Australian Shepherd Training: Common Mistakes Owners Make

Though they are famous for being kind, loving and loyal to their owners, the Australian Shepherd is not your ordinary house pet. They possess some qualities that can make them a bit challenging to deal with particularly if not provided with the much-needed Australian Shepherd training. Without such training, this working dog with amazing herding skill is more likely to cause annoyance and regret than happiness.

This breed has a reputation as extremely intelligent breed so training shouldn’t be a pain in the neck. But same with any other breeds, an owner may come across some issues that could definitely impact the training outcome and the dog’s behavior.

First most typical mistake is waiting for the puppy to grow older before the training starts. Puppies might have short attention span but it is during this time that they learn effectively considering that they have not developed bad habits yet. If you will wait for the puppy to grow older, you are simply giving it the chance to learn several improper habits that are difficult to break.

Another common mistake owners make is utilizing physical punishment to correct the dog’s behavior. Dog experts do not discourage using physical punishment for nothing. Notably, this form of correction brings about more harm than good. Smacking, rubbing the nose on the mess or crating for longer period of time may lead to fear, aggressive behavior and many others. It is best to make use of other Australian Shepherd training methods than this.

Bad habits develop if the pet always gets away from its mistakes. Several canine owners are guilty of this mistake too. They believe that dogs are too cute and hilarious thus first offense can be easily ignored. However, first offense can potentially result in rare offense and later on constant offense until it has developed into a habit. To prevent this from taking place, correction must be carried out the first time your pet made a mistake.

If bad behavior mustn’t be neglected, good behavior ought to be granted the same attention. Recognizing your pet’s behavior by rewarding it for such good manners is one amazing strategy to encourage it to repeat the behavior he is being rewarded for. By rewarding your family pet, be it with treats or praise, you’re making it aware that you’re pleased with the behavior hence it’ll repeat the behavior when needed in order to get rewards again.

Australian Shepherd training is an important part of every dog and owner’s life. It teaches these four-legged companions how to behave appropriately for them to become well-behaved dogs everybody love to be around. But in order to attain such result, these mistakes ought to be amended as soon as possible.

Jennifer Powell loves to write articles about Australian Shepherds and Australian Shepherd training. To read her articles and tips, check out her site filled with Australian Shepherd training tips.