Taking care of a pet means more than a balanced diet, long walks and adorable Instagram photos. It also means owners putting in the time to get to know their dog by understanding the dog’s body language, fears, behaviors and triggers. It’s about establishing good communication and building a bond of trust.
Dog training is a great way for owners to learn about their pets and themselves through healthy exercising of the mind and body. However, not all dog owners and trainers go about it the right way, according to local experts.
“Not using shock collars, not using choke chains is the best way to go about dog training. Treating dogs humanely is a huge priority,” says Lia Fricke, co-owner of Dog On It Training and Grooming.
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Fricke says most well-established, certified dog trainers agree that proper training involves only positive methods and rewards as this establishes fear-free communication. Training is important for all dogs regardless of good or bad behavior and should not be thought of as something that is only for those that need with problems that need to be fixed.
“[Dog training] keeps your dog healthy, active, and engaged. It also encourages you to keep building that relationship with your dog,” said Miranda Lonergan, owner of Happy Tails and Trails Dog Training and Walking Services.
Fricke said training encourages communication and stimulation for a dog’s mind regardless of good or bad behavior. Dog training is the act of learning for pets and allows them to exercise their mind while also building the bond between dog and owner.
Pet owner and North Augusta native, River Joyner, said training allowed her dog to become more socialized, which taught her how to behave and listen in the presence of other pets.
Training classes with others honed her ability to communicate with her pet in busy, loud environments. Her dog now knows to wait until given permission before interacting with others, Joyner said.
Some owners might seek out dog training programs to modify troublesome behaviors or overall aggression and reactivity.
But, like any situation, establishing a line of good communication allows both involved parties to understand each other and reduce frustration. Fricke says dog training mostly involves teaching owners how to read and understand their pet, more so than correcting or fixing a dog.
“Teaching a sit and a stay isn’t going to fix a dog when it comes to fearfulness, aggression or reactivity,” said Fricke. “It’s about making sure you understand your dog. Making sure you understand your dog’s body language. Understanding your dog’s body language is extremely important and a huge priority when it comes to dog training.”
Both Frick and Lonergan said they are fear-free dog trainers and do not believe in punishing pets in order to elicit a desired behavior or response like others in their field might.
Lonergan specializes in one-on-one, long-term, fear-free training because she feels it is a more rewarding line of work and believes it is the right way to train pets.
Picking the right dog trainer can be tricky, especially if there are a lot of options.
To assist with this problem, Fricke suggests owners ask three questions to help narrow down the choice.
What happens if my dog gets it right? What happens if my dog gets it wrong? And what’s the alternative to if my dog gets it wrong or right?
Fricke suggests that owners stray away from online training if possible in order to receive the best training that is tailor-made..
“I would definitely recommend hiring a professional because you’re going to get more out of that because you might not understand the why as to a specific method that someone online is telling you to train your dog, and it’s very easy to make mistakes,” says Fricke.
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Both Fricke and Lonergan agree that training is an extremely rewarding and fulfilling job that allows them to help the community in a positive manner. Fricke says she finds helping pet parents whose reactive and behavioral problem dogs interfere with their life the most rewarding, because she loves to see how the owner and dog bond and progress together as a team.
“Watching them put in the work to resolve those behaviors and seeing their quality of life improve as well as the dog’s,” said Fricke. “It’s watching everybody, as a whole, feel better about living together in general, that’s probably the best part.”
Dog training for trainers, owners and pets is all about constant education and learning. Learning new methods, keeping up with research, perfecting new techniques are all important aspects to training. However, no amount of dog training means that your dog will always be well-behaved.
No matter the reason for seeking out dog training, it is important for owners to prioritize building a bond and a strong line of communication between themselves and their pet.
“I think my favorite part is just the relationship building, watching the dogs be excited to train and just having a good time. Especially watching my clients build that bond and just have fun during training. That’s the way I like to train, making training super fun for both dog and human. That way it’s not a job,” said Lonergan.
For more information about Fricke’s Dog On It Training Training and Grooming visit gogonitgrovetown.com or Lonergan’s Happy Tails and Trails, LLC go to happytailsandtrailsaugusta.com.
Liz Wright is a correspondent for The Augusta Press.
