Travis, 36, who grew up on a farm in Perry, Oklahoma and has worked with all sorts of animals won CBS’ dog training competition show, Greatest American Dog in 2008 with his beloved boxer, Presley! So it’s safe to say he’s a pro. Lucky for you, he’s telling HollywoodLifers all the benefits of why you should invest in a dog trainer to help your puppy learn basic obedience that will make your relationship with your cuddly babe even better! Plus, you won’t be having sleepless nights from howling when you lock your new addition in their crate.
1. Answers! “One of the reasons why I enjoy helping people is to be able to provide them answers when they don’t have any. A lot of people can learn a lot of things in books or YouTube but there’s so much info and it becomes overwhelming.
2. You’re Doing It Wrong! “When people don’t get dog trainers or guidance they do a lot of things the wrong way. When they do that it encourages bad behaviors when they think they are doing the right thing. We can’t love our dogs too much, we can only love them at the wrong time.”
3. Crate Training! “I always want to help the owner understand the idea of the crate, one reason we use it is because dogs are den animals in the wild, it’s innate in them to want to go in a place that they can call their home, sleep, take refuge and escape all the outside distractions. Dogs aren’t humans, they are still animals and even though we may want to treat them like people, they are not. A crate is one of the biggest assets in house training, as owners we are really good at telling them what not to do, but we are not good at communicating at what we do want.”
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4. Punishment! “The crate is never used as punishment! It must be used as a positive place to go. The number one thing is to feed them in their crate. When you are accalamating them, leave the door open, anytime they fall asleep you can place them in their crate. The same way we feel about their bedroom is the way we want them to feel about their crate.”
5. You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks! “We can train older dogs! Older dogs have had habits for a longer period of time and to teach them a new habit or trick might take them longer. But as long as they are motivated, any dog can be trained!”
To learn more about Travis check out his website here!
HollywoodLifers, did you hire a dog trainer for your dog?
— Chloe Melas