Dog training -training for proper dog behavior

There are many reasons for teaching proper dog behavior, and
teaching such behavior has many benefits for both the human and
canine partners. Dog behavior training is vital to such life and
death issues as preventing aggression, controlling dog on dog
aggression problems and teaching dogs to interact properly with
both their handlers and with other members of the family.

Understanding how dogs evolved, and how dogs interact with each
other, is very important to understanding how to properly train
your dog to be a devoted, loyal companion.

The original dogs were probably orphaned wolf pups adopted by
early humans. These wild dogs probably learned to perform
behaviors that their human protectors valued, such as guarding
the cave or scaring off predators. In exchange for these valued
behaviors, the humans probably provided their new companions
with foods, protection and shelter.

That kind of relationship still exists today, of course, and
dogs still can, and do, perform valuable jobs for their human
benefactors. Those jobs include herding and guarding livestock,
guarding property, guarding people, and finding game.

When planning a dog training program, it is important to know
that dogs are pack animals. In wild dog societies, packs are
formed, and each member of the pack quickly learns his or her
place in the pecking order. Except in the event of death or
injury to the alpha dog, the hierarchy never changes once it has
been established. The lower dogs know not to challenge the alpha
dog, and the alpha dog understand his place as leader of the
pack.

All the other dogs in the pack look to the alpha dog for
leadership, in important survival issues like finding food and
avoiding larger predators. In order to properly train your dog
and gain its respect, it is important for you to become the
alpha dog.

That is because a dog that sees its owner as a superior leader
will follow the commands the owner gives without question.
Getting the respect of the dog is the most important step to
proper dog training, and it will form the basis of all
subsequent training.

The reasons for training a dog properly are many, especially in
today’s world. A well mannered, obedient dog is a joy to be
around, both for the owner and his or her family, and for people
in the community at large. In addition, seeing a well mannered
dog sets people’s mind at ease, especially with breeds of dog
thought to be dangerous, such as Dobermans, rottweilers and pit
bulls.

When training dogs and dealing with unwanted dog behaviors, it
is important to understand the motivating factors behind those
behaviors. For example, many dogs exhibit unwanted behaviors
such as chewing and destroying furniture due to separation
anxiety. Dealing with the sources of problem behaviors is an
important first step toward eliminating those problem behaviors.

Many dogs exhibit unwanted behaviors as a result of stress in
the animal’s life, and its inability to cope with that stress.
The goal of a good dog training program is to allow the dog to
tolerate greater levels of stress without becoming a problem
animal.

When dealing with dog behavior, it is important not to confuse
human behavior with dog behavior. While there is a great
temptation on the part of dog owners to see their dogs as almost
human, in reality dogs and humans have very different
motivations, and very different reactions to similar situations.

One trait that humans and dogs do share, however, is the need to
form close social groups and strong bonds within those social
groups. This bonding is important to both humans and dogs, but
it has served vastly different ends as both species have evolved
and changed over time.