The joy of a new puppy – But keep it flea free!
There is no greater joy than a new puppy. With those beautiful big eyes and playful uncoordinated frolicking your new pet will bring you years of fun and love. However without the proper training your playful pet can easily become an annoying pooch in the blink of an eye. So here are some dog training tips to get you started.
Have fun with your dog each day when training. Playing with your dog helps build a stronger bond between dog and human, which encourages the dog to respond positively during training. Although training itself is fun, it is good to spend time each day, just playing with your dog for fun.
Give your dog love every time you see him. This is especially important if you are upset with his behavior. If you punish him you can actually do the opposite of what you intend to do. He may become less likely to respond to your training. Be nice, even if he just did something that makes you made.
Using a different tone of voice for different purposes, is a great teaching tool in training your dog. Commands, corrections and praise should all have their own tone in order to help your dog distinguish cause and effect with his and your behavior. Be firm and sharp with commands, use a louder tone for corrections, and your natural voice for praise.
You should call your pet by name at least 10 times a day. You can practice using their name when you give them treats and food. This will help them to get used to their name. Don’t punish your pet at anytime for coming to you when you call their name.
As you begin training your dog, create a verbal cue that allows your pet to understand the exact moment that they correctly complete your command. A word like “yes,” can be an effective bridge between the time that the dog exhibits the behavior and the time that they receive the reward.
One of the most important commands a dog can learn is the recall. When you call your dog to come to you, he should do so immediately. Make sure when you’re teaching him, that you do it at home and also out around distractions because you want him to respond in all situations. Always call him to you with a happy voice tone and never call your dog to come to you when he is in trouble this could make him leery to come to you when you call him.
When training a dog, make sure to stay consistent. Keep a list of commands to use and make sure everyone who might need to command the dog knows them. Also make sure to be on the same page regarding rewarding good behavior and never rewarding bad behavior. Having different people respond differently can confuse the dog and make training more difficult.
Following the tips above and persevering with some basic training steps on a daily basis, your new dog will be an obedient, loved and integral part of the family in no time at all. Just remember that Rome was not built in a day, and neither was a well trained puppy.
Image by allert via Flickr
