and has had to fight back, or simply because it wants to be “leader of the pack.” The training you choose is going to depend on how you want to influence your dog and the characteristics you want to mold.

No matter what your goals are, and no matter your budget or commitment to time, you’ll want to choose a trainer who has a lot of patience and a lot of energy, in addition to a deep affection for dogs in general. Most have these characteristics in abundance, or they wouldn’t be in that profession.

Beyond these foundational characteristics, you’ll also want a trainer who agrees with you in philosophy and whose goals match yours. Some trainers insist that in fact, it’s the owner that needs to be trained rather than the dog, and there may be some truth to that. Some trainers are friendly and lenient and seek to “connect” with the dog, while others are more military in their approach. Still other trainers use a mix of both approaches.

It’s probably true that no one training style suits everyone, but it’s not absolutely subjective, either. Even if you disagree on some points, there are a few principles that almost everyone can agree with. That is, consistency, patience, and persistence, as well as the need for the human to be in the “alpha” role, are just a few of the common guidelines.

When you choose your trainer, ask for friends or family to recommend someone, and don’t hesitate to try a few out. It may be that you’ll have to change once or twice to find someone who really suits your needs. However, be careful about being too quick to change, and don’t just do it casually. Dogs need regular environment and consistency in order to really absorb the training they are being given.