This is Princess. We did not send her for any training since we adopted her Christmas last year. It did came to our mind because she was very extremely naughty. She loves to play. She will always do the opposite thing.
She has destroyed and bit many things in our home – sofa, cushions, side table, dining table legs, dining chair, Puffy‘s bed, Puffy‘s blanket, dishwasher sponge, bench, endless floor mats, slippers, etc. A reason why a Christmas tree is not applicable in our home anymore.
Why do we say that owners are the best dog trainer for your dog? This is because it is your own dog and it lives in your own home. No dog trainer will have the same environment as you do. Does your dog trainer has the same sofa, same bed, same floor, same friends, same smell as you? We believe dogs follows the owner. Although Princess is known for her naughtiness but still she will stop for a moment at the point we yelled her name. Training is still in progress 😀
Yes, dogs does not speak human language. But what would make you think that dog trainers do? Not saying about those trainers who trains dogs for security purposes. I admire their training skills. But most of us have companion dogs, not guard dogs. If you really need help, please choose training schools that has a course for both dog and owner together!
Dogs sometimes behave like humans. Each one of them is special in their own way. Yup! Some like to pee on the grass, some like to pee on paper, some like to pee on cement, some like to pee on floor tiles, etc. When a dog comes to our lives, BOTH needs to learn each others’ way and sometimes we have to meet in the middle. That is the magic of bonding with your own dog. If your dog doesn’t like to pee indoors, then your dogs loves spending time with you during walks and do its thing.
We have three dogs and all of them have different pee rituals. As dog owners, if it is acceptable to us, then we will let them do as they choose. But what if we want all of them to be the same? The solution is repeating the process until your dog gets it. You as an owner must have more patience than your dog. Dogs will cry, whine and bark. If you stand your ground (not force), they will eventually go your way. This is not a promise that it will happen in 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 week or a month. It really depends on your dog. When your dog is able to achieve what you require it to do, PRAISE and give him a big TREAT!
Let us share our experience with our senior dog, Puffy. He was around 8 years old when we adopted him from SPCA Selangor in 2015. Who says old dog cannot be trained? Patience is the key and it was needed even we go to bed. We bought the same playpen as our first dog, Red. We thought he will be able to get used to being in a playpen. The first night, when we all went to bed. Puffy started to bark and yelp. We’ve realised he didn’t like to be constraint. So we removed the playpen. As both dogs were in a room, we thought we would just close the door and he was free to roam around the room. Puffy did his barking after we left for our bedroom. So, we thought we would let him do his thing and he will be quiet. After an hour, he did quiet down, and he started again. We were so tired to notice how long the barking went. The next morning, there were scratches on the room door. So every night we did the same thing and Puffy did the same thing. It might be about a few weeks after, he stop barking during sleeping time. We did it! Puffy got the idea and did not bark after we said Goodnight to him.
Persistence is key too. As dogs are habitual beings, we did the same routine over and over until he gets it. We did not give up on him and believe that he can do it. And Puffy did it!
We do not claimed to be experts. This is just sharing our experiences.
As pet boarding service providers, we hope that dog owners have some training with their own dogs, like leaving them in a playpen or crate when owners are out to work or run errands, proper times for pee and poo and socializing with other dogs. Training does goes a long way for you as you will be rest assured and have peace of mind when you send them for pet boarding.
If you have any home dog training stories, please share with us in the comments sections. ♥