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Training Your Puppy
How to train a puppy is one of the most common questions raised by new dog owners. You have just brought this new creature into your lives and before too long you realise that unless you do something about it, his boisterous, carefree puppy ways are going to turn into a real headache when he is five times his current size and weight.
With that in mind, the following are what I consider the ten most important principles to take into account when training a puppy.
The Ten Principles of Puppy Training
Beginning Training
1. Utilise the first three months of the puppy's life to shape the puppy's behaviour. This time should be spent teaching the puppy where it can and can't go in your house, getting the puppy into a routine so that it knows its boundaries and potty training the puppy.
2. Don't start formal obedience training with your puppy until it has reached at least three months of age. Your puppy goes through drastic change during his first three months where the central nervous system is developing. A puppy will not be able to understand or cope with formal obedience training before then.
3. When you do start formal obedience sessions at three months of age do not make the sessions any longer than four to five minutes long. Break the sessions up so that your puppy never becomes bored and ensure that you make the sessions happy so that your puppy is left wanting more. This is crucial.
The most important commands
4. At 3 months of age concentrate on the three most important commands, 'down', 'stay' and the command that I consider is by far the most important-'come'. (The come command is crucial, it can save your dogs life). The way to introduce these commands is as follows: "When ever your dog sits or goes into the down position on its own free will, simply state the command 'sit' or 'down' to coincide with the action". Likewise, when ever you walk away from your puppy and want the puppy to remain where it is, simply state the command 'stay'.
You can even do this before the puppy is 3 months old because you are not putting any pressure on the puppy. When the puppy is 3 months old it will then be ready to associate the command with the action in formal obedience sessions.
Praising and Rewarding the Puppy
5. Never yell at, hit, punish or scold your puppy during obedience sessions, this will only hinder your puppy's learning by having a negative effect on his confidence. Instead concentrate on positive reinforcement i.e. giving praise and/or a reward for completing the command. If the puppy does not do as you wish, simply withhold the praise and/or reward and move on.
6. Use food rewards 100% of the time when you start formal obedience sessions with your puppy. However, slowly withdraw them to around one reward for every twenty commands over the coming six months. That way your puppy will always be motivated because he will never know when the next reward is coming and he will be looking for it.
The two steps forward-one step back Principle
7. Do not make each training session progressively longer and harder for your puppy. Concentrate on the 'two steps forward -one step back' principle. This means, progress over two training sessions, then regress and make it easier on the third session. For example, you are teaching your puppy the 'stay' command. On Monday you have your pup stay for twenty seconds, five metres away from you, Tuesday thirty seconds seven metres from you and Wednesday forty seconds ten metres from you and so on. When you consistently progress like this you are de-motivating your puppy by making it harder for him every time that you teach the command. The correct way to go about this would be as above for Monday and Tuesday, however on Wednesday take the exercise back to fifteen seconds at three metres. Then progress again on the following day.
The Retrieve
8. When ever your puppy brings an item such as a ball, stick or any toy to you, do not immediately reach for the item. Instead pat the puppy on any part of his body except his head and ignore the item at first. If you immediately reach for items that your puppy brings to you, he will always feel threatened when ever he has an item in his mouth. This will hinder progress with retrieve exercises and even with games such as retrieve with a ball or stick.
The Collar and Lead
9. During the first three months familiarise your puppy with the lead and collar. Do this by introducing the collar first. Show the puppy the collar and let him smell and investigate it before you place it on him. Do this in a positive environment, for instance when you are outside playing with the puppy. After he has investigated it, simply place the collar on the puppy with minimal fuss, give a food reward so that the puppy has a positive association with the collar and continue playing with the puppy as if nothing has happened. If the puppy becomes distracted and starts pawing at the collar etc. distract the puppy with a toy or food item to take his mind off the collar. Very soon, your puppy will have forgotten that the collar is there. After two to three days of wearing the collar, introduce the lead. Again, do this under positive circumstances. Allow the puppy to investigate it and then clip it onto the collar then give a food reward. Allow the puppy to run around an area where he cannot get tangled, with the lead dragging behind him on the ground for around five to ten minutes. Extend this to around thirty minutes over the following week and then start picking up the lead for short periods while slowly walking around with the puppy following you.
Enjoy your Puppy
10. Lastly remember to enjoy your puppy. Make learning as stress free as possible. Accept that when you are training a puppy that things will go wrong and when they do move on with minimal fuss. Obedience Training is your responsibility as a dog owner. It is well worth the time and effort because the result is a companion that is always under your control and a pleasure to be around.
