Welcoming a new dog into your family is an exciting time for everyone. There’s so much to enjoy about having a new addition, from looking forward to taking them out and about with you, to receiving all the doggy cuddles you could wish for. However, despite all the fun, it’s important to make sure that you’re giving your dog the best possible start in life. A key component of this is ensuring that they receive the correct training as early on as possible, so that they can continue to thrive and grow into well-rounded, well-behaved adults. Despite the importance of training, it’s all too common for families to keep putting it off. After all, it takes time, effort, and often investment to train your dog into exhibiting the behaviours that you want. As a result, it can be easy to let a busy lifestyle get in the way. But, it’s important not to delay training, as this can have repercussions on your dog’s behaviour that can last throughout their life. 

In today’s blog post, we’ll be going through some of the reasons why you shouldn’t delay training, based on our years of experience as a family-run dog training and boarding business. If you want to learn how to improve your relationship with your new dog, and ensure that they are trained effectively from an early age, this will be useful for you. 

Why do owners delay dog training?

Owning a dog is a big commitment, often on top of the various other commitments you may have going on in your life! Of course, the vast majority of dog owners want the very best for their dogs. But, it can be difficult to fit all of this into a busy lifestyle. However, when dog training is delayed, the dog can show signs of poor behaviour, either as a puppy, or an adult dog. Then, there is the problem of there being so much conflicting information out there when it comes to dog training. It can be hard to decipher what the right way forward is, when there seems to be plenty of ‘experts’, especially on the internet, that all advocate for different things when it comes to training. This can lead to plenty of confusion, and the fear of failure from dog owners who just want to do what’s right by their four-legged friend! 

What we see very often is that people are encountering a behavioural challenge with their dog. So, search online for information regarding that challenge. Google will throw out some results, and the owners make some half-hearted attempts to address it. This often doesn’t lead to much success. Usually, this is because the information isn’t right, and the underlying issue relates to the dog’s wider behaviour. Dogs need to learn that they don’t get everything for free, and they need to pay attention to their owner and work with them to display the behaviours they want, in order to get the rewards that they crave!

Unfortunately, dogs who don’t learn this often can’t live totally fulfilling lives, because their owners can’t let them off the lead when out and about. This can lead to further behavioural issues, which starts the cycle all over again! But, with the correct training, there’s no reason why you and your dog can’t build up a trusting relationship, and learn the skills you need to have a great life together. 

At Royvon, we know that dog training can be stressful and worrying. It doesn’t just rely on your actions, but also on your dog’s, and it’s impossible to predict how another species will react with 100% accuracy! So, even the most loving owners can delay dog training and simply hope for the best. They hope that their dog will grow out of their bad behaviours, and develop into a well-rounded adult dog on their own. However, this is probably not going to happen. Your dog needs guidance to learn what behaviours are good, and which are to be avoided. But, if you’ve been procrastinating on dog training, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It can be tough to get right, especially if you’re new to it and don’t know which methods to use. The most important thing is that you really want to learn, in order to give your dog the best life that you can. So, it’s a good idea to start training as soon as possible, as the sooner you start, the sooner you and your dog will be able to live a more harmonious life together! 

Don't delay dog training

Prompt training ensures that you and your dog can make the most of your lives together

How can you ensure the best level of dog training success?

Dog training doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s a process that takes place over the course of your dog’s entire life. For many owners, this can be a daunting prospect. Royvon’s managing director, Darren, has worked with countless families and their dogs to help them achieve the training results that they need. Here, he talks about why you shouldn’t procrastinate on your dog training, and what help is at hand to ensure that the training process goes as smoothly as possible!

“When it comes to procrastinating on your dog training, I get it. There are countless reasons why you might do it. We all procrastinate on various areas of our lives, such as getting fit, learning a skill that would really help us, getting a new job, and so on. With dog training, I saw the success that my parents had with it from an early age, so it was easy for me to jump straight in and achieve some good results. Once you see how successful it can be, getting started on your dog training is a no brainer. However, other people who have different experiences would say the same thing about areas of my life in which I procrastinate. For me, it’s all about showing dog owners that training isn’t rocket science, it just needs to be done in the right way. This is a message that I’m really passionate about. I don’t mind where people go for help, whether it’s Royvon or somewhere else. All I urge people to do is get started and start seeing the results, which in itself will give you the motivation to continue with your dog training journey.”

“I’ve seen countless numbers of people miss perfect training opportunities based on their dog’s age, because they procrastinate on training until their dog gets older. While it’s not true that you ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’ it does become far more challenging the older a dog gets. And, as more learned behaviours become present, the procrastination just gets worse as owners worry that their dogs just won’t change. My advice to any dog owner who’s experiencing behavioural problems, no matter how big or small, is to not accept the hand they’ve been dealt. Just get started with training. There’s no need to wait until everything is perfect to get started, as it probably never will be! Just get started and see the difference that it can make to you and your dog’s lives.”

What options are available?

Here at Royvon, we have a number of different dog training options to help you overcome any hurdles that you may be facing. We have two main routes. Firstly, we can help you to train your dog, or we train your dog for you then help you to take the training further. The latter means that your dog stays with us on a residential basis and learns everything they need to know, while also having fun! If you’ve found that life has got in the way of your training efforts in the past, this may be the best option for you. Find out more about our residential training option with this short video:

Whichever option is best for you, we are on hand to help and guide you through everything that you need to know. We’ll give you the best advice to suit your individual needs and circumstances. So, if you want the dog of your dreams- one that you can be truly proud of- help is at hand! Why not book in a one hour assessment with us to discuss your needs? We can help take you from someone who’s always been meaning to get around to training, to the dog owner that you’ve always aspired to be!

Don’t forget to read our blog posts and check out the rest of the videos on our YouTube channel to find out more about everything we do at Royvon.