Adult Dog Training

You may think that if you don’t start training your dog as a puppy that it’s too late to train him.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  It’s really never too late to train your dog.  Adult dog training can be very successful.  There’s no reason why your adult dog can’t learn anything you want to teach him.

Training Options

If you would like to train your adult dog you can choose from a couple of different options.  Some people prefer to sign up for dog training classes.  These classes are usually offered in most cities and towns by pet stores, kennel clubs, animal shelters or by private trainers at dog training centers.  Classes are usually divided into sections for puppies and sections for adult dogs.  A typical class will last six to eight weeks and cover lessons such as teaching your dog to sit, stand, stay, lie down, walk on a leash and heel.

If you plan to attend a dog training class you should find out ahead of time what kind of training the trainer teaches.  There are several different dog training methods and you may not like all of them.

Training Methods

There are currently three popular dog training methods used by dog trainers.  You may find that you like one of them more than others.

Positive reinforcement is based on rewarding your dog for doing things that you want him to do and largely ignoring things that fall short of what you ask him to do.  For instance, if you tell your dog to sit and he looks at you, you would do nothing.  But as soon as your dog makes some movement toward sitting you would praise him and perhaps give him a treat to encourage him to sit.  That’s a simplistic example, but it is one scenario.  Clicker training is one kind of positive reinforcement.

Dog whispering is another popular training approach right now.  Dog whispering is not very useful with obedience training but it is often used with behavioral training.  Dog whispering, of course, has been made very popular by trainer Cesar Millan through his television program.  Dog whispering is the theory that dogs follow wolf behavior and that, in order to shape their behavior, owners need to be the dominant pack member.  Critics of dog whispering claim that it is often unnecessarily rough on dogs so you should consider this before signing up for any class that uses dog whispering as its basis.

The other kind of dog training method that is used is referred to as traditional dog training.  It is sometimes called Kohler dog training because of the man who originated it decades ago.  This training involves the use of a choke chain and using it to make corrective jerks.  If you took a dog training class between 1950 and 1990 it’s likely that this method was used and it is still used by some trainers today.  This method does use corrections and punishment which critics object to.  It relies a great deal on repetition.

Training At Home

Besides taking classes with your dog for adult dog training you also have the option of training your dog at home.  If you train at home you can teach your dog all of the things that you would learn in a class.  The difference is that you would be on your own to work out any problems.  On the other hand, you could move at your own pace and devote your full attention to your dog.  So, there are pros and cons to training at home.

If you have a good book on obedience training or a good video/DVD by a good trainer, there’s no reason why you can’t successfully train your dog yourself at home.