Nick Wilson is an author, a former Police Dog Handler, and the owner of K9Koncepts, based in New Plymouth, New Zealand. He focuses on teaching owners how to train their dogs with a simple and forthright approach. He also specialises in teaching owners how to overcome issues with problem dogs, and helps them understand the importance of the Canine Dominance hierarchy in dog training. You can obtain his free report Canine Dominance and the Five Key Factors to Dog Training from http://www.train-your-K9.com/ If you really want to understand canine dominace in more detail, and how it effects dog training, then his recently authored e-book "Train Your K9" is also available from the site.
"I've known Paul personally for many years and have faithfully followed his training advice with wonderful results. I can't recommend him highly enough." -Jeff Probst, host of Survivor So, you have added a puppy into your family. Unfortunately, your puppy hasn't been house trained. Most people think of this process with much distaste. However, the process doesn't have to be difficult for you or your puppy. If done correctly, the process may only take a few weeks and can prevent a lifetime of messes.
The first thing you need to do is to think of your puppy as you would a toddler. Just as you can't expect a toddler to be potty trained in a couple of days, you also can't expect a puppy to be house trained in that time. Properly house training a puppy will probably take several weeks. Your puppy hasn't learned the signals his body is sending him yet to tell him when he needs to eliminate. When he does feel the need to eliminate, he goes, right then and there. Just as a toddler does when they first start potty training, a puppy needs to learn how to indicate to you the need to eliminate and be able to wait to go until you take him to the proper spot. You can begin to teach your puppy these things by first putting a little thought into a plan of action. You need to think about what things trigger your body to need to eliminate and apply those same ideas to your puppy. Most people need to eliminate a little while after eating or drinking, after waking from sleeping, and after waiting a long time between trips to the bathroom. These same things apply to a puppy. You need to keep this in mind when deciding how often to take your puppy outside to eliminate. In general, a puppy should be taken outside to eliminate hourly when first starting to house train the puppy. This may seem like a real hassle, but it will only be for a few days, maybe up to a week, that your puppy will need to go out this frequently. Each time you take the puppy outside to eliminate, say "out" as you are going outside. This will help the puppy learn that he needs to go out to eliminate. This will also help him understand that he needs to communicate with you when he needs to go out. Once you have spent several days taking the puppy out hourly, you can go for longer periods of time in between outings.
Eating is a large cause of elimination. Therefore, you need to consider this when you decide when to take the puppy outside. Generally, a puppy will need to eliminate within an hour of eating. So for the first few days, you should probably feed the puppy immediately after bringing him in from eliminating, so that in about an hour, he will be ready to go out again. Puppies usually need to eat about 3 times a day, so plan your meal times and elimination times accordingly. You should offer your puppy his final meal of the day several hours before bedtime.
When you take your puppy out to eliminate, always take him to the same area. This area will retain the scent of previous eliminations and the puppy will learn to go to this area for all elimination. Reward good pre-elimination behaviors, such as sniffing, with some mild praise. Try to use a consistent command, such as "potty time" with your puppy each time. That way he will learn to associate going outside with eliminating. When your puppy does eliminate in the proper area, reward him with lots of positive praise, some play time, and possibly a treat.
Until your puppy is fully house trained (he has gone 6-8 weeks without an accident) you will need to provide him with constant supervision. This is easier done, of course, if more than one member of the family can assist with supervision. It is highly recommended that you get a new puppy at a time when at least one member of the family can be home with the puppy almost constantly for at least the first week. I recommend adding a puppy to your family during your children's summer vacation from school. That way you have some help with supervising the puppy. Puppies are naturally curious and tend to wander off to explore. When you are occupied with other things, try keeping the puppy near you using a leash. When you can't provide constant supervision because you are sleeping or away from home, confine your puppy to a relatively small area, such as a dog crate or cage. But remember that for the first few weeks, you can't leave the puppy confined for longer than he can physically control his need to eliminate. Always allow your puppy to eliminate immediately before confining him.
This will mean getting up a couple of times a night for awhile, but after a few weeks he will probably be able to go for longer periods of time, especially at night, without eliminating. Most puppies quickly adapt to the crate if you make it fun. Put a couple of toys in there and maybe some food. Your puppy will learn to love his crate as his own special place. If you have to leave your puppy alone for a long period of time, confine him to a larger area, such as a small room or a dog run. He will need enough space to eliminate if the need arises and still have room to lay down several feet away from the elimination. You can put newspaper in the areas you think are most likely for him to choose to eliminate. Again, make his confinement area a fun place for him to be.
