You’d be forgiven for thinking that, unless you want to enter agility competitions or show your dog professionally, dog training stops once your new puppy graduates from six weeks of school having learnt to sit, give paw and more or less stay.

Dog training, however, is an important and ongoing part of responsible dog ownership and a great way to spend time with and enrich the life of your four legged bestie.

In this blog, prepared with the help of professional dog trainer Carla Strydom from Canine Planet, we share 5 reasons to keep taking your dog to training classes even after puppy school has finished:

• There’s no such thing as a bad dog. If you don’t take the time to teach your dog what’s expected of him i.e. sitting and waiting before going through a door, not jumping up on guests, walking nicely on a lead, he’ll be unruly and frustrating to be around. A professional trainer can show you how to curb unwanted behaviours (jumping, excessive chewing, pulling on a lead, etc.) and replace them with the responses you’d like instead. Your dog doesn’t know what is expected of him if you don’t take the time to teach him.
• Dogs love to learn. Much like people, going to class to learn new things opens up neural pathways in a dog’s brain. The more often a dog is taught new cues and behaviors, the quicker they’ll pick them up in future, and a clever dog is super fun to train with.
• One on one time with your dog helps him to bond with you. When a dog is bonded with their owner, they are more likely to listen to cues, come when they’re called and stick around on a walk. Let’s face it, we all love to be our dogs’ number one fan.
• Dogs don’t enjoy being shut out of the action when guests come over, but if you have a dog that jumps up, this could well be what happens. Well mannered and polite dogs are a joy to have around and keeping up with training will mean that your dog behaves well when new people come over.
• Exercise doesn’t always have to be physical. If you have a busy, energetic dog, you’ll probably find that they’re pooped after a training session. Mental stimulation is as important as going for a walk and regular training provides a great way to keep your dog’s mind entertained.

We recommend working with a professional, qualified and skilled dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods to train dogs. This essentially means that good behaviors are rewarded during a training session and there’s no punishment involved if your dog doesn’t quite get things right. Instead they are set up for success to make the right choices and give you the good behaviour that you’re looking for.

Have you kept up with dog training after puppy school? Let us know, we’d love to hear about what you and your dog are working on right now.