Do we get mad at our dogs? Do we punish them the wrong way? Do we hit them? Do we yell at them? Hate to say it, but yes, sometimes we do. Why?

First of all, when it comes to training or correcting our dogs, we tend to lose patience. Being patient by far, is the most useful tool we should all learn to acquire and put to good use. We should be relaxed.

Here are a few tips to avoid using harmful physical force and violence:

1. Timing is essential. We, for instance, cannot train a dog when he is tired and wants to go to sleep, or when he is hungry and all he wants to do is eat. We have to work around our dogs. In turn, we need to find the time when we are relaxed, and be willing to train him. Try to find a time where both parties can work in harmony.

2. Keep it short, use a stopwatch if needed. Give yourself and the dog at least 5 to 10 minutes on any given command. Dogs can get bored if the training session is to long, they may lose interest and look for other things to do, and with only 5 or 10 minutes, there is no time for us to get frustrated, angry or impatient.

3. Keep it fun. Incorporate training time with play time. Don't take training to seriously, dogs love to play, and when they are in that mood, take advantage, because they are more receptive to you and are eager to learn. Use a ball or a Frisbee or their favorite toy.

4. A dogs main desire is to please us. Keep this in mind, dogs do not do things to get us upset or angry, we do that all on our own.

Using harmful physical force or violence does not do anything positive for our dogs. It teaches them to be violent which may lead them to be aggressive. It makes them unsociable which is not healthy. We cannot form any kind of a bond with our dogs using these tactics.

Using harmful physical force or violence does not do anything for us either. Getting angry or frustrated uses up a lot of energy, making us tired and impatient. We must learn to focus our energy into doing good and positive things. We must learn to do this when training our dogs, we need to insert positive energy in our daily lives, no matter what the situation, and no matter where we are.

Dogs need our help, we need to understand them and realize what position they are in. Be patient, all it takes is a little time. Maybe in the end it will be our dogs, that teach us about ourselves.