Tips For Training A Puppy
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008Training A Puppy – What Puppies Want You to Know
When you’re training a puppy, you need to remember that puppies and dogs need a lot more than just love and affection and effective puppy training techniques to become good pets. Training a puppy is all about understanding who they are, including their normal behaviors and their physical, emotional, and mental needs – it is a vital part of a training a puppy and creating a happy and fulfilling life with your dogs.
The Lap Wolf
Dogs want you to know that they’re not furry people. They’re not, even though most of them tolerate, even enjoy, being treated like people. What’s not to love? Being one the people means comfy places to rest, yummy stuff to eat, and attention on demand.. .wait a minute! They’ve got it better than people! All the benefits with none of the responsibilities – what a deal!
For the most part, treating dogs like people is fine as long as you don’t expect them to act like people in return. When it comes to dog and puppy obedience, they simply don’t and can’t think or act like people. It doesn’t make them any less wonderful for being who and what they are, but the truth is, from the 260-pound mastiff down to the 4-pound Yorkie, they all have the heart of a wolf beating inside them – bear this in mind when training a puppy.
Speaking the Language
Dogs also want you to know that until you teach them the meaning of a word, they don’t know what it means, even if you repeat it many times, loudly. When training your puppy, bear in mind that, unlike people, they’re just not verbal animals, and they don’t know any word until it has been associated with its meaning many times. For them, any language is a foreign one, so expecting a dog or puppy to understand and respond to commands they’ve never been taught is not only unrealistic, it’s also unfair. While you’re training your puppy to understand your language, you also need to learn your dog’s.
Have Realistic Expectations
Now that you have an idea what you’re getting into, let’s really get into the nitty-gritty. Training your puppy is going to take time, dedication, and persistence on your part to help your dog be well behaved.
The Dog’s Motto
Without guidance, puppies tend to act like puppies (and adult dogs for that matter). “If it smells good, eat it; if it feels good, do it; if it smells bad, roll in it” seems to be their basic motto for life. Knowing what to expect means your puppy obedience training can nip unwanted behavior in the bud and provide appropriate outlets for both your dog’s energy and his normal doggie behaviors.
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
During the puppy training process, there is a normal cycle of progression and regression. Think back to when you learned a new skill, like driving a car with a manual transmission or playing a musical instrument. For a while, you made steady progress, and then all of a sudden, you were all thumbs and stalled the car at a light or hit a sour note. It’s no different when training a puppy. At some point during training, you’re going to give a command that you’re sure your dog knows, and he’s going to look at you like he’s never heard the word before. When and why regression happens is not as important as how you handle it. Expecting normal regression prepares you to deal with it and help your dog through any confusion. You and your dog will both make mistakes along the way and that’s ok; find the lesson in each one.
There are several theories about why learning regression happens when training a puppy – or in any area of life actually. One of the most popular theories is that regression occurs when the brain is transferring information from short-term to long-term memory. Whatever the reason, take advantage of it for what it is – a training opportunity.
Mail this post