Top 5 Reasons a Dog Trainer Can Change Your Life!

DOGS CAN GO “BARK TO SCHOOL” TOO!

 

1. Trainers can build your dog’s confidence and yours!

When you take the steps through a training process and build on the same language foundation, your confidence soars, and so does your dog’s! It’s a natural side-effect of better communication, consistency, and mutual respect for each other’s species. Confidence is one of the best and longest-acting side effects that comes from training sessions.

Do you have a nervous dog? Fearful? Shy? Anxious? When they begin to understand the exact words you, their protector, uses to communicate with them are the same words strangers use to communicate with them, their world becomes a little less scary. Consistency, Respect, and Communication all help build confidence, and training sessions help create them.

2. In one of the scariest situations a pet owner will ever experience, you will know how to respond correctly, and so will they! 

To what scary situation am I referring? That moment when your dog escapes past you or pulls their leash on a walk to go “say hi” to the neighbor dog, cat, or squirrel. Everything seems to dive into slow motion, and everything, including your beloved pet (although aggravating pet at the moment), falls just out of your reach. Naturally, out of fear of the unimaginable, you panic with every fiber of your being and are most likely to start screaming your pet’s name with the apparent emotion of anger and frustration. You’re angry that they are risking their life – frustrated because you know they are unaware of all the potential dangers – or if we’re honest, angry and frustrated because now they’re making you late!

As hard as it is, don’t scream at them. Why would your dog want to come back to you when they can tell you’re mad or angry? Or if they’ve done this before, maybe they have come back, and you yelled at them and pulled on their collar the whole way home. Dogs aren’t stupid! They don’t want to repeat that bad experience with you angry. BUT, you can change that almost immediately! Be happy! Get all excited and call their name like you’re having a party! Run AWAY from them, and all of a sudden, you become the best thing on the street to chase! If they are focused on something, you have to go extreme and get ahead of them to steer their attention to you! You always want your pet to BE HAPPY coming to you! Do not ever punish your dog for coming to you, despite that YOU think you are punishing them for running away from you 10 minutes before! This goes against everything we instinctively want to do, but no lie, this one tip may save your pet’s life!

3. Obedient pets tend to stay out of harm’s way, plain and simple!

Have you ever thought that that obedience class you took with your dog could save their life?

It absolutely can!

If your dog trusts and understands our quirky forms of communication, it could save them in an emergency. The bond that you build with your dog through obedience training is so important when the unexpected happens because there are circumstances that a dog has to trust you despite their instincts to get them out of danger. Whether it be during a house fire or in the example above with the “come” cue or if you tell your pet to “Stay,” it might mean life or death for your pet.

4. You can become bilingual! Dog communication is a whole different language, and we can make you fluent!

The world of dog language is a fascinating place that I’m always studying. Dogs communicate non-verbally, verbally, and even emotionally. Every move they make, even the most minuscule movements, can mean something. Ears forward, neutral, backward; lips, eyes, tail; is their weight shifted forward, balanced, or back? The list goes on and on and becomes even more impressive when you add their verbal and emotional repertoire. The more you learn, the more hooked you become! Did you know that yawning, stretching, and body shaking can all be signs of stress? They also use those signs to communicate to other dogs or humans around them to let them know that something about that situation is stressing them out.

5. Training will take your relationship with your dog to a level you have never known before!

This is the best compliment we can receive after a training class! Everyone thinks that they are already close to their dogs when they start training. When you get your dog on their first day, you promise to not only give them the most extended life possible but the BEST life possible! Your relationship with your pet is right behind food and water as the most important thing you can give to your pets for their prime survival. Our dogs are companion pack animals and enjoy being with us despite the significant language barrier. Once you start to understand their language and they know some of ours, the respect rises beyond your expectations, and you suddenly enjoy each other’s company on another level!

Your next training session is just a phone call or email away! We offer phone consults, private in-home sessions, and group obedience classes! Visit us at www.PowerToThePawZ.com for all the details and see how we can help you!

If you are interested in our Pet CPR & First Aid Seminars, visit us at www.DallasPetFirstAid.com to find our upcoming seminar schedules!