A GUIDE TO BASIC PUPPY TRAINING TECHNIQUES

A GUIDE TO BASIC PUPPY TRAINING TECHNIQUES

Now that you’ve selected your puppy or dog it’s time to start some basic training. There are several important guidelines that you need to keep in mind when teaching your puppy, the basics about good behaviour. Exercising the right training techniques is what will make or break your training regimen with your dog. Follow these six important guidelines and teaching your puppy will be easier than ever.

 

1 – Be gentle –

Your new puppy is going to be extremely sensitive at first, and as a result, will not be able to handle anything that is too stressful on both an emotional and a physical level. This will also apply to an older dog, especially those that have had little or no training in the past.

Although learning generally quickly takes place, now is the time where your puppy will react poorly to stress or being trained too rough. If fears are picked up during the training process, this will inhibit the puppy’s ability to learn, so ensure you’re gentle, consistent but firm in your training.

2 – Keep each training session brief –

Puppies have even shorter attention spans than children. Your puppy is only going to learn when his or her attention is on you, and you will get the best results if your puppy is tired physically or mentally. Make sure each training session is brief and fun, and then you can move on.

3 – Practice Patience –

Expecting overnight results is only going to frustrate you and cause your training regimen to lose its focus. Relax, and understand that things like this take time. Puppies learn in spurts and often go through brief memory lapses. Always make sure to practice patience even when your puppy appears to forget some of its training from one day to the next.

4 – Exercise Simplicity –

Teaching your puppy should be done in a step by step process in small bite-sized chunks to attain the best results. This is the best way that your puppy will learn. Exercise a simple, laid-back, and calm approach so that your puppy will learn quicker and without fear.

5 – Build Confidence –

Confidence is the core of every healthy adult dog, and that will begin with building confidence in a young puppy. Building confidence in your puppy is simple; all you need to do is spend positive time with your puppy (or rescue dog) as often as possible. This will help to build his or her self-confidence.

 6 – Puppy Training should be Having Fun –

When you first get your puppy, make sure you’re not always in training mode. Instead, you should often step back and play with your dog and have fun with him or her in the process. Training is important, but you can also make it fun so that your puppy is learning without it being formal. Most of all your puppy needs you are friends.

These six fundamental training foundations are vital in preparing your puppy for an effective training regimen and will drive better results when properly integrated into your step by step puppy training process.

Use Guidance not Discipline when Puppy Training

The idea of punishing a puppy makes no sense as it will only breed fear and maybe resentment. without prior guidance how could animal know what you want of them.

All the interactions you have with your puppy is to develop its confidence and a sense of being loved and protected. You are now the head of the pack, the leader, and the way you treat your new puppy will colour the way he views you. It may well affect your entire relationship as well as how he sees other human beings.

Punishing your dog or puppy is unacceptable

If you choose to punish a puppy, the most you will do is scare it and make it wary of you.  If you smack a puppy, even lightly, all it knows is the pain of the strike and the fear it feels at that moment toward you. It doesn’t learn that it was doing something wrong because it’s too young to understand that concept.

Puppy Training should not be Frightening

If your puppy is chewing on something for instance, and you punish it with even a light tap or a quick startling movement, it will probably stop.  It has stopped through sheer shock and possibly pain from the smack. It will have no idea why it has displeased you and will now feel very frightened of you.  A young dog is unable to link the punishment with what it was doing. You’ll start losing its trust as it becomes wary of you, as it is unable to predict when it might be punished again.

Let’s be honest if it’s chewing something it shouldn’t, then that’s your fault. Leaving anything within reach of a puppy is likely to be tested for chewability.

Shouting is not part of Puppy Training

Shouting at a puppy however frustrated you may feel will damage your relationship.  If you startle a puppy with a loud shout, it will probably stop with fright peeing itself in the process.  Without gentle, corrective puppy training you poor confused puppy doesn’t understand the reason your shouting. It won’t do much for you either except raise your blood pressure.  Even the angry tone of your voice and threatening body language will frighten your puppy.

Gaining your Puppy’s Trust

If you use smacking and shouting as punishments on any dog, regardless of age, you’re just generating fear your puppy will take a long time to forget – if ever. A puppy wants to trust you, as you’re its leader and protected. But if he is being constantly frightened and is unable to comprehend the reason why he can’t learn to trust you. This also applies when house training your puppy too.

This can keep the puppy from developing any sort of trust or companionable relation with you. In fact, a frightened puppy can grow into a frightened larger dog, and behavioural problems could start to appear.

Dogs are pack animals

Some dogs will be passive and respond to you in a defeated way.  Your dog might be obedient purely out of fear, but it won’t ever trust you, and without trust, you’ll never experience that wonderful bond a dog and a human can have.

Dogs are pack animals and enjoy living in a community with a leader and where the social rules must be obeyed. If you don’t exercise your doggie leadership you may find your dog will think it’s a better leader and wishes to usurp you. You might start seeing some behavioural problems big and small from your dog if you don’t exercise your rights as the leader.

Correcting your puppy

Just as you would do with a small child, use gentle correction when your puppy does something he shouldn’t do.  Use gentle movements and a kind but firm tone of voice, so that your dog understands without becoming frightened. In time he will learn to obey you as his leader. There is no greater joy than seeing that love and trust in your dog’s eyes.

Final thoughts

Taking on a puppy or new dog is hard work and a long commitment. Keeping a dog can be expensive and at times heartbreaking. But if there’s one thing you can take away from this article is that a well trained, happy dog is a joy to own.

The bond you can achieve with your animal is immense and worth the initial expense, trauma and frustration you may experience. 

Be kind, be gentle, but above all be firm and loving. Both you, your family and your dog will reap the rewards of sensitive, consistent training.