![hand signals for dogs chart hand signals for dogs chart](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_auto,q_glossy,ret_img,w_700,h_1050/https://puppyintraining.com/wp-content/uploads/dog-training-hand-signals-700x1050.jpg)
Train from literally anywhere with a connection to the internet, with no travel fees even if you are out of your trainer’s normal service area. The ability to customize the length of a lesson to a dog (or person)’s attention span – something that isn’t financially feasible when the trainer has to drive from house to house! A wider ranges of times available – train in your pajamas if you want to! (I won’t judge.) The advantages of online training include, but aren’t limited to: Luckily, technology has made virtual training not only easy, but just as effective, in most cases, as in-person training.
![hand signals for dogs chart hand signals for dogs chart](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uvMyV1KTrxo/maxresdefault.jpg)
In these times of social distancing, traditional dog training has been pretty much impossible. Can your dog really learn with the trainer on the other side of a screen? And it’s a science that blends beautifully with the incredible relationship we can build with our dogs-if we don’t try to take them to war over being well-behaved. Read books and blogs and watch videos by trainers who use these methods. How do you get there? Seek out a trainer who uses force-free, positive-reinforcement based methods. These things are not only possible but absolutely vital to a happy, healthy, well-mannered dog. So what words would I replace the list at the beginning of this blog post with? If it is, you’re much more likely to have a dog who is scared or defensive, or a dog who bites. Your relationship does not need to be confrontational, or based on fear. None of the good ones involve hurting, scaring, or forcing your dog. If I can’t “tsk” my dog into submission to get them to listen, how can I get a well-behaved dog?
![hand signals for dogs chart hand signals for dogs chart](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/basic-dog-commands-behavioral-training-icons-set-vector-illustrations-person-giving-hand-signals-to-follow-195949942.jpg)
What they really were was the result of learned helplessness from overwhelmed, often terrified dogs, and some very slick editing.īut what do I do instead? I get asked by many students. It was easy to believe that the serious behavior issues being “solved” in a TV segment were the result of some magical alpha pack theory thinking. So even if they did have a “pack” in the way many like to imagine, we wouldn’t be part of the traditional structure.īut the idea of dominant dogs and alphas was repopularized when TV personality Cesar Milan came on the scene. Otherwise, how would we be allowed into their families? And taking that further – dogs know that we aren’t dogs. A domesticated dog has a much looser interpretation of the idea of a pack than a wild or captive wolf. We romanticize this idea of our canine companions as descendants of wolves, but they’ve been removed from their distant cousins for many thousands of years. It wasn’t until later, when wolves were being analyzed in the wild, that scientists realized those theories on packs were all wrong – in the wild, wolf packs were families, lead by parents, and fighting for control was rare.Īnd the truth is, dogs aren’t wolves. That study observed wolves who were thrown together in random packs and the infighting that occurred. It started decades ago with a study on captive wolves (a study that has since been disproven and denounced even by the initial scientist, just to be totally clear). So where did these ideas come from? Why is there so much advice out there about dominating your dog or making sure they know you’re the boss? I can’t remember the last time I said “alpha” unless I was explaining to someone that, no, you don’t need to be your dog’s alpha. In fact, you will rarely hear these words from most behavior experts. You might find advice that your dog is misbehaving because you aren’t the alpha, or that your dog is dominant and needs to be put in their place.īut here’s the truth: You are not at war with your dog. If you’re Googling dog training, these are all words you may see.