Introduction to Puppy Training
What makes your new puppy the ideal canine companion? Training!
A properly trained dog is a joy to have as part of your life - an untrained dog is a nightmare. Don’t wait to start training your puppy, you can begin as early as the day she comes home.
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Dogs Learn Through Repetition
It is important to remember that dogs learn through repetition, by performing a command over and over again. Don’t expect that you can issue a command a few times and have your dog perform it reliably. It literally takes hundreds of exposures to a command for a dog to have it down pat. The key is patience and to remain calm while training. Don’t get upset if puppy doesn’t perform as expected. Keep up training sessions and you’ll find that one day, the commands will have clicked in puppy’s head.
Hold Training Sessions Every Day
It is important that you devote time everyday to training. Training should be fun and light – both you and your dog should look forward to your sessions together. Training sessions will become important bonding time for the two of you.
Keep a positive attitude as your dog can sense your mood. Dogs are eager to please and love attention. You will find that your puppy will enjoy training sessions!
Keep Training Sessions Short
Training sessions should be short, approximately 5 – 10 minutes in length. A puppy has a very short attention span and you want her to be focused on learning.
If she is tired or if you’ve been training too long, she won’t be effectively learning her commands. Several short sessions are always better than one big long session.
The ideal time to train is before meals when puppy is a little hungry, that way she will work to get her food treats. As puppy learns her commands, you can gradually phase out the food treats and simply praising her for her accomplishments will be reward enough.
Have Puppy's Attention
Always make sure you have puppy's attention before you go to give a command. You never want to issue a command that your puppy doesn't follow.
This can be accomplished by saying your puppy's name or snapping your fingers before giving a command. Make sure your puppy is focused on you and is looking at you.
Only issue a command once and make sure your puppy follows through with it. Make sure you give your pup enough time to respond to a command. Do not continuously repeat a
command in an effort to have your puppy obey if she hasn't followed through with it. All you are teaching is that your pup can pay attention or follow through with the
command only if she feels like it. Puppy MUST know that she is to complete your command each and every time.
Training Treats
There are a wide variety of things you can use as training treats. If you have a picky eater, you may need to experiment with different things before you find something that gets your dog excited. If you have a naturally food motivated dog, this will be easy.
Many dog food manufacturers specifically make training treats that you can buy, but you can even use a handful of your dog’s regular kibble. You can also take dog biscuits, smash them in a plastic bag and use the bits as training treats.
Make sure any treats you use are specifically formulated for puppies. You don’t want your puppy’s tummy getting upset from her training sessions!
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