Just as with all newly learned behaviors, it will take some practice for your puppy to be fully house trained. That means you need to be prepared to deal with accidents. Remember that punishment is the least effective way of dealing with accidents. Never rub the dog's nose in his elimination. This will only scare him. Only reprimand him if you actually catch him in the act of eliminating. If you do catch him in the act, use a startle technique, such as stomping your foot once or saying a loud "no", to make him stop eliminating. Then immediately take him outside to his elimination area for him to finish. Once he finishes make sure to praise him. Don't reprimand him if you don't catch him in the act, because he won't understand why he is in trouble and it will cause him to be afraid of you. When your puppy does eliminate in the house, make sure you clean the area thoroughly with an odor eliminating cleaner. Since dogs tend to eliminate in areas where they have eliminated before, if you don't get the odor cleaned out of accident areas in your home, the puppy will probably try to eliminate there again. If your puppy begins to eliminate frequently in a certain area of the home, deny him access to that area by closing the door, blocking the area off with gates, or moving a throw rug or piece of furniture over the area. They do sell motion alarms that can be used to teach your puppy to avoid certain areas. Also, most dogs avoid eliminating in areas where they eat, sleep, or play. So putting a dog bed or food bowl in an area can help to avoid future eliminations there.
Puppies are a lot like toddlers who are potty training. It will take them a little time to understand the signals that their bodies are sending them and to learn to signal to you their need to eliminate. With a little patience and a lot of consistency, your puppy will be successfully house trained in no time at all!
Eileen Michalczyk is the mother of four gifted children and owner of dog Hannah. The family has worked together to research the best methods for training dogs to become happy and productive members of a family. For more information on adding a dog into your family, visit her blog at http://darnthatdog.blogspot.com
Kids and puppies make natural friends. This heavily illustrated guide is written especially for kids, with information on dogs and how they develop and grow. Just as important are easy-to-understand instructions for boys and girls on puppy training and care—always with an emphasis on fun. Kids learn what to feed puppies and how much to give them, and how to play games that are safe and enjoyable. They also learn basics of puppy handling and grooming, giving commands and teaching obedience, tricks they can teach young canines, and much more. There are instructive and charming full-color photographs throughout the book. Suitable for ages 9-12, or 4-8 with parents' guidance.Price: $14.99
This super-friendly diary helps puppy owners discover fun ways to raise and their puppy, based on a weekly calendar of growth and development. It offers:Price: $12.99
Bringing home a puppy and introducing her to your home is very
exciting for everyone. The only one who may be anxious about the situation will be the puppy. If you handle your puppy properly when she arrives, she will quickly relax and want to settle into her new home.
Prior to bringing your new puppy into your home, you should puppy proof it. Take a look at your home from the puppy's viewpoint. Does that potted plant sitting in front of the glass door look tempting? You may want to consider moving it to a higher place. What about your favorite collection of teddy bears, or magazines you have in a basket by the sofa? They will most certainly raise the curiosity of your new puppy. As you move these things out of your puppy's reach, remember it is only for a short time. Once your new puppy has learned her place in the family, you can put your things back where they go. Your life should never be dictated by your puppy. However, by removing these curiosity objects from the start, it will allow you to work with your puppy on the basic training she will need to learn.
It is important to understand that as much as you want your new
puppy to be a part of your family, your puppy is still an animal. She will take her cues from her environment. If she is allowed to have free run of the home and access to everything, you are teaching her that she is in charge. Dogs have instincts. The main instinct of dogs is to live in a pack. Your new puppy will assume her new family is her pack. If she picks up the clues that she is her own boss and she can do what she wants, whenever she wants, she is being taught she is the leader of her pack. It is much easier on everyone, including the dog, if she learns from the moment she enters the home that she is not the leader and dictator of the family.
One mistake people make is letting their puppy sleep in a utility room, or kitchen. Dogs are from the wolf family, and really prefer to have a den all their own. Some people assume placing a dog in a crate is cruel. On the contrary, if crates are introduced properly, they will be much loved by the puppy. When planning for a new puppy, do not go out and buy the biggest crate you can find for your puppy thinking she will grow into it. This is the worst mistake owner's make. A crate should be large enough for your pet to stand up and turn around in. Puppies usually learn from their mothers to not soil in their bed area. If the crate is too large, your puppy may designate a portion of her crate for sleeping, and the other half for soiling. You should also never place your puppy's food and water in her crate.
