Puppy Training Tips

Bringing home a new puppy can be a delightful event indeed, however, it can also be stressful. After all, puppies usually don’t come house-trained. Hence, you will need a fair amount of time as well as patience to train your puppy in order to teach him/her behavior that is acceptable and to adjust to your household routines. All dogs need to be trained to obey certain basic commands, and the earlier the training starts, the better. By training your puppy, it will enable you to control his/her behavior, which is an important element in owning a dog responsibly.

Although it is important to start puppy training early, however, it should also not be too early. Raising a puppy is akin to raising a newborn child. The best time to begin puppy training is from 6 to 8 weeks of age, perhaps a little earlier if your puppy is ready for it. It’s just that it is always a good idea to teach habit-forming things as early as possible

Here are some puppy training tips that can help you to not only teach your little furry pet the intricacies of potty training and socializing, but also enable you to bond for a lasting relationship with him/her, based on love and trust.

House Training: House training, or potty training, is one of the most important tasks, that requires a lot of patience and kindness as well as a fair amount of time. First of all, remember you will not get immediate results. First, decide on an area that your puppy can use as a toilet, and then you will need to take him/her there about once in an hour initially. Praise your puppy when he/she does what is required of him/her in the demarcated area. However, do not treat your puppy harshly if there is an accident in the house. Just clean up the area thoroughly, so that there is no scent remaining, and make a note of the time. Puppies usually turn around in circles or sniff the floor when they want to urinate or pass stools. So, keep a sharp watch for these signals and take him/her outside immediately. Remember that being small, with a small bladder, your puppy may need to urinate quite frequently. Plus, when he/she is frightened, feels threatened, or gets excited, you r puppy may lose control. Also, urination and defecation are often used as territorial activity.

Do Not Punish: Rubbing you puppy’s nose in his/her urine or feces really is quite useless – you puppy simply will not understand. Neither is swatting him/her on the nose with a newspaper rolled up a good idea – you puppy will only begin fearing you. Positive training methods, kindness, and patience are the only ways to train your puppy.

Teaching Simple Commands: It’s best to start teaching simple commands like ‘come’ and ‘no’ as early as possible. However, again, patience, consistence, and persistence are requisite needs. When your puppy does something undesirable, such as chewing up a rug, use a firm voice to say ‘no’, removing the rug firmly. The command ‘come’ can be taught by standing some distance away, calling out ‘come’ in a friendly way, while also giving visual clues. You could also squat down and clap your hands. It is important to look and sound happy. When your puppy does respond, praise him/her and give, but if he/she does not, they do not scold him/her. It will only scare your puppy. Training should be a positive and happy time, for both you and your puppy.

Socializing Your Puppy: This is a process by which you puppy will learn to recognize as well as interact appropriately with other dogs, people, other species of animals like cats, as well as different surroundings, and so on. Remember, until your puppy is fully vaccinated you need to protect him/her from being exposed to other dogs that may be carrying disease or dog feces and urine. However, your puppy can be socialized by carrying him/her to various places, and allowing him/her to be exposed to new things. Whenever you puppy displays good behavior, reinforce it by praises and treats.

Using Friendly and Firm Tones: Modify the tone of your voice according to the command you use. For example, when giving commands like ‘stay’, ‘down’, and ‘sit’ use a firm voice, whereas when teaching ‘come’ or ‘heel’ use a friendlier voice.

And finally, make sure not to make the training sessions too long, after all, your puppy is just a baby. About 15 minutes per session is about enough, and it is best to teach a single thing at a time. After each training session, spend a little time in playing with your pup. This will enable him/her to associate training time with fun, which will help him to learn faster and anticipate the training positively.