Having the perfect understanding on how to train a puppy is not an easy thing for many dog owners because it involves a large number of actions, and you need to carryout some of them at the same time. However, if your patient and really take the time to understand the different strategies, you will discover that it is not too difficult to train your puppy.
Before you start, you need to understand that your puppy needs to obey all of your commands, as you are the pack leader/alpha dog. In obeying your commands your puppy needs to take, or not take certain actions. Also, remember that whatever you teach him he will carry throughout his life for as long as he lives.
When training a puppy there a various popular topics that spring to mind, for example, crate training puppies, potty training a puppy and not forgetting the common subject of house training a puppy. Continue reading below to discover the key steps involved when training puppies.
The steps needed on how to train a puppy can be divided into some groups. Some of them are:
a. Important things to know before starting to train
b. Important commands
c. Rewards and praise
d. Training techniques
Those are the four key principles under which you can successfully train a puppy. Now let’s look at each of them.
A. Important things to know before starting to train
1. Do not start to train your puppy until he has reached the age of 3 months. If you start earlier, he will find it difficult to understand or cope with what you are trying to teach.
2. The first three months of your puppy’s life have to be used to teach him to get familiar with your house, including the places he can and cannot go.
3. When you finally start the sessions at the age of 3 months, make sure that each of those sessions is short; a maximum of 5 minutes is good.
B. Important commands
There are certain commands that are very important for a puppy to know. They form the basis of all other things that you’re going to teach. Therefore, they have to be carefully handled. The most important ones are “come“, “stay” and “sit“. For instance, when the puppy is about to sit down on its own free will, simply give the command “down” or “sit” to coincide with the action. That command is going to be recorded in his memory on the action that needs to be taken after the word is uttered.
C. Rewards and praise
Giving your puppy treats and praising him is very important in training a puppy. They will encourage him to trust you and follow your guidance & leadership, allowing you to teach him whatever you wish to. This trust will greatly improve the relationship and bond between you and your pet. He will not see the training as a burden, but as part of life and a process to be enjoyed. Therefore, these are some things that you need to consider here:
1. During the sessions for teaching formal obedience, food must always be available as a reward. However, as the training goes on for months, you may gradually reduce the puppy treats. That encourages your puppy to always have the motivation to get involved in the training with you, as he does not know when next a reward is going to be available.
2. You must never hit, yell, scold or punish your puppy when teaching obedience. Doing any of those things will discourage him from getting fully involved in future training sessions.
D. Training strategies
Continue reading to discover some techniques that you need to include in the training sessions with your puppy. You may not strictly follow them, but having an idea from them can really help you to be creative in the way you train your puppy. These are some of the strategies:
1. When the puppy brings a toy, stick or ball, you need to first of all ignore that item and pat him on the body as a sign of appreciation. Reaching for the item immediately may make the puppy feel threatened or challenged by you. This negative affect on him could have a detrimental affect in the future whenever he has any item in his possession.
2. In the first 3 months of training, always use the leash and collar. Let your puppy smell the collar, and allow him to discern what it is before placing it on him, doing that with little fuss, and offering a treat as well. The dog leash should be introduced after 3 days of the puppy wearing the collar. Like the collar, you should give the puppy the opportunity to discern what it is. Then clip it on the collar. The lead should be left with him for about 40 minutes as he moves around in a large open space. You should gradually increase the period dedicated to this as you and the puppy go through the process for some weeks.
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Concerning how to train a puppy, you as the owner must be consistent in training, relaxed and patient with him at all times, and ultimately you must be committed to training your puppy no matter how long it takes. It could possibly take a numerous amount of repeated sessions before your puppy fully understands each command given.
Also remember to introduce your puppy to new things that he will not be able to handle or cope with immediately, and train him accordingly. Exposing your pup to as many experiences as possible during puppyhood is very wise so that in the future he can cope with situations that would otherwise frighten him. For this reason, it is still necessary to go through different materials that teach many other processes involved in training a puppy. With positive reinforcement, patience and commitment you will get the best results, while at the same time adapting the training tactics you learn overtime with the way your puppy is responding to what you are trying to teach.
