When you are a newcomer, there are many mistakes that can be made. This is normal, since obviously no one is born knowing, but it is also true that there are many people who consider themselves professionals who use training methods that, rather than teach, what they do is make the dog feel afraid.
This time I'm going to tell you what are the most common mistakes when training a dog.
Before starting, I want to clarify that I am not an ethologist or a trainer, so what I am going to tell you next is based on my own experience, on what friends and acquaintances have been telling me, and also on what I have read in several books on dog education and training.
Mistake number 1: We humanize dogs
There are many, many people who treat their dogs like human babies. Obviously, you have to take care of them and give them love, but It is not a good idea or overprotect them, or dress them (unless it is out of necessity), or put their plate on the table, or always carry them in your arms or in strollers.
But neither should it be punished as if we were punishing a child: "you will stay in your bed as punishment", "today there will be no walk for your bad behavior", and similar comments. Why? They don't understand it. They only live in the present moment, and the moment we are telling him that, he only knows that you are angry with him, but nothing else. There is no point in punishing him so that he has time to reflect on what he has done, because he is unable to do it.
What you have to do is try to avoid misbehaving, and let him know that bad behavior is not accepted. But right when he misbehaves, not after.
Mistake number 2: yelling and tapping
Continuing with the theme of punishments, do not yell at them or hit them. That way nothing will be achieved, except that he is afraid of us and does things, not because he wants to do them, but because he fears that he will be hurt. Dogs know well when they have done something wrong just by looking us in the face, they do not need (in fact, if it is done, we would be committing a crime of animal abuse) to be beaten.
Mistake number 3: Loading our dog with our stress and / or anxiety
Due to our hectic pace of life, sometimes it is normal for us to feel stress and / or anxiety, but we should not burden our dog with it. He is not to blame for anything, and he just wants to spend as much time as possible with us, but being calm. So if you are prone to being stressed or anxious, you can start taking infusions of valerian or linden, do breathing exercises, listen to relaxed music ... in short, whatever you like and relax you.
Mistake number 4: blaming him for his mistakes
The dog is not born knowing, so, for example, if he pulls on the leash, it is because his human has not taught him to go with it. This is very important to keep in mind, because we are the ones who have to teach you; Yes indeed, using methods that respect the animal and that they teach you to think, like positive training.
Mistake number 5: making training a job, not a game
Dogs, like children, learn much better and much faster if they are having fun. Thus, every training session should be fun, while stimulating. We can take out balls and hide them so that he has to go looking for them, scatter pieces of sausage on the garden floor so that he has to use his sense of smell to find them,… Anyway, use your imagination and you'll see how much fun you have.
By the way, give simple commands, of a single word, since otherwise it can be confused 😉.
And you, how do you train your dog?