FILE PHOTO: Sammy Garza, right, kisses a therapy dog, Molly, while mother, Del Garza, looks on in downtown Dallas on Friday, July 7, 2017.
Jaime Dunaway / AP Photo
How can one train a dog, breed dogs, adopt, and pick the right dog for their family?
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Aniya Faulcon
Jaime Dunaway / AP Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sammy Garza, right, kisses a therapy dog, Molly, while mother, Del Garza, looks on in downtown Dallas on Friday, July 7, 2017.
Airdate: Thursday, August 25, 2022
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According to the American Kennel Club there are a total of two hundred dog breeds; with so many options many people don’t know which breed to pick that will be the best fit for their family.
After purchasing a dog, owners tend to struggle with the training process.
According to Pet356 94% of respondents to their survey reported that they do at least some training with their dog at home and only 6% believed their dog to be perfectly trained.
Janet Edwards, Owner of Stateline Canine, and Brianna Fair, Veterinary Technician at Manheim Pike Veterinary Hospital, provided some tips on dog training and suggestions for dog owners and breeders on Thursday’s Smart Talk.
Here are some of the tips that were provided:
- Create a clear communication between you and your dog
- Establish a clear picture of what’s good behavior
- Reward good behavior and don’t reward bad behavior
- Develop a schedule and routine for bathroom breaks
- Use crates properly and moderately as a potty-training tool, to ensures that your dog(s) don’t get into anything dangerous, and to reduce separation anxiety
- Use training tools, like bark collars, properly and moderately
- Use place training methods
- Use slip leads
- Don’t buy training items or dogs because they’re cheap, evaluate the quality of the item and the environment the dog is in
- Bring you pet to the veterinarian for “Happy Visits”
- Pay attention to irregular behavior and visit the vet to determine if there are any behavioral or medical issues
- Normalize social experiences with other people and dogs
- Do your research on breeders and make sure they have proper certifications
- Ask adoption clinics and breeders what dog is best for your family type
- When thinking about breeding, make sure the dogs you plan to use don’t have genetical problems
Edwards, said if a trainer is working with a dog they take about four to six weeks to train them but may take longer as dogs are similar to human babies, they take time to learn.
“Once that communication is established its all about follow through, consistency, keeping that picture very clear to the dogs and continuing that from puppy to adult,” Edwards said.
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