This is super important, especially here in Dallas-Fort Worth. We have a lot of great trainers that we have vetted and used at our practice, but there is still a huge population of trainers using techniques that have been proven to be unhelpful and harmful to dogs. Fundamentally, we want to find a trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods, meaning rewarding the pet if it does what you want it to do. For instance, you give them a treat when they sit - that's positive reinforcement training. Not only should they use this technique, but it should be the foundation of what they do as trainers. Make sure that they're not just saying, "Yes, we do positive reinforcement," but at the same time, they're using a choke collar for some circumstances.

Make sure that they're not using any of those negative techniques. That could be challenging if you don't thoroughly understand these various techniques. In our practice, we understand these techniques well because we see a lot of behavior-related cases. One of my associates has vetted many trainers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and we have a list of trainers that we supply to our clients and that we have vetted. We are confident that these trainers will use the appropriate techniques as it is very important that they do so.

No. Of course, younger dogs typically tend to respond more readily to training, but older dogs can be trained with the right hands and appropriate techniques. With positive reinforcement-based training, an older dog can absolutely be trained.

The short answer is no, absolutely not. An example of how people have implemented negative reinforcement is when a puppy goes to the bathroom in the house, they put the puppy's nose in the urine or spank them. Two components to this are important to understand. Firstly, research shows that dogs will not learn the behavior you want them to by teaching punishment-based behavior. You're not teaching them what you want by doing that. Secondly, you will potentially end up causing your pet to be more fearful and anxious in certain situations by implementing punishment-based behavior. It not only fails to teach them the appropriate behavior, but it's also causing more harm in the long run and leads to your pet being driven by fear.

That's a great question. This is an important topic to focus on in a young puppy. You will have the most success when you start to work on socialization when you get your puppy at six to eight weeks old until they're 12 to 14 weeks old. After that age, you can still socialize them, but it will be less impactful than in the early stage. It's essential not to wait until puppies are fully vaccinated to start socializing them because they will only get vaccinated after 16 weeks. If you put them in a bubble and don't get them out in the world at all, you're going to set your puppy up for failure when it comes to getting acclimated to the world outside of their home environment. The best way to approach it is to find the balance. Don't take your puppy to the dog park where there will be too much exposure to potentially infectious diseases. Still, they do need to get out and get exposed to other dogs and people outside. You can also have people come into the house to interact with your puppy.

Ensure that any other animals they're around are healthy and properly vaccinated. The other key aspect of socialization is not just getting them out there but also making sure it's a positive experience. The best way to do that is food, in most situations. We're not talking about giving food as a reward, but instead frequently giving them a small treat throughout an experience to make it more favorable for them. You want to get your dog used to being in the car; that's part of socialization in a way. When you're in the car with them, give them a treat every so often to mark it as a fun experience. When they're interacting with somebody new, have that person provide them with a treat. Make sure they're getting exposed to the world in a well-thought-out way and ensure the exposure is upbeat and fun for the puppy.

Some of the basic ones that most people think of are "sit," "stay," and even some target training, which can be really useful. Having them respond to those basic commands can be very helpful. For example, if you can teach your pet to sit and stay on command or go to a particular location and sit or stay, you can prevent things like your dog slipping out the front door when it's open, which can be really dangerous in some situations. So I think the elementary stuff is essential.

Obedience training should start as soon as possible. The sooner you can start, the better your success, especially in a younger puppy. When you start at a young age, you will have more success with basic obedience, particularly regarding socialization, which is often not focused on enough in young dogs.