Basic Training Tips For Your Puppy

Getting a new puppy is always an exciting experience for a person. They are always so adorable, playful and fun that it can be hard to remember that they will grow up to be an adult dog someday. If we want them to be well-behaved dog citizens as an adult we need to start training them while they are still small.

Housetraining is probably the most crucial training you need to complete and it is often given the most attention. However, in order to grow up to be a well-behaved adult dog you will also need to complete training on leash training, training to come, sit, stay and lie down. A well-behaved adult dog will be trained to do all of these also.

When you are training your dog there are some things that are consistent and work every time. All dogs and other animals, including people, react better to love and positive reinforcement than to negative reinforcement. Dogs inherently want to please their masters but if you react in a negative manner he may develop fear and he will be less likely to react to what you want.

As you are training your dog make sure that you enforce the good behaviors with treats, affections, verbal praise and more. Your most oft-used reinforcement method should be verbal praise. Praise your dog almost every time but give him treats only once in awhile. If he gets a treat every time he will come to expect it and too many treats is bad for his health and your pocketbook.

Also, if you recall from your high school science classes about Pavlov’s dog and classical conditioning, you will remember that constant reinforcement was not nearly as effective in replicating consistent behavior as intermittent reinforcement, meaning if your dog knows that there is always a treat at the end he is less likely to respond after awhile, but if he thinks there may be a treat but he does not know for sure, he will do it every time and the behavior will become second nature.

When you train your dog use hand signals in addition to voice commands. After awhile teach him to respond to just one or the other. This can come in very handy in different situations.

The least you will want to train your dog would be to sit, lie down, come, and stay along with leash training. You may also +want to include some behavior training if you take your dog out in public often or if he is especially rambunctious and hyperactive. Well-behaved dogs are a joy to own and in order to be a well-behaved adult he needs to be well-trained.

Training your dog will strengthen the bond between the two of you and both you and your dog will benefit for many years to come.

Published on May 5, 2009 under Dog Training
Tags: dog, Dog Training, family, Pets, puppy, tips, training

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