There are a huge amount of benefits to training, but even more if you train your dog from a puppy! Some of these are immediate advantage, such as quicker learning, and others are more long term effects, like socialisation.
Here are a few of the most important benefits…
Build a Bond
We all want that special bond with our dog, don’t we? Most of us have it, but some have it in the house only. Outdoors, the world is more exciting than the owner! Wouldn’t it be lovely to have that bond…everywhere?
Studies have shown that owners with well behaved dogs are more satisfied with their relationship with their dog, and have a much stronger bond with them too. The only way to get a well behaved dog, is through training, and training your puppy from a young age will give you the advantage of your puppy bonding with you as young as possible.
For an Easy Life!
Doesn’t everyone want an easy life with their dog? Imagine not having to worry about taking their dog places or leaving them at home alone. Training gives you ways to communicate with your dog, and for your dog to communicate better with you! With communication comes an easy life.
Puppy classes will teach you basic behaviours such as sit, stay, and come. When these behaviours are reliable, it is much easier for you to have your dog as a true family member, confidently taking them with you on days out, instead of having to be left at home alone.
These sorts of behaviours will also help make your life easier around the home! Just as a few examples, in my puppy classes I teach 'stay' in situations such as when the doorbell rings and when opening the oven door. This is a great safety measure! Often it's the simple things (such as polite greetings and coming back when called) that are the most important, but also the most difficult to teach. Having a trainer on board will help!
More Confident Pup
Typically, trained dogs are more confident and better socialised. They‘ve had practice meeting people, dogs, other animals, and lots of types of objects. If these have been introduced at a young age, they certainly won’t be quite so scary as an adult!
In addition, any type of problem solving, including training, works the same part of the brain that copes with anxiety. This means that in an anxiety-inducing situation, your dog may be able to cope better if he or she has had more training.
Helps you understand each other
How many times have you got irritated at your dog (or previous dogs) for not doing as they were told? Or even for doing the complete opposite!!
If you are honest with yourself, are you 100% sure that your dog knew exactly what you wanted from them?
If you answered no, then ask yourself, should you really be annoyed at your dog for being confused?
If you answered yes, perhaps they were trying to tell you something. Often when we ask our dogs to do something they know well, and they don't do it, they have a valid reason. Perhaps your dog doesn't like sitting on wet grass, perhaps your dog didn't want to lie down on the cold tiled floor because of pain (eg: arthritis), Perhaps your dog didn't come back to you because there was something really exciting in that bush and he knows he doesn't normally get rewarded anyway.
Training will help you understand each other so you have less of these communication boundaries.
Training reduces the risk of future behaviour problems
Puppy behaviour is so frustrating, isn't it? The biting, chewing, toileting indoors, jumping up... One of the biggest problems I address in puppy training is owners' beliefs that a puppy will "just grow out of it." We all wish it were true, but unfortunate not. Every time your puppy does a behaviour, if it is reinforced, even accidently, your puppy is more likely to repeat that behaviour again. This can soon become a habit, and you'll know yourself how hard habits are to drop.
So by the time adolescence hits, that biting has become more painful, the chewing more damaging, the toileting a bigger mess, jumping up higher, and lets not even mention the stronger pulling on lead... And that's just at six months. You haven't even got to adulthood yet!
A trainer will teach you how to prevent all of these problems from a young age. There are studies that have found that training from puppyhood reduces the risk that your dog will need additional training as an adult, which leads me to my next point…
Invest in training for life!
Trainers teach your dog behaviours.
Good trainers teach your dog skills that will stick with them FOR LIFE, reducing your risk of having to have more training in the future! Not only this, but some trainers (Mucky Pups Dog Training included!) teach you skills that will stick with YOU for life! Meaning for future puppies, you already have the skills necessary to train them.
Yes, a good trainer can be pricey, but you know what’s even pricier? A dog with behaviour problems! Dogs with behaviour problems can involve not only the cost of a behaviourist, but also vet trips, tools and equipment, dog walkers, potentially new furniture to replace the chewed up things, or even the cost of structural damage to your home. Trust me… I’ve seen it all before!
Safety
Typically, trained dogs are safer. You can let them off lead without worrying they’ll run away. You can teach them to stay away from objects like the oven. You can teach them to leave dropped food on the floor. You can have play dates with other pups! You can leave them home alone, or take them to places with you - confidently!
Sociability
Socialisation is crucial for a puppy. With dogs and people, social encounters should be polite and positive - two difficult things with an untrained dog. Whether it’s the vets and groomers, or a hike and beach day, we want to take our dog with us and not worry about whether our dog will be frightened, badly behaved, embarrass us, or play up!
Dog trainers will teach you how to introduce your dog to other dogs, and teach your dog what is and isn't acceptable in dog language. When dogs are not very social, it isn't just the big things you're missing out on, like the beach trip and fun days out. Even a simple dog walk can be made much more difficult. That's why socialisation is so important!
So, are you getting a puppy soon? Or maybe you've already got one! Make sure to get booked in with a positive reinforcement and force-free trainer to gain all these benefits!
Mucky Pups Dog Training's puppy program: 'VIPs (Very Impotant Puppies)', or online course: 'Chaos to Calm Puppy Training' can be viewed on my website:
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