Training

Essential Puppy Training

Every puppy needs to be taught good manners and have constructive lessons in basic control. This includes responding to its name, how to greet and behave politely around people and dogs, coming back when called, walking nicely on the lead, sit, down and stay on command.

Puppies need to learn their place in the human pack.  Strong-willed puppies need to learn that they cannot have their own way all the time and what you want must come first.

Irritating behaviour

You should prevent adults and children becoming over enthusiastic with your puppy. Do not allow them to disturb its sleep patterns, over-tire it, or to play rough or over-exciting games, which will encourage (undesirable) play-biting or grumpy behaviour. Do not let anyone pick it up, mollycoddle it or smother it, as it is not uncommon for puppies to be picked up and carried awkwardly, causing pain and discomfort, and teaching puppies to be nervous and hand-shy. What is more, a puppy that is constantly picked up and carried can become overly clingy and demanding, so it is better to squat down to the puppy’s level.

Dog training classes

Most owners can benefit from attending good training classes, and training in the company of other dogs is very useful because of the realistic distractions this involves. Ideally, you should start your classes as soon as your puppy’s vaccinations are complete.

There are lots of schools of thought on dog training and it is important that you find the right approach for you and your puppy. Go and visit several classes first (without your puppy) to make sure you have made the right choice.

Really important training tips:

‘Home alone’ training

Your growing puppy will sleep a great deal, and this is the ideal time to get it used to being separated from you (and other pets) for short periods every day, so that it does not become over dependent on having constant company. If you do not get your puppy used to being left alone while you are in your home, it may suffer from ‘over-attachment’ and ‘separation anxiety’ when you go out. This can become a very serious problem, so put your puppy back in its sleeping quarters when it is tired, resting or sleeping.

Try not to return to your puppy when it is whining, crying, barking or misbehaving in any way, as you will be unwittingly rewarding the undesirable behaviour, which might make things worse in the long run. Either, wait until the behaviour has stopped, or create a noise diversion to distract the puppy and then enter the room. Do not greet the puppy straight away. Do something else first and then greet the puppy calmly and quietly. This prevents problems later on with attention seeking behaviour and over excited greetings.

Once your puppy is older, toilet trained and happy to be left on its own, you can leave it for gradually longer periods.

Puppy sitter

If you occasionally have to leave your puppy alone for longer than a few hours, you should expect a few toilet training accidents which may set back your progress slightly. However, if you have to do this on a regular basis you may well fail completely in the toilet training stakes, and further more your puppy is also much more likely to get bored and develop destructive or noisy habits.

To prevent this, consider asking someone to come in to let your puppy out and to break up its day. Alternatively, take your puppy to someone who can look after it when you are gone for long periods.

You may be better off finding someone who can give your puppy individual attention, rather than placing it within a pack of dogs, where it could be overwhelmed and make it timid or defensive.

 

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