Training a puppy - Dog training tips and tricks for beginners.
Getting off on the right foot is important when it comes to training your puppy. A well trained dog will be a safer dog and will give you and your family much more pleasure and enjoyment.
The article below will give you lots of great dog training advice and tips.
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Puppy Training And Puppy Play – The Importance Of Socialization
By Brigitte Smith
Puppy training is often considerably easier than training anadult or adolescent dog. One reason is that the puppy isessentially a “blank slate”, untroubled by past trainingtechniques and other issues. Another more indirect reason isthat you are probably more likely to spend more time and havegreater patience with your new puppy than you would after the“novelty” has worn off somewhat. And it tends to be human natureto have greater patience with young (dogs and people), since weknow that they’re inexperienced in life and they’re usuallyeager to learn.
In other ways, however, the puppy can be a little moredifficult to train than an older dog. One challenge to traininga new puppy is that puppies are more easily distractible thanolder dogs. Everything is new to a puppy, and every newexperience provides a new chance for distraction. For thisreason, it is best to keep training sessions short when workingwith a puppy, and to end each training sessions on a positivenote.
It is also important to allow the puppy plenty of time to play,and to interact with other puppies and dogs. Socializationtraining is vital to making your new puppy a good caninecitizen, as dog aggression is a growing problem in many areas. Aproperly socialized dog learns how to play properly with otherdogs, and overly aggressive play is punished by the other dogsin the play group.
This type of play learning is something that happens amongsiblings in litters of puppies. As the puppies play with eachother, they learn what is appropriate and what is not.Inappropriate behavior, such as hard biting or scratching, ispunished by the other puppies, by the mother dog, or both.
Failure to properly socialize can be a major problem with yourdog, and it is an important reason for always buying from aresponsible breeder, and never taking your puppy home before heis 8 weeks of age. A large proportion of this importantsocialization experience occurs in those last weeks with thepuppy’s mother and siblings.
A responsible and experienced breeder knows this, and willnever allow prospective puppy owners take puppies home until 8weeks of age, but it is nevertheless a very important and usefulfact to be aware of yourself.
Unfortunately, many puppies are removed from their mothers andsold or adopted before this socialization has fully occurred. Inthese instances, even more than ever, puppy play sessionsinitiated by you are a very important part of any puppy trainingsession. Most good puppy preschool training programs providetime in each session for this type of dog interaction.
Introducing your puppy to new experiences and new locations isalso an important part of puppy training. Teaching your dog tobe obedient and responsive, even in the face of manydistractions, is very important when training dogs and puppies.
One great way to socialize your puppy both to new people andnew dogs is to take it on a trip to your local pet store. Manymajor pet store chains, and some independent ones as well, allowpet parents to bring their furry children, and these stores canbe great places for puppies to get used to new sights, soundsand smells. Of course you will want to make sure the storeallows pets before heading over, and you will also want to keepthe visits fairly short, both for your puppy’s sake, and inconsideration of the pet store personnel.
It is important for puppy owners to structure their pet’senvironment so that the puppy is rewarded for good behaviors andnot rewarded for others. One good example of this is jumping onpeople. Many people inadvertently reward this behavior becauseit can be cute. While it is true that jumping can be cute for a10 pound puppy, it will not be so cute when that puppy has growninto a 100 pound dog.
Laughing at your puppy, or paying any attention to him at allwhen he jumps up, will be interpreted as a reward by your puppy– he will learn that he will receive attention from you when hedoes this. So be very careful not to confuse your puppy. Thereare 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 ispossible 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 rewardedimmediately (either with treats or simply with lots of attentionand fuss – saying “Good boy” in a very positive tone of voice,and stroking your dog at the same time is often just as wellreceived as treats are). This type of positive reinforcementwill result in a well behaved adult dog that is a valued memberof both the family and the community at large.
The positive reinforcement method can also be used in pottytraining the new puppy. Teaching a puppy to use a unique surfacesuch as gravel or asphalt is a good technique. The theory isthat the puppy will associate this surface with going potty, andtherefore be reluctant to use other surfaces (like your kitchencarpet for example) as a potty. Many puppies can, with a littlepatience, be readily trained to use the same spot for toileting.This is a great technique, as it will train your puppy to go “oncommand”, and will save you having to scour the back yard whencleaning up after your puppy.
About the Author: Brigitte Smith runs two websites dedicated todog training, dog care and dog health:
Grab your free specialreport "How to Improve Your Dog's Health Within 30 Days - MaybeEven Lengthen Your Dog's Life!" here:http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com or here:http://www.Dog-Health-Care-Information.com
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=17303&ca=Pets
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See - training your puppy is not really all that hard after all.
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