How To Train A Puppy

A dog’s behavior is influenced by its mother and littermates. For example, if a mother barks to attract attention, her puppies will behave in the same way. A dog’s personality develops between three and 12 weeks of age. The best time to acquire a puppy is when it is about eight weeks old. Exposing it to varied experiences during the following month will lay the groundwork for rewarding training.

Meeting People

Make sure that the new puppy meets as many people as possible while still very young. With your vet’s permission, take the puppy in the car, to work, and to friends’ homes whenever possible. Let it play with dogs that you know are Healthy, and introduce it to children and other adults.

Personal Investigation

Playing with toys will provide your puppy with mental and physical stimulation, and prevent it from becoming destructive. Find out which toys the puppy prefers (making sure that they are unlike other domestic articles) and use them as rewards during training.

Understanding Fear

Overseeing all the puppy’s activities will ensure that frightening situations are kept to a minimum. Whether developed when interacting with dogs, humans or other entities, fears that a dog learns at an early age can become lifelong phobias unless they are rapidly overcome.

Give Mental Stimulation

If actively stimulated as puppies, dogs become adept at both learning and problem solving. A puppy learns by observing its mother’s behavior. Within a human family, one person should be the “mother’s substitute”, responsible for training the puppy, although all family members should participate.

Problem Solving

Social Development

The best time for dogs to learn to behave properly, both with their own species and with others, especially humans, is when they are under four months old. Supervised puppy evenings and early socialization to other species reduces the likelihood of future problems.

Restricted contact with humans as a puppy can limit the dog’s ability to obey commands. Before acquiring a dog, find out all you can about its early experiences.

Give Immediate Rewards

When the puppy obeys a command, make sure you always offer an immediate reward, such as gentle stroking or soothing words. As the dominant member of the partnership, you should always be in control.

Early Habits Endure

Do not get your puppy used to be carried constantly when it is very young. If you do, your dog will expect a similar treatment whenever it feels insecure as an adult.

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