All things in life need to grow and develop. This applies to our relationships as well.

This also applies to our

relationships with our dogs. Whether you just got your furry best friend and want to plant the seeds of a
harmonious long-term friendship, or you have been living together for a while, and want to take your
relationship to the next level, we all need guidance sometimes. And just like you would go to a specialist if
you wanted more out of your relationship with your partner, you would go to a... dog training school if you
needed to work on your relationship with your dog.

The question is, how do you find a good specialist? Now, if you were just feeling under the weather, you
would probably go to a general practitioner. But what if you had a toothache? I bet you would go to a
dentist instead! Same with dog training. First, you need to decide whether you want to work on general
obedience, aggression, separation anxiety, or maybe you want to take on therapy dog training or a
protection dog training course.

Here are 6 tips.

6 Tips For Picking the Right Dog Training School

1. Know That the Dog Training Industry is Unregulated

That means that virtually anyone could call him or herself a trainer, sadly. However, there are certifications
and organizations that can help you identify those who actually have the right designations and experience.
Always check to see if the trainer has some of the following certifications: The Association of Professional
Dog Trainers (APDT), The Academy for Dog Trainers (ADT), the Certification Council for Professional Dog
Trainers (CPDT KA), the Karen Pryor Academy for Animal Training & Behavior (KPAATB), or the
International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Being the primary educational organization for
trainers, APDT has a very useful resource called Trainer Search that allows you to find trainers in your area
based on your city or zip code. Great tool! Note that if a trainer is certified by the APDT it does not
necessarily imply that he or she uses a specific training method, which brings us to the next tip.

2. Know the Training Methods Used

Now, all trainers have different training methods, but here are a few basic things that would help you swim
confidently in the sea of trainer jargon. There are currently 4 basic methods of training that stem from
behavioral psychology: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative
punishment. Now, the words positive and negative aren't representing the concept of "good and evil" here,
they function more like they would in math, with positive meaning addition and negative meaning
subtraction of something. It will become clearer in a second.

Positive Reinforcement
This is the most popular method today, and, sure enough, you are all familiar with it. Positive reinforcement
has, at its core, rewarding a dog for desired behavior usually with a treat, a toy or play time, depending on
what motivates your dog the most. The trick is to pick the right timing: just as your dog does the desired
behavior, reward him or her right away, and supplement the treat with a high-pitched "good dog", to make
sure your pet realizes how pleased you are with this behavior. See how a treat is added here? This is the
positive part, the addition.

Negative Reinforcement
This technique involves taking something unpleasant away to reinforce the desired behavior. That is how
electric fences work, for example. When a dog gets too close to the perimeter, it gets a shock, but the
shock disappears the moment the dog moves away from the boundary. This way, the dog learns to stay
away from the perimeter. See the subtraction here - the unpleasant sensations are taken away to reinforce
a behavior, this is negative reinforcement.
Positive Punishment
With punishment techniques, the trainer is trying to make a particular behavior happen less often. With
positive punishment, the trainer adds some unpleasant stimuli to discourage a behavior. With excessive
barking, for example, a trainer can add a spray bark collar to the training, so that every time a dog barks, it
gets sprayed. The dog will associate nuisance barking with being sprayed, and this will discourage him or
her from barking all night long again. Did you see how with this technique a trainer would add (=positive)
something to discourage a behavior (=punishment).

Negative Punishment
This technique implies taking something away (=negative) in order to discourage a behavior
(=punishment). A good example would be if a trainer turns away from a dog that is jumping on him or other
people to get attention. He takes the attention away from the dog to discourage undesired behavior. This
method is often used together with positive reinforcement to reduce the unwanted behavior and reinforce
the desired behavior.

Ah, that was quite a bit of information, right? Did it become somewhat clearer what the different training
methods do? Great. There is still much debate around the best training methods in the trainers' world, but
what you choose remains up to you.
Now that you've learnt more about the behavioral psychology, do you start seeing some similarities
between how we train dogs and how the government trains us? On to the next tip.

3. Choose the Training Type

Group Classes, Boot Camps, In House Training or even Skype chats - there is every type of dog training
you might need under the sun. Consider the benefits and drawbacks. With in house dog training the
obvious advantage is that you will get more personal attention. If your dog has some socialization issues, in
home training won't be as effective as group dog training classes, where both you and your fido can learn
to be around other dogs and work around so many tempting distractions. If you want your dog to get the
experience of a full immersion, then a dog training camp will be the best option. Whereas, if your budget is
tight, online dog training might be the solution you are looking for. Deciding on the type of training you need
will make the task of finding a good dog training school way easier.

4. Watch a Class Before You Sign Up

Once you picked a class or a training school, take some time to come to one of the training sessions and
just observe. Pay attention to the following:

1. How big is the class size and whether you will be getting enough attention,
2. If puppies and adult dogs are trained separately,
3. How many levels do the classes have (basic, intermediate, advanced),
4. How the trainer interacts with the dogs,
5. How dogs react to the training,
6. Whether everyone seems to be having fun and enjoying the process.

If you ticked all the check boxes here, and are comfortable with the environment, you have found a good
candidate.

5. Don't Forget About Vaccinations

Safety first! Make sure your dog is properly vaccinated before you start any dog training and get the green
light from your vet. Next, ensure that the training school requires every dog to be vaccinated and is asking
for a proof. This way you can rest assured that the safety aspect of your training is covered.
6. Ask About the Follow Up

Now, what happens after you have completed the course? Do you get a lifetime membership and can come
any time for future "tune ups", or are follow up visits limited? Maybe there are no follow up visits in case a
problem does arise. Make sure to ask the school or the trainer about what happens once you are done with
their program.

FIND OUT HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG AT HOME BY CLICKING HERE

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Daria_Milkes/2535635

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9918956