Total
Training Time?
Q:
How
much time does it take to train
a dog?
A:
It takes as long as it
takes. Every dog is different. The
only way your dog will learn to
do something reliably is to have
him repeat the behavior over and
over in many different contexts
or situations. There are no shortcuts.
That being said, within days you
can teach puppies of eight weeks
of age how to sit, lie down, stay,
come, go to their spot and many
other behaviors. But he or she isn’t
going to be reliable until they
reach emotional maturity. Professional
trainers view the ages of between
one-and-a-half and four years old
as the stage of emotional maturity.
The degree of reliability is directly
related to the number of successful
responses in various environments
as well as how skilled the teacher
is. A good comparison is teaching
a young child to tie his shoes,
eat with a fork, or dress himself.
It takes time and patience.
|
So
You Want to be a Dog Trainer by
Nicole Wilde
|
It's
Not the Dogs It's the People
by Nicole Wilde
|
The
Power of Positive Dog Training
by Pat Miller
|
Positive
Perspectives by Pat
Miller
|
Don't
Shoot the Dog by Karen
Pryor
|
The
Culture Clash by Jean
Donaldson
|
Calming Signals
by Turid Rugaas
|
How
to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks
by Ian Dunbar
|
Dog
Behavior by Ian Dunbar |
Other
good DVDs and videos are Train your
Dog (Wilde) and Take a Bow Wow
(Boightman). Ian Dunbar has also produced
several excellent videos. They all can
be ordered online at www.dogwise.com.
Two excellent magazines to subscribe to
are The Whole Dog Journal (whole-dog-journal.org)
and Animal Wellness Magazine
(www.animalwellnessmagazine.com).
I would also suggest you attend as many
dog training seminars as you can and watch
and listen to as many trainers as you
can. Like anything else, some instructors
are competent and others not so, but you
can always learn something. The Society
for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (www.spca.com)
has an excellent teacher training program
as does Pat Miller (www.peaceablepaws.com).
And if you’re also interested in
working in the dog rescue arena, Best
Friends Sanctuary (www.bestfriends.org)
has seminars on how to start a rescue
organization. |
