Ever single dog needs training.
Training - the education, instruction, or discipline of a person or thing that is being trained. Its our job to show them how to comfortably live in our human world.
Training is a process.
a systematic series of actions directed to some end:
No matter what you are teaching your dog; it is done through a process of steps towards a behavior goal. This means starting slow and growing on success. Sometimes the steps are really, really tiny. But even the tiniest of successful steps are still a successful movement forward. When things move slowly, humans often get frustrated.
I have to say that I have been called out many times to help modify behaviors. Often the k9 guardians feel that one session should do it. I will tell them what to do, they’ll do it and ta da, fixed. Not likely. Teaching or modifying even easy behaviors, takes time. This means once you achieve success at one stage, then you build on that.
For one new behavior or modification of a behavior, I recommend at least three sessions with a trainer. Then a follow up for help down the road. Several cases over the years have been guardians asking me to help them with a multitude of undesirable behaviors in one visit. In this situations I always recommend more training so we can work on the next steps; but they feel like I should be a magician in one visit. This is sadly setting themselves and their dog up for failure.
The best way to solidify behaviors is to train it slowly. Slow and steady wins the race as they say. Creating a scenario where each step of the way is clearly understood by both you and your dog before moving on to the next step. Once it is trained, meaning that your dog fully understands what you are asking and is reliable almost all of the time; then you add different locations to train in. Then you add distractions, small at first and then more distractions. What you have to train for, is real life. If you only train in the quiet of your home; there is a slim chance that your dog can handle the pressure of doing the new behavior under distraction situations.
This means that you build step by step. Achieve the behavior, then add distractions of all types. You have to train and train and train some more if you want success.
Even if you have a new puppy and are just starting out; the whole training thing is a huge and slow process. It must also be stated that you have to use it or lose it. When your dog learns a new behavior, you must implement it into your daily routine so it becomes routine. If you teach them a new behavior once and then call on that behavior under high distraction stimulus, it’s not likely that your dog will be able to successfully oblige in what you are asking. They need a successful ladder of training steps to the end goal of using the behavior in real life situations.
Behaviors take time to learn; and if you are trying to undo undesirable behaviors and replace them with desirable ones, it takes even longer. The first visit with a trainer is just that, the first of many if you really want success.
It is needs to be said that it really takes time to fully grasp what you are trying to learn so that you can then teach and implement with your dog.