Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘puppy obedience’

A lot of a canine’s personality actually develops during the period between eight to sixteen weeks of age. As far as how a family dog will actually turn out to be behavior-wise is largely decided by what kind of environment the puppy is living in at this important stage in his life.

When you first bring an eight week old puppy into the house, they are practically coming in with a mind like a blank slate. Whatever is written on that chalkboard will determine the personality and character of the puppy. The problem lies in the fact that the dog owners lack of knowledge is the cause of what ends up being a problematic dog.

Bad Behavior Is Not Something Your Dog Is Born With

Dogs are not born problem dogs it is through lack of training that they are either allowed to become that way, or are made that way as a result of the puppy’s environment. The responsibility rests solely and squarely upon the shoulders of the person who owns the dog. Your dog needs dog obedience training.

Most puppy obedience classes will not accept a puppy for training unless it is six months or older. This is really understandable because most trainers know that some dog owners do not possess the patience needed to deal with puppy training. It is a sad fact that once a dog is up to six months old it may already be seen as a “problem dog”. You are responsible for any dog behavior problems. Dog obedience training may or may not help but in too many cases, it does not, as by that age it is too late.

There are many disappointing tales of disasterous training and lack of understanding of what has to happen. One example pertains to owners requesting that their standard Schnauzer be put sleep. Each person in the family had been the victim of a bite, with at least one being serious. The dog was only eight months old, still a puppy as far as dog trainers’ are concerned. The first bite occurred when the puppy was just 12 weeks of age, its final bite at eight months of age. In between, the bites became progressively worse, yet not one single member of the family could bring themselves to properly discipline the dog. They “loved” their dog too much and thought it would be too mean to discipline the animal. Mistaken kindness can be a bitter and unneeded cruelty and the responsibilty solely rests upon the head of the dog owner.

The natural instinct of the canine is to try and assume dominance within the pack. In this situation, the pack is you and the family. The fact that it will test you periodically and try to assume control does not mean that it doesn’t love you. Neither does it mean that it doesn’t respect you. If you are permissive and weak, allowing it to achieve dominance, its love and respect for you will quickly wane. You then become inferior in your dogs eyes and will be owned by your dog,therefore suffering the consequences. Knowing your dog’s motives is one of the secrets to dog training. Start training as early as possible so your dog does not turn into a problem dog.

About 90% of American pet puppies live indoors with their owners. You need to do some housebreaking with them if you are considering having them live in the home. Potty training a puppy is one of the situations many owners find themselves overwhelmed by. But it’s really not that hard to accomplish, it doesn’t need to be messy, and you don’t have to struggle with your pet when housebreaking him. Training needs to receive a significant amount of time devoted to it in order for it to be successful. You will need time for this, become a little more involved, and get some training tools like puppy training pads.

The Puppy is Boss

For those who own dogs or puppies, there are two major puppy training guidelines to follow. First and most importantly, don’t punish your pup for something you did not catch him do! And second, praise your puppy for the things he did do right. Do not train by only using “no” when you see your dog doing something it should not be doing. Desirable behavior should be met with praise and treats.

House Training/Breaking Puppies

There are different ways to housebreak puppies. At the beginning, encourage the puppy to “go” on newspapers or puppy training pads. Puppy pads are usually scented with chemicals that attract little doggies to use them. As soon as you see them starting with their pre-potty pattern of walking around and sniffing the floor, pick them up gently and without saying anything, and carry them over to the puppy training pads or paper and reward them for the doing their bathroom acts properly.

After things are progressing well and the puppy is using the puppy training pads or newspapers regularly, you can then locate them a little closer to the door and eventually outside. The change is made from concentrating on bathroom habits at a location inside the house to a location outside the house. You’ll soon see that you won’t need the training pads or papers in the house anymore.

The drawback of this approach to housebreaking is that more time is required to get the pup to do his business inside. Other popular methods of house training puppies involve puppy crate training or the use of cages plus constant pet owner supervision.

