It’s January! It’s National Train Your Dog Month! Let’s Go!

  Posted on January 9, 2018  by joyofliving  No comments

Did you know January is National Train Your Dog Month? Yes!  That’s right! It is time to train your canine and build a lasting bond with him or her.

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers began this campaign back in 2010 in an effort to bring awareness to the importance of socialization and training. Above all, they wanted to emphasize that training your dog is not only easy, but fun, too!

Why Is National Train Your Dog Month In January?

Why the month of January? Well, this is the perfect month since many dogs and puppies are brought home to loving families over the holidays. What better way to jump-start the New Year with a resolution to bond with and train the newest member of the family?

Training Benefits

There are so many benefits attached to training your dog. It allows them to become happy and healthy companions. Many dogs are surrendered to animal shelters every year for behavioral issues. Understanding dog’s body language and providing proper, positive and gentle methods of training resolve most behavior issues.

Understanding Dog Body Language

In addition to training, it’s important to understand your dog’s body language.  This can prevent your dog from becoming stressed or afraid, potentially acting out on another dog or person.

Common signals your dog may be stressed include:

• Lip Licking. You may think your dog is craving a treat, but licking his lips is a common sign he’s becoming stressed.
• Yawning.  Another common dog stress signal.  If someone he doesn’t know well suddenly starts approaching him, he may yawn in response.
• Head Turn.  Have you recently added a puppy to your family and your older dog often turns his head away from him?  This is a sign your older dog doesn’t want to play, and the puppy is stressing him out.
• Walking in a Curve.  This can be exasperating, especially when you’re trying to get your dog inside.  You get angry and yell at him.  Walking in a curve is a dog’s way of appearing non-threatening and diffusing a stressful situation.

For more information on this exciting month, please go to apdt.com and get started today! Thanks to trainyourdogmonth.com for sharing this information!