When your puppy is first introduced to the crate, do not simply
put her inside and lock the door. This will greatly disturb her. (You should place the crate in a room in your home where the family gathers. You should not expect the puppy to walk through the entire house to the back guest bedroom to nap. By having the crate in close proximity to the family, the puppy will feel as if she is still hanging out with her pack, even if she is inside her crate sleeping.) Place the crate where it will stay, and simply open the door. You can place a towel in the bottom, and a chew toy inside if you want. Some puppy's are very curious. They will simply walk inside. Others may be a little more shy with the crate. Give your puppy time to warm up to the crate. Once she does enter the crate, praise her. You may want to give her crate a name. When she enters the crate, you can repeat the crates name, and give her a treat.
After your puppy has warmed up to her crate and has entered and
exited it a few times, you can close the door. She may whine and paw at the door. She may even start yelping and barking. This is okay. Do not let her out. After about ten minutes, you can open the door and pick her up. Walk her directly to the area designated for pottying. You should never let your puppy out of her crate and allow her to follow you through the house to go outside. Most puppies will simply squat and go where they please. Once you are outside, set her down. You would then encourage her to potty. Choose a couple of words such as, "Go potty," of "Do your business." She will not have a clue as to what you are saying, at first. But, after repeated attempts and with being given a puppy treat and praise, she will learn what those words mean. Most puppies will need to go out at least every hour during the first few days to familiarize them with their potty area. This is a chance for you to catch them doing their business where they need to. Lavish them with praise.
The first few nights may make you wonder why you even brought the puppy home. The repeated yelping and whining coming from the crate can seriously upset many adults who need their sleep. You should look at your new puppy as the baby in the family. Puppies less than four months of age may need to go out once during the night. When she does, pick up your pup and take her to her designated spot. After she has relieved herself, place her promptly back into the crate. You should never play with your puppy during the night time hours. This will only encourage her to keep the yelping up. After a few days, your puppy will adjust to the night time patterns of her "pack" and everyone will get more rest. Most dogs are able to make it through the entire night without a potty break around 18 weeks.
Some individuals may think it is harsh to scold a puppy. These
individuals may be the same people who have a dog running wild in their home within a year. Dogs which aren't disciplined can wreck havoc on a home. You may return to find a shredded couch, chewed up shoes, and garbage strewn all over the place. If there are other pets in the home, you should also consider their feelings. They will most likely be intimidated by such a tyrant, and fights could commence while you are away.
If you catch your puppy chewing on something she shouldn't, a
firm "no" is usually enough to stop her antics. As with other
forms of training, this may take a few days for her to learn.
This is why you were advised to move precious things away. Some
people have a rolled up newspaper to swat the puppy with if they refuse to heed a "no." The rolled up newspaper does not hurt. It is simply loud, and it teaches the dog you are the alpha in the family, and not her. If she were truly in a dog pack, her alpha would nip her soundly. So, don't feel as if you are mistreating her. In fact, most puppies seem to feel more secure when they know their place.
The most important thing you can do with your puppy besides
introducing a crate immediately, instilling a potty routine, and teaching her what "no" means, is to build the relationship with your new puppy. Get on the floor and play with her. The bond will grow between you and she will love you. This will make your puppy want to please you and be obedient as well. This goes a long way when you start teaching her other basic commands such as "stay" and "come."
Puppy training is often considerably easier than training an adult or adolescent dog. One reason is that the puppy is essentially a "blank slate", untroubled by past training techniques and other issues. Another more indirect reason is that you are probably more likely to spend more time and have greater patience with your new puppy than you would after the "novelty" has worn off somewhat. And it tends to be human nature to have greater patience with young (dogs and people), since we know that they're inexperienced in life and they're usually eager to learn.
In other ways, however, the puppy can be a little more difficult to train than an older dog. One challenge to training a new puppy is that puppies are more easily distractible than older dogs. Everything is new to a puppy, and every new experience provides a new chance for distraction. For this reason, it is best to keep training sessions short when working with a puppy, and to end each training sessions on a positive note.
It is also important to allow the puppy plenty of time to play, and to interact with other puppies and dogs. Socialization training is vital to making your new puppy a good canine citizen, as dog aggression is a growing problem in many areas. A properly socialized dog learns how to play properly with other dogs, and overly aggressive play is punished by the other dogs in the play group.
This type of play learning is something that happens among siblings in litters of puppies. As the puppies play with each other, they learn what is appropriate and what is not. Inappropriate behavior, such as hard biting or scratching, is punished by the other puppies, by the mother dog, or both.
