4 Tips for Training Your New Puppy
Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting time for your family. You probably have visions of watching your serene, well-behaved dog growing up along with your children and frolicking in the park with them, then returning immediately to your side when called. However, you won’t achieve your ideal of a well-behaved adult dog without a lot of work during their puppy years. If you’re prepared to mold that cute, rambunctious puppy into the ideal family pet, then get ready to take some notes. We’ll go over some tips for you and your family to make training easier and to make both your and your puppy’s life better and more fulfilling.
Begin training immediately and keep a regular schedule
You should start training your puppy as soon as possible. The longer you wait to begin training your new pup, the more difficult it will be for both of you. At the beginning, you should spend around 15 minutes training your puppy. You should use a space that is quiet and free from distractions. Training outside doesn’t always work for puppies because the outdoors are full of many new smells and sounds to explore. Make sure to end your sessions on a positive note so that your puppy sees them as an opportunity to bond with you.
Establish rules right away
If your dog isn’t allowed on the bed or in certain rooms, or if feeding will take place in a specific area of the house, you’ll need to enforce these rules from the very beginning. With early training, your dog will learn quickly what is and is not acceptable. Be sure that everyone in your house knows and understands these rules, as well, and do your best to make sure that they follow them. You can’t police everyone in your house all the time, but consistency from you specifically (as your dog’s new pack leader) will be extremely helpful.
Work on potty training as soon as possible
Whether you’re adopting a puppy right at the earliest age when it can come home (typically seven or eight weeks) or if your puppy is a bit older, potty training as soon as possible is very important. Consider keeping your puppy’s bed or crate in your room. This way, you will be more likely to hear it whimper or whine during the night, which will alert you to the fact that your puppy might need to go outside and relieve itself before your alarm goes off. After you wake up, you should take your puppy outside as soon as possible. At first, you should always leave through the same door and head over to a specific spot to help your puppy learn what’s expected of them.
In addition, you should keep an established feeding schedule in place. This can help to make bathroom breaks more predictable. After your puppy eats, you should be prepared to take it outside within at least a half hour. Puppies often eat several smaller meals during the day, so be sure to pay attention to their need for a bathroom break afterward. Pay equal attention to when your puppy drinks water, so you can be ready to take it out. Establishing a potty spot where your dog understands that it needs to go to the bathroom will help it with this early training. Take your puppy there and wait patiently. Once it begins to go, give an associated voice command such as “go potty” and then give it lots of affection and perhaps a treat afterwards. Hopefully, it will begin to associate potty time with praise and treats from you.
Stagger training sessions
Remember that training sessions don’t need to occur all at once or at one set time. Rather, it can be more effective, particularly for young puppies, to incorporate two or three 5-minute sessions where you practice some training throughout the day. Puppies don’t have a very long attention span, so trying to force it into training for a long period could have negative consequences. Keep your training positive; it’s the most effective way to get your puppy to learn basic commands such as “sit” or “lay down.” Only use the voice command once, then use food to lure your puppy into position. Try not to repeat the command over and over so that you don’t accidentally train them to think that “sit” needs to be repeated several times before it is obeyed.
Once they’ve performed correctly, praise your pet with comments such as “Good dog.” Over the long term, this praise and affection will motivate your pet to perform tricks. When training your dog to come, avoid yelling at it if it doesn’t respond immediately to your call. Rather, lavish it with praise when it does come. Otherwise, you risk teaching your dog that coming means that it will get reprimanded, which you definitely don’t want to happen.