Why you should train your dog and not let it be 'a free spirit'
As a trainer, I am often asked questions from concerned dog parents about the ill effects of training their dog. Concerns range from whether training him will 'kill his spirit', make him unhappy, make him unable to express himself, and so on. With this post, I aim to dispel some of these concerns and conclusively prove that training is, in every way, beneficial to your dog. I am going to try to do this by addressing the most common arguments I have heard against training. Feel free to add any other arguments you may have come across in the comments section. I will try to address them as well.
1. I don't want to kill my dog's spirit and independence
This is the most common argument against training that I am presented with. My response to this are the following:
a. Whether you choose to actively train your dog or not, he is learning. He either learns good habits that endear him to one and all, or bad habits that alienate him from others.
b. When you bring a dog into human society it is necessary for her to know human rules. If you do not, she will not be allowed where she can be a nuisance - which is almost every place outside of home. That, dear dog parent, is the fastest path to depression for your dog. It's actually the same reason we teach our human kids etiquette, manners, and social norms. A 'free spirited' human kid would be like Mowgli - somehow we don't see many of those around.
c. Dogs are social animals and social animals learn from their pack
All social animals learn the rules of their society from their pack. As senior members of your dog's pack, it is YOUR responsibility to teach him the ways of your world. If he were with a pack of dogs, he'd be taught dog rules. Now that you have separated him from his pack, who's going to teach him, huh?
d. Positive reinforcement based training does not make your dog a robot
I have trained over 200 dogs as on date, and can identify and list unique personality traits for each one of the dogs that I have trained. Just because your dog now understands what you want from her, and does things that she knows please you, I wouldn't call her a robot. I would call her a people pleaser and isn't that what dogs are all about :)
2. Training might make my dog unhappy
Nothing could be further from the truth than the blatant lie above. Trained dogs are actually happier, on average, than untrained dogs and these are the reasons why:
a. Trained dogs get to do more of the things they love doing
It's as simple as that. I will repeat - dogs are social animals. They derive pleasure from social interactions. A trained dog will get more opportunities to socialize, because you will be more comfortable taking him along to see dog lovers, dog ambivalents and even dog haters (maybe he'll convert someone). A dog that doesn't tug gets more walks - gramma or your 5 year old can take him. Even pet friendly places are usually trained pet friendly, and other pet tolerant.
b. Trained dogs are more relaxed and confident
When you train a dog, you give him instructions, he understands and then follows. This communication takes a great burden off his back. He now knows what you want him to do! Yaaayy. Trained dogs exhibit greater confidence - i.e. they exhibit fewer signs of duress such as submissive peeing, anxiety and fearfulness.
c. Trained dogs always have strong bonds with their families
Training takes time. If your dog is trained and listens to you, you have likely spent many hours working with your dog getting her used to her commands. You have also likely been watchful for ways in which your dog communicates with you, and can read it better because you focused on learning when your dog will listen to you and when she wont.
3. I don't want to hurt my dog
Modern dog training doesn't require hitting your dog. At Happy Puppy we practice a positive reinforcement and positive disciplining based approach. This means that when your dog listens to us, she gets a treat - food, play or affection; and when she doesn't she is subject to a loud noise - a chappal slammed against the ground, a loud clap, etc. Your dog is hurt more by the implications of not being trained than by anything training could do to her.
4. I cannot bear to be away from my dog. The good training programs are all residential
Dog parents, quite obviously, love their four legged children. Allowing him to be away when he is only a puppy can be a difficult decision to make. But this where you need to think about your puppy, not yourself. Over the course of your dog's life it would be foolish to assume that you would have no reason to be apart. If the first time the need arises is when your dog is an adult, you can be certain that he will go through the most difficult days of his life. It is best to find a trustworthy kennel / training facility to board your dog when he is still a puppy, so he learns to be happy even when you need to be away. Good training programs are residential because socialization with other dogs forms an integral part of learning how to be a good dog.
Do yourself and your dog a favour and train him.
