We practice what we preach here at DognPooch! Meet Jill – our Great Dane – showing off her obedience training! She’s actually the reason we started on the journey of dog training and helping other owners train their dogs. We got her as a puppy and knew she’d need training early in her life. After researching the various methods of dog training out there, we ran across some great resources for proper use of a prong collar and e-collar to achieve exceptional training results.
Here she is showing off her skills with “heel”, “down”, and “sit” all while off-leash. The leash that is tucked into her collar is just for everyone’s comfort! She doesn’t need the leash, but it helps other owners feel comfortable if we run across other pups on our training walks.
It is important to take advantage of using every walk for a training opportunity! Keep the walk structured and focused on you. You want your pooch relaxed and enjoying the outdoors next to your side. They should not be pulling (if you have them on a leash), be ahead of you, or be sniffing the grass as you walk along the sidewalk. You can use either the leash or the e-collar to gently remind them to focus on you during the walk. In the case of Jill, I am using the e-collar at a very low level in conjunction with my verbal commands to reinforce her training.
I do want to acknowledge that there are so many training methods out there and none of them are wrong. The training method that is best is the one that works for you and your dog. Some dogs can be trained through clicker-only training, treats, and positive-only methods, while others need a little more nudging. If your dog fits into the latter category, our training method is most likely a perfect fit! It helps reinfoce positive behaviors while teaching your dog what behaviors are unacceptable.
Training a dog doesn’t have to be difficult or take years to see massive improvement! All you need is some guidance and consistency. There are lots of resources online that show you how to train your dog, but if you find those don’t help, we are here to help you get the kickstart you need. Our board & train program is perfect to get your dog on the right track, but it is up to you to continually reinforce his training. Dog training never truly ends, but you don’t have to stay stuck at the beginning forever.
We serve San Luis Obispo and the surrounding communities. We also serve Orcutt and Santa Maria. Give us a call to see how we can help you!
