The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : These Common Training Mistakes Might Be Causing Your Dog to Disengage The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : These Common Training Mistakes Might Be Causing Your Dog to Disengage

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

These Common Training Mistakes Might Be Causing Your Dog to Disengage


You’ve gone to training classes, read books, and even watched videos. Yet your dog still seems to dislike training with you. This is usually around the time a pet owner will tell her dog trainer that her pup is either dumb or stubborn, and therefore cannot be trained. However, in situations like this, an owner is often accidentally sabotaging the training sessions.

AKC GoodDog! Helpline program manager Penny Leigh, CPDT-KA, reveals some of the most common mistakes we make that can cause a dog to disengage.

Attitude
“Owners need to always approach training with a positive attitude and avoid telling the dog ‘no’ or making negative sounds like ‘ehhh,’ etc.,” says Leigh. While the idea of a “negative marker” has been around for decades and was originally used by positive reinforcement trainers, research has shown that a negative marker actually hinders learning.

“Dogs need to feel confident in order to learn new skills,” explains Leigh. “If they are constantly being told that they are wrong, then they don’t want to try anymore.” Enter what many dog owners describe as the “stubborn” dog. This is a canine companion that seems to be ignoring his owner — doing everything except what is asked of him.

To read more on this story, click here: These Common Training Mistakes Might Be Causing Your Dog to Disengage


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