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. |