When using a cage or crate to housebreak your puppy, realize that puppies can’t go for more than about seven to eight hours without using the bathroom. This method usually works as most dogs treat cages and crates as their sleeping places and they do no want to soil their beds because they will be forced to lie in the mess. It is not a good idea to crate a puppy for long periods of time.

The use of crates/cages and papers/puppy pads is not required if you have constant supervision. Here pet owners choose to spend all the time necessary with their pet puppies. This works good for those who are retired, work from home, or any owner that can spend lots of time with the puppy. Pet owners can normally usher their dog outside as soon as the pre-potty signs are noticed with this technique. A constant watch must be kept on puppies to make sure that there are no accidents or slip-ups.

To sum up, puppy housebreaking and training should be treated as part of the ‘come’ and ’stay’ command trainings. However, toilet training and housebreaking your puppy will be the messiest types of training, and generally have more headaches than other sorts of dog training. Have faith!

If you want to keep your house clean after deciding to adopt a new puppy, you need to insist on puppy house training rules. House training must be worked through by every new puppy and its owners. Some puppies require more time and patience to catch on, while other puppies learn the process rather quickly. So don’t be frustrated when you are not having that much progress with puppy training at first. If you manage to stay patient and calming your puppy will soon be well on its way to being housebroken.

Look into the Puppy Mind

Understanding how your puppy thinks can make puppy house training much easier. The word clean holds a different meaning for your puppy than it holds for you. Puppies do not need the structure of a set place to relieve themselves outside, what they want is the freedom to go where and when they feel the need. Your puppy’s only concern is to go away from his food and bed which is also the health and safety rule of nature. From their perspective, anywhere away from their food and bed is the perfect place. Places like this are perfectly fine for him, although definitely not for you; what you must do is instruct him and show him a better spot — one that you choose for him!

Anticipation of the Signs

The early warning system of a puppy is not very reliable during his first few weeks, so make sure to work it out as early as possible for both your benefits. As soon as possible, you should choose a spot in the area where the puppy is plays, eats or usually sleeps. It is very rewarding to be able to anticipate when your puppy needs to go outside. Puppies need to relieve themselves frequently particularly after they eat, drink, play or get excited.

You must also learn to read your puppy’s body language and soon you’d realize the tell tale signs that tell you he needs to use the bathroom. When a puppy is persistently sniffing, circling a single spot or has his tail held high, those are common signals. When see this you need to immediately bring him to where you prefer that he relieve himself to build the association.  Taking these steps will ensure that puppy house training is successful.

For some dogs, even those who have received adequate dog training, little accidents still happen when they get excited or when they are being greeted by family members and visitors. This type of response is natural and is called submissive urination.  You shouldn’t treat this differently from regular house training. You should never go as far as punishing you dog, even if other accidents occur. They will only be confused by punishment, and become secretive about going to the bathroom.

When accidents happen during periods of excitement, do not shout at your dog, instead work things out until he breaks this habit. It is best to try to greet new people while you are both still outside and the setting is low key. Greet your dog gently and build up his or her confidence. If your puppy has an accident, it’s best to just clean it up without making a big deal of it. Your dog will soon stop having accidents, and you can congratulate yourself on successfully concluding another round of puppy house training.

Canines bark, so a puppy barking is a completely normal phenomenon. As natural as birds sing, puppies bark, whine, and sometimes howl. If you are one devoted dog owner, you’ll know you will experience barking, whining and howling at any time. Don’t even think to train your puppy not to bark as it will never work. However, it is really ideal for you, your neighbors, as well as your dog, if barking fits can be placed under control.

Why Barking Starts

Dogs that do not get a lot of socializing or that are spending most of their time alone need something to do to spend all that saved up energy. If there is no one around to tell a dog to stop, he will tend to start barking as a hobby. That is why it is not a good idea to leave your dog alone all day. Pretty soon, barking will become an enjoyable habit for him or her. And for a great number of dogs, once they start barking, they continue to do so just for the sheer fun of doing it.  