Failure to properly socialize can be a major problem with your dog, and it is an important reason for always buying from a responsible breeder, and never taking your puppy home before he is 8 weeks of age. A large proportion of this important socialization experience occurs in those last weeks with the puppy's mother and siblings.
A responsible and experienced breeder knows this, and will never allow prospective puppy owners take puppies home until 8 weeks of age, but it is nevertheless a very important and useful fact to be aware of yourself.
Unfortunately, many puppies are removed from their mothers and sold or adopted before this socialization has fully occurred. In these instances, even more than ever, puppy play sessions initiated by you are a very important part of any puppy training session. Most good puppy preschool training programs provide time in each session for this type of dog interaction.
Introducing your puppy to new experiences and new locations is also an important part of puppy training. Teaching your dog to be obedient and responsive, even in the face of many distractions, is very important when training dogs and puppies.
One great way to socialize your puppy both to new people and new dogs is to take it on a trip to your local pet store. Many major pet store chains, and some independent ones as well, allow pet parents to bring their furry children, and these stores can be great places for puppies to get used to new sights, sounds and smells. Of course you will want to make sure the store allows pets before heading over, and you will also want to keep the visits fairly short, both for your puppy's sake, and in consideration of the pet store personnel.
It is important for puppy owners to structure their pet's environment so that the puppy is rewarded for good behaviors and not rewarded for others. One good example of this is jumping on people. Many people inadvertently reward this behavior because it can be cute. While it is true that jumping can be cute for a 10 pound puppy, it will not be so cute when that puppy has grown into a 100 pound dog.
Laughing at your puppy, or paying any attention to him at all when he jumps up, will be interpreted as a reward by your puppy - he will learn that he will receive attention from you when he does this. So be very careful not to confuse your puppy. There are two strategies for undesired behaviors - firmly saying "No" to your puppy, and/or ignoring the behavior completely. For "repeat offenders", the ignoring method works best, as it is possible that your puppy will be interpreting ANY attention (even you saying "No" to him) as a reward for the behavior.
Conversely, of course, good behaviors should be rewarded immediately (either with treats or simply with lots of attention and fuss - saying "Good boy" in a very positive tone of voice, and stroking your dog at the same time is often just as well received as treats are). This type of positive reinforcement will result in a well behaved adult dog that is a valued member of both the family and the community at large.
The positive reinforcement method can also be used in potty training the new puppy. Teaching a puppy to use a unique surface such as gravel or asphalt is a good technique. The theory is that the puppy will associate this surface with going potty, and therefore be reluctant to use other surfaces (like your kitchen carpet for example) as a potty. Many puppies can, with a little patience, be readily trained to use the same spot for toileting. This is a great technique, as it will train your puppy to go "on command", and will save you having to scour the back yard when cleaning up after your puppy.
Brigitte Smith runs two websites dedicated to dog training, dog care and dog health: Grab your free special report here: Healthy Happy Dogs or here: Dog Training and Wellness
Kennel Club Books introduces a breakthrough in puppy-training books! Well-known author Charlotte Schwartz has taken a key commonsense principal of canine development and applied it to the education of every new puppy. All dog trainers and behaviorists agree that the first eight weeks of a dog’s life are the most critical time for training and shaping the dog’s behavior and obedience potential. Puppy Training presents a unique and useful approach for new owners, carefully detailing an eight-week home-training program. With over 40 years of experience in dog training, Charlotte Schwartz reveals to the owner the secrets to successful house-training and obedience training. Using positive-training techniques, the author describes her methods of house-training, puppy motivation (treat training), personality tests, basic obedience commands as well as some fun tricks for the puppy. Puppy Training is designed to give owners’ an easy-to-follow sequence, week by week, presenting all of the behaviors that new owners want to teach their puppies—just as if the owners and puppies were in an obedience class.
Readable, entertaining and based on the author’s tried and true methods, this book is illustrated with over 135 color photographs, many of which capture puppies successfully trained by Miss Schwartz. Whether this is your first puppy or one-hundredth, Puppy Training will prove to be an invaluable resource in the education of your new canine companion.
Price: $9.95
Raising a happy, well-adjusted puppy is much like raising a child, owners have to listen to what their puppy's behavior is trying to tell them. And it's far simpler than people think. With the intuitive and step-by-step methods included in this invaluable book from experts Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson, including tips on how to deal with every kind of personality, puppies can be trained quickly and painlessly. With humor, time-tested advice, and an arsenal of tricks, MY SMART PUPPY teaches new dog owners everything they need to know to raise a healthy, happy, and well-adjusted dog.