How to Calm a Reactive Dog requires some patience, commitment and dog training tips that you will not find anywhere. Dealing with a dog who barks, howls, and constantly yelps for attention can be an exercise in frustration. Fortunately, there are dog training tricks that will teach your dog to be more compliant.
Dog training starts with understanding the concept of unconscious positive association and unconscious negative association. An unconscious positive association describes a situation in which your dog associates one specific trigger with a specific reaction. For instance, your dog jumps on visitors if you tell him to sit. The dog training tip here is to learn how to identify your dog’s particular triggers.
If the dog comes to you to greet you, even if you do not immediately grab his collar, do not immediately pull to the side and make progress with him. Instead, give him lots of praise, treats and attention while he is on his way to greet you. He will eventually begin to associate your gentle hand with pleasant events, walking gently on a leash with relaxing walks, and other positive experiences that will make progress toward establishing a more relaxed walking regime.
How to calm a reactive dog requires your consistent application of positive reinforcement, ie., give him lots of praise and treats so that he learns to associate these behaviors with pleasant events. This does not mean that you must always treat him badly! The important thing is to use your voice with your dog, using gentle commands such as “sit” or “stay” and giving him your full attention when he exhibits a desirable behavior.
A good starting place for training, how to calm a reactive dog is obedience training. Obedience training can be accomplished in many ways and at various times. For most working dog owners, obedience training at least occasionally will work best. Your pet may have certain behaviors that are very difficult to train, in which case you should consider using an alternative training method such as clicker training or professional instruction.
You can find many great resources on the internet to help you learn how to teach your dog to walk properly on a leash. Be sure to check out all the training center options before selecting a center. Pick one that offer both basic dog training methods, as well as obedience and behavioral correction training. Pick a center that offers a variety of dog training techniques so that you can teach both basic and advanced skills.
A primary component of any obedience training program is learning about the triggers of reactive behavior. This is very important information because it helps you learn the most effective way to respond to these triggers. There are actually several triggers associated with reactive dog behavior. The most common trigger is: the sight of unfamiliar or intimidating people, places, sounds, or animals. Other triggers include the smell of a new substance, the texture of a new material, or even the taste of something new.
Triggers can be easily identified by dog owners through consistent, incremental training. This is done by making simple, incremental training assignments, then following up with lots of treats and praise when your dog responds appropriately to the trigger. Many behaviors such as jumping, barking, running away, and digging can be easily corrected by simply removing the trigger and slowly replacing it with a different trigger. A well-behaved dog makes for a happy home.
A second important component of a reactive dog training plan involves taking your dog for walks. A walk not only provides exercise for your dog, but also provides you with an opportunity to observe how your dog reacts to other dogs and people. Observing how your dog reacts in public can help you identify triggers for inattentive or aggressive behavior. Obedience and skilled dog training will also help you recognize when your dog is exhibiting potentially harmful or dangerous behaviors. Taking your dog for walks on a regular basis provides you with a daily opportunity to reinforce good behavior.
If the idea of walking your dog everyday sounds exciting to you, but you are worried that you will get too tired exercising your dog, there is another alternative: walking your dog on a leash. Using a leash to walk your dog provides you with the opportunity to reinforce calm behavior, and it gives your dog more opportunities to observe the behavior of other dogs and people. Walking your dog on a leash provides you with more time to observe the behavior of other people and dogs. In addition, walking your dog on a leash helps you build and reinforce your dog’s obedience skills.
The importance of following a training plan with a focus on walking your dog on a leash and providing him with opportunities for socialization and reinforcement should be obvious to any dog owner. In addition, implementing these training techniques into your daily routine will help you become a better dog owner overall. You will develop a much better understanding of yourself and your dog, and you will also enjoy a much better relationship with your dog. A training plan with focus on positive reinforcement and the use of a leash reactivity mechanism will lead to a happier and healthier dog. Taking some simple steps to implement training techniques and avoiding reactive dogs will help you and your dog become much better friends.
