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| Phil Marr, Owner of Park Cities Obedience School |
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Phil Marr, the owner of Park Cities Obedience School, adopted a Doberman in 1969 and was unhappy with the training classes he enrolled in. He found their methods too harsh. “They trained the dogs as if they were in the military.” Phil knew, because he’d just come home from the Navy.
A college student at the time, he attended psychology classes in which the focus was behavior modification. He saw no reason that many of the methods covered in his classes couldn’t be used to train dogs, and decided that he could do a better job than the so called ‘experts.’ He’s been training dogs ever since.
Clients of Park Cities Obedience School attest to his skill as a trainer, and the overall quality of the Park Cities School. From the family pet that needs to learn good behavior, to champion showdogs, Phil has trained them all, and has advice and tips to share about the best way to train your dog.
Don’t treat your dog like a person. This may be the most important piece of advice Phil offers. “Dogs don’t think, act or reason like people, so don’t treat your dog like one.” While dogs feel emotions, they don’t feel or react to them the same as we do. A dog left alone might make a mess, but where it might appear it was done out of spite, it was likely boredom or anxiety. Spite is a human motivation, not a canine one. Assigning your emotions and motivations to your dog, and reacting to them in that context, will make training your dog much more difficult. Remember that dogs are pack animals. They need you to be the leader and take charge. If you don’t, your dog will assume the leadership role, and try to take charge of you!
Be patient. “You’ll never accomplish anything by getting mad at your dog.” The time it takes to teach your dog good behaviors varies, depending on your dog and the amount of time you spend training. Patience is key.
Stress correct behaviors. “Show the dog the correct way to do it first, several times. The only way for the dog to learn the correct behavior, is by doing it correctly from the beginning. Otherwise the dog gets more attention when he does it wrong, and you correct it, and that just doesn’t work.”
Bad puppy behavior is not ‘normal’ behavior. “Don’t think that if your puppy is chewing on things, for instance, that it’s okay because he’s a puppy and will grow of it,” Phil says. “That won’t happen. If you don’t correct the dog now, the bad behavior will become a habit. The mother dog would correct the pup for doing something wrong—so should you.”
Avoid using food to train. Use praise, play sessions and LOTS of petting to ‘treat’ your dog instead of biscuits, snacks or other food. “If you use treats, the dog might learn to sit or roll over, but only if it thinks you have food in your hand.”
Put a leash on your dog while you train. A leash doesn’t make your dog do anything, but it keeps you from spending a great deal of your training time actually running after a rebellious dog. “Students sit at desks for a reason. Imagine trying to teach a classroom full of kids all up walking around. Using a leash simply keeps your dog in the training area.”
Don’t let dogs form a pecking order. In multiple dog homes, the natural tendency of the dogs is to have an alpha dog, or leader, and the rest follow in a prescribed order. “Don’t let them form a hierarchy, or the ‘lower’ dogs will always be looking to take over the top spot. You must be the pack leader, and the dogs stay equals.”
Always teach your dog new things. Phil says that dogs love to learn, and are in fact, always learning new things. “If you don’t teach your dog what you want him to know, he’ll learn something else. Regular teaching makes them smarter and keeps them occupied. It makes every aspect of dog care easier.”
Dogs love people, and they want to learn and be praised. With patience, good techniques like using a leash and giving praise instead of treats, you’ll have a better rate of success when training your dog. Or you can let the experts help, by enrolling in your dog in a class at Park Cities Obedience School, where Phil and a team of experienced trainers will teach your dog basic obedience and good behaviors, and teach you how to continue the training once you take your dog home.
For more information, or to enroll your dog, call Park Cities Obedience School at 214-369-7267 or email pcoschool@sbcglobal.net
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