Colby Morita's 6 Common Puppy Training Mistakes

(07-06-2012, 04:41 AM)TreeClimber Wrote: Haopee, I believe dog training is for the human and not the dog. We have to learn the proper behaviors and unlearn bad ones so we can train our dog to be a good citizen. When I took my Lab to dog training, I was making many of those mistakes in your list because I didn't know better.

When I got Misha, I corrected them all. But, then I missed out on what I think is important, but not on your list: socialization with other dogs. I would have had her around other dogs, but a family medical situation interrupted everything. It is so important for dogs to be with other dogs. They learn so much from each other. I have been working on that in the last year and she has gotten better around dogs.

I agree wholeheartedly with your #7 addition. Consistency is really important. Dogs are like children. If they get different rules from different parents, it's only going to make matters worse. It is difficult to get other family members to follow the same rules, though. People think they are being mean to the dog. But, that is not the case. If you don't want the dog on the furniture, then everyone must apply this rule. If the dog must sit before getting dinner, everyone must do it. Whatever the rule is, it must be applied consistently.

I agree with what you said about puppy training. It certainly is for the people rather than the puppies.

And yes, socialization can play a big part in dog etiquette. It's important that they learn how to be a dog at the same time learn how to respect pack hierarchy.

Lastly, consistency is one of the hardest things to train the humans with.