Dog Training in Orange County

Having a dog is supposed to be a great thing because of the several age-long benefits associated with this practice. Sadly, some people know very little or nothing about this. One such reason is having a dog with very poor or no training at all and the downsides include:

• Behavioral Problems – Such as destructive tendencies and aggressiveness
• Poor Socialization
• Limited Freedom
• Increased Stress & Anxiety for Owners
• Grooming & Pet Care Challenges
• Human-Pet Relationship Strain
• Reduced Life Quality
• Rescue & Surrender Risk
• Adverse Financial Impact
• Adverse Impact on Owner’s Health

You may be asking if dog ownership is worth it if the above-listed are possibilities. Well, you should know that all of the above-listed and several others can be avoided provided a dog is properly trained.

Speaking of being properly trained, that largely depends on the canine training facility. To this end, tips for choosing the right one in Orange County will be discussed here. So, keep reading for more on this.

A Guide to Choosing the Ideal Training Facility for Your Dog

A well-trained dog is good news for the owner, the general public, and even the dog itself. There is a professional and effective approach to canine training, which is why you should not self-train yours.

Rather, ensure that your dog is enrolled in the right training facility. This also exposes you to how to properly train your dog from a personal standpoint. Having made this clear, below are some expert recommendations for finding the right training facility:

1. Assessment of Your Dog’s Needs

The best thing is usually to have your dog trained from its early/formative years. Canines at this stage in their lives are very open and capable of being trained. However, even senior dogs can be trained regardless of the challenges presented.

Especially with older canines, there is a need to observe keenly. Your observation should then inform areas of focus during the training.

For example, you may have noticed that yours is not usually given to destructive behaviors. However, this changed after you changed your environment. Such destructive habits are usually influenced by separation anxiety.

By the way, some things can be easily assessed but they are very important, as well. One such is your breed and age. For example, a Chihuahua is a dog, just as a German shepherd is. However, they cannot be trained the same way, especially given their breed difference.

German shepherds have more energy levels than Chihuahuas, for instance. All these should be factored in as some facilities are better at training certain breeds and age groups than others.

2. Find Out the Methods Used

The emphasis here is not just on canine training but on doing so properly. This is because pretty much anyone can train a dog. However, proper training is something that only professionals understand.

Against this backdrop, the recommendation is to find out the training methods engaged in the facility. For example, you certainly want to avoid facilities that use harsh and abusive approaches. Some of such approaches are characterized by:

• Physical Abuse – Such as leash jerking, hitting, choking, and the use of shock collars or prong
• Unnecessary Yelling & Harsh Scolding
• Poking or Bite Simulation
• Use of Threatening Body Language
• Holding Down a Dog’s Mouth

These approaches may work on a surface level, but they leave serious emotional damage which defeats the purpose of having your dog trained in the first place. For more information on this, you can see: https://pethelpful.com/.

Rather, opt for facilities that use positive, yet effective approaches. An approach that allows for rewarding good behavior is a clear example. Overall, the right approach would be humane, among other things.

3. Verify the Qualification of the Trainers

Unfortunately, some people think that experience is only what it takes to properly train a dog. That someone has owned and reared canines for a long time does not necessarily mean that he/she has been doing a good job.

As a result, you need to consider other things besides experience when choosing facilities. For starters, verify the qualifications of the trainers in the facility.

This is why you should be conversant with reputable training organizations that train and/or certify these professionals. The IACP (International Association of Canine Professionals) and the CCPDT (Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) are prime examples.

4. Pay a Visit

There are so much that even below-par facilities would do in the spirit of getting you to enroll your dog. That includes making false claims about the effectiveness of their training approaches and the qualifications of trainers.

As a result, one of the ways to truly tell that a facility is capable is by seeing for yourself. This is why visiting the facility and observing a class is strongly recommended. There are certain important things to pay attention to while you are at it, and they include:

• Class Sizes – Your dog is likely to be given adequate attention if the class size is small.
• Environment – The surroundings should be conducive enough. That includes being very stress-free and enabling the execution of various training activities.
• Cleanliness & Safety – There should be feasible safety measures in place in addition to the surroundings being clean.

The above-listed should be considered the bare minimum. As a result, facilities that do not tick the right boxes based on these should better be ruled out.

5. Hear from Others

It makes sense to hear especially from people who have used the services of these facilities. So, ask a family, friend, neighbor, or even colleague who has used the services of a dog-training facility.

Fortunately, there are also ways to get recommendations and reviews online. Platforms like Yelp, Google, and several others make this possible and you may want to utilize them for this purpose.

Wrap Up

Five (5) expert tips for identifying and choosing the right facility for dog training have been discussed in this article. By the way, these tips do not only apply in Orange County but in other places as well. So, make the most of them even if you are not in this part of California or the country at large.

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