Do you ever wonder what happens in aggressive dog training? Is it possible to turn an aggressive dog into a well-mannered one? If you’ve attempted to train your dog and have grown frustrated and disappointed with each training session because the results are not what you have in mind, it’s time to leave this to the experts. Dog trainers use techniques and evidence-based methods to ensure that your dog will learn to understand what behaviors are acceptable and what aren’t.

This can be difficult if not challenging to teach if you don’t have any prior experience in dog training. In fact, if you use methods untested methods, you might traumatize your dog. The reason why professional dog training works is they use a combination of time-tested strategies that will change how your dog behaves. Let’s find out what these are.

Positive Reinforcement

The person who made positive reinforcement a popular dog training technique is Dawn-Sylvia-Stasiewicz. She was the one who trained former US President Obama’s dog. The concept behind this theory is pretty simple. When a dog is rewarded for a particular behavior, it will repeat it in the hopes of getting another reward. When a dog misbehaves, a reward will be withheld. The reward can be in the form of a treat, toy, or anything that your dog finds pleasurable like playtime.

The best thing about positive reinforcement is that it doesn’t use punishment to train your dog. It only focuses on giving and withholding rewards. Through repetition and consistency, your dog will be able to identify and get rid of unacceptable behaviors. However, this method is only effective if the reward is given seconds after doing good behavior. Otherwise, your dog will not be able to associate the reward with good behavior.

During the first weeks, you should give rewards continuously but as soon as your dog masters the command, you can do intermittent rewards.

Scientific Training

It’s difficult to define this form of training because it keeps on changing as it is based on the newest developments in science and research. It’s safe to say this method is constantly being tweaked and adjusted based on new information. However, the point of this training is to try to understand the nature of dogs and their capacity to be conditioned as well as the effectiveness of giving rewards and punishments.

According to this theory, before you correct a particular behavior you must understand the reason behind such behavior.

Clicker Training

Another method professional dog trainers use is clicker training. The concept is based on operant conditioning with the principles found to be similar to positive reinforcement. Clicker training uses a device that will create a sharp noise like a whistle signaling the dog that it performed and completed an acceptable behavior.

One of the benefits of clicker training is it lets your dog know based on the sound that the behavior is good and is the reason why it’s being rewarded. This helps avoid confusion. Trainers use verbal commands in conjunction with the clicker sound.

Electronic Training

In electronic training, the dog trainer uses an electric collar that will shock your dog whenever it misbehaves. This is usually used when your dog is at a distance and you can’t use a leash. Shock collars are used when you want your dog to learn to stay within safe boundaries especially if you’re training in a yard without a fence. According to those who use this form of training, shock collars are more effective and safer compared to choke collars.

Takeaway

Dog training is flexible as long as you use acceptable training methods. You can combine techniques and strategies based on your dog’s needs and intellectual capacity.