Dog training

Dog training is the application of behavior analysis which uses the environmental events of antecedents and consequences to modify the dog behavior, either for it to assist in specific activities or undertake particular tasks, or for it to participate effectively in contemporary domestic life. While training dogs for specific roles dates back to Roman times at least, the training of dogs to be compatible household pets developed with suburbanization in the 1950s.

History

In around 127-116 B.C. a Roman farmer, Marcus Varro, recorded advice on raising and training puppies for herding livestock. His writings indicate that not only was dog training for specific tasks well established, but that the value of early training was recognized.

Types of training

There are many types of dog training and many objectives, from basic obedience training to specialized areas including law enforcement, search and rescue, hunting, working with livestock, and protection or guarding. Training may also include behavioral training, obedience training, and agility training.

Behavioral training

Behavioral training aims to address behavior problems like chewing, jumping, barking, digging, and more. This type of training focuses on discouraging inappropriate behavior or teaching dogs to behave in certain ways in certain situations.

Obedience training

Obedience training usually refers to the training of a dog and the term is most commonly used in that context. It ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit," "down," "come," and "stay," to high level competition.

Agility training

Agility training is a sport where a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. Dogs run off-leash with no food or toys as incentives. The handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles, except accidentally.

Methods

There are a variety of established methods of animals training, each with its adherents and critics. Some of the better known dog training procedures include the Koehler method, clicker training, motivational training, electronic training, model-rival training, dominance-based training, and relationship-based training.

See also

• Dog_behavior
• Dog_agility
• Dog_sports
• Dog_communication
• Dog_intelligence

References

Dog training Resources
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