Start Training Your Puppy When It’s Young!
There’s nothing like the love and excitement people feel while holding a young puppy in their arms. A puppy might seem to be a special treasure in your life, but it can quickly become a problem if the puppy is not well-trained.
If you’re gonna have a dog, it needs to be trained. Plain and Simple. An untrained puppy will most likely grow up to be misbehaved and mischievous. The best time to train a new puppy is NOW!
Getting to Know Your Puppy
Every dog has a unique personality, much like humans. Two dogs of the same breed can display similar characteristics, but totally different personalities.
One puppy may be happy and eager to please you, while the other may be strong-willed and likely to test its boundaries with its handler.
You’ll need to be aware of your puppy’s personality and be able to train it accordingly. Regardless of personality and breed, most puppies can be trained effectively.
Walking a Fine Line
If your puppy is left alone for short periods of time, it’s more likely to sleep rather than get into mischief. However, you’ll probably regret leaving your puppy alone for too long.
The same thing goes for leaving your puppy alone in a car. You’ll obviously want to leave the windows partially down for air circulation, but not enough for the dog to escape.
It goes without saying… never leave your dog in a car during hot weather!
There have been numerous cases where dogs have succumbed to heat exhaustion while being left in a car. Your puppy should never be left alone in a vehicle for more than 5 or 10 minutes.
Always make sure your puppy has enough room to move around. If it’s being held in a crate, the crate should be big enough for the puppy to move around comfortably.
It’s important to remember that most puppies can’t hold their bladder much longer than an hour or so. Make sure you’re never away from your dog long enough for it to relieve itself in the crate, or somewhere else in the house.
When you return home to your dog after being away for a while, you should greet your puppy in a loving way. This will ensure your dog’s happiness and excitement to see you. Don’t go too crazy though, or your puppy might do the same. The last thing you want is for your dog to have separation anxiety every time you leave the house. So you’re kind of walking a fine line… everything should be done in moderation.
Patience is Important
You can never be too patient when training your puppy. Remember that it’s very young, and needs time to learn what you’re teaching. Some puppies learn faster than others, so be prepared for anything.
Four Essential Puppy Training Words to Know
You’ll need to train your puppy to understand 4 main words:
- Their name. While training your dog, remember to keep using its name until it associates the name-calling with a subsequent command.
- Sit. By training your puppy to sit, you’ll make certain that it doesn’t attempt to run across the street when it’s outside. As the training makes some progress, you can train your dog to sit for all kinds of reasons, such as eating.
- Come. Each time you call your dog to “Come!”, you should offer a reward in the form of a treat. Eventually, your dog will usually come to you whenever you call.
- No. The word “No!” is definitely going to be used quite often, even though it’s not a command to do something. “No” will be helpful during potty training, or if it does something it shouldn’t. Your voice should be firm so that your puppy will eventually understand that you are disapproving of whatever it’s doing.
Our Final Thoughts
These training tips are just a beginning when it comes to puppy training. But they’re also a good place to start. Try to be consistent with your training, and keep in mind that short training sessions done frequently are better than one long session.
Puppies get tired quickly, so try to keep each training session under 10 minutes. For example, you can try to keep training sessions to 5 minutes or so, 4 or 5 times per day. Make sure you have fun, and enjoy the puppy training process. For a lot more expert advice on puppy training, CLICK HERE or on the image below.