It may actually be your fault that your dog barks so much. You obey your dog when he speaks. When the dog barks, you let him out.  When he barks again, you let him back in. Barking gets them a treat, they bark and they get a tummy rub. Puppy barking gets your attention and so they easily fall into this trap because the very nature of it gets your attention and they get what they want. You need to reward your dog when they are not doing any barking.

Barking and Exercises

It is important to realize that when your puppy barks there are many reasons for this, like boredom, being lonely, mad, or scared. Behavioral problems are usually alleviated when you are spending more time with your new puppy. If your puppy is happy, contented and adequately exercised, he will probably spend the day napping when you are not at home. Be sure to give your dog some of your time.  He needs your attention and the benefit of training, exercise, and play.

The repetition involved in puppy obedience training can be as boring for puppies as it is for their owners. Most puppies and dogs enjoy, wild rapid paced and exciting games such as “come here,” “sit,” “stay,” “heel,” but you can make it more rewarding by saying come here for a hug, a massage and other praise and treats. Your puppy will take to training better if he is not bored.

For dogs living in the backyard for the majority of the time, they probably need some “social” exercises. You may need to walk them around your neighborhood to minimize the puppy barking. Daily walks will be an adventure for them to investigate and find out about those sounds and smells that excite them while they are in the yard. Dogs and puppies will run around outside and have fun, but this is not necessarily exercise. Just like humans, they pace, fidget, and have other nervous tendencies. Be sure your dog or puppy has something to do to keep busy. Puppies love to have chew toys for puppy biting, and big dogs enjoy a digging pit.

Dogs are very sociable. They are just like us.  They need companions and friends. Your dog needs to be taken for walks and exercised every day or every week as well as to let them socialize with other dogs. They will sleep great after a good hard day of playing, dog training, and exercising.

Not long after a puppy is born, the puppy obedience training can begin. The breeder who you bought the puppy from could have begun basic puppy obedience training already.

Research has shown that until they are at least three weeks old, puppies are not ready to learn at all. They are not aware of anything else except for their mom, food, and sleep. By the 21st to 28th day of a puppies life they begin to leave the blanket and search for somewhere to do their business. At this period, puppies become more aware of their surroundings and are growing more sensitive to stimuli. Now is the time to make great strides in a puppy’s mannerisms and behavior.

Getting Puppies Started with Encouragement

While training puppies to obey, you need not use punishment to induce their readiness to please and do the right thing. Positive reinforcement and treats work best of all. Negative stimuli should well be limited to saying ‘no’ and blocking any negative actions from your puppy with your hands. Striking a puppy or injuring it in any way is cruel and should not be used as a form of punishment.

Puppies should receive positive affection and praises each and every time they correctly respond to a command. Puppies rely on love, praise and reward to keep them engaged in a training regimen. Alternatively, when given praise and caressed soon after a command is correctly executed, your pet will learn that following these things are fun and rewarding. Puppy obedience will also be developed as he learns that repeating proper actions will reap rewards. Positive reinforcement such as praises and treats strengthen the understanding and willingness of the pup to follow and respond to commands.

Persistence Mixed with Great Timing

The timing is more important than anything when you puppy training and that should be kept in mind. Your movements, actions, and corrections are related to the puppy’s ability to understand the lessons and trainings taught to him. It is important for puppies to learn that corrections are given for the action or behavior that is expected from him.

For instance, a puppy who chews on a toy in a different room may not respond to the command “come,” and unless it is reinforced, he will not learn to obey it.He will find out that “come” means that he should head for the trainer and that it will also bring in the goodies if the puppy is told to “come” under controlled situations, like when he’s on a leash and is gently pulled toward the trainer then praised.

Teaching puppy obedience training can be done at home if you focus on one exercise at a time and keep your instructions simple. It’s a whole lot easier to enlist in a training programs that is separated into phases rather than trying to teach your dog everything at once. If you are patient and use positive reinforcement, puppies will steadily learn over time to obey your commands.