Puppy Training Secrets

Many people wonder what age is appropriate to begin training a puppy.  Doing training while your puppy is still young will certainly make things easier, but you can train a puppy at pretty much any age.

The best time to begin training a puppy is the day you bring the puppy home which generally is around 8 weeks of age.  Try not to get a puppy from a  litter younger than 8 weeks because  while a puppy is still in it’s litter they learn a lot about not biting from their litter mates which is helpful to you when you bring home the new puppy.

Here are a few tips to make the process of training as easy as possible:
Train consistently.  Whatever behavior you are trying to teach your puppy, practice every single day for about 3 minutes and do it the same way every single time.  It doesn’t really take much time in your day.  Two or three times a day for about 3 minutes each time is plenty.  Puppies have a short attention span and will tire and get bored quickly.

Make sure what you are teaching is age appropriate for the puppy.  Do not expect a young puppy 8-12 weeks of age to be able to hold a sit or a down for more than a few seconds.  If your expectations exceed the capability of the puppy you are setting you both up for failure and frustration.

Always use the same word for the command each time.  Pick one word and use only that word.  Do not confuse the puppy by saying down when you want him to lay down then turn around and say down when you want him off the couch.  Each behavior has its own word.

Never, ever punish your puppy at all – ever.  If your puppy does not obey a command simply say wrong in a totally non-emotional tone of voice.  Hitting, yelling at, or striking your puppy sets you up for having a confrontational relationship with your puppy who will soon become a grown dog.  Aggression begets aggression – simply do not do this.

Always praise your puppy when he does a behavior properly.  You can alternate giving a food treat to make the training more rewarding for him, but understand how to wean off food treats.  A simple Good Puppy said in a happy high pitched tone is also a great reward.

There is a lot to learn in training a puppy, but if you do it well, with the right information and the right techniques, you can easily have a well trained puppy in just a few weeks.

These are just some of the basics that will help you get started on the right foot with your puppy.  Puppies are very smart and learn quickly, especially when they are taught from an early age.

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children.  And remember, Opportunity Barks!

Jim Burwell

Effective puppy training techniques will help you have your new puppy obeying commands and behaving the way you want him to in a very short time.  There are a few secrets involved that most people do not realize.  Getting your new puppy to do what you want doesn’t only involved teaching him to to sit or down, you must also understand how to get your puppy to listen to you.  So how do you make your puppy want to listen to you?

Much of the success of training a puppy has to do with your attitude during the sessions.  Puppies do not have a long attention span, so keep your daily sessions short.  Be consistent in the words and hand signals you use and include multiple repetitions of a command to help your puppy learn better.  Also, do NOT lose patience with your puppy.  The minute you begin to bring emotional energy into your training exercise, you are shooting yourself  in the foot.

The easiest, most fun way to train is always from a positive perspective.  Use treats, a loose leash and a happy voice to motivate and keep your puppy’s attention.  If you begin to bring non-positive elements into the training, the message to your puppy is training is not only not fun, but dangerous.  Yelling and screaming or being hard on your dog will only serve to undermine any type of training you are trying to do with your puppy and will nurture a fear based relationship with your dog.

If you make training fun, keep the sessions short so you don’t overwhelm your puppy, the puppy will look forward to the learning process.  Not only does training give your puppy a “job” to do, it stimulates him mentally.  It also uses up energy and as we all know, a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy!  Training also helps your puppy understand how he is to behave.  Without training your puppy has no idea of how to live in a human household.  It would be the equivalent of you going to a new job, you walk in on your first day, no one tells you where your desk is, no one tells you what you are supposed to do all day, no one tells you where the restroom is, no one tells you what your responsibilities are, BUT they keep getting impatient and angry with you all day because you’re not living up to their expectations!

You can’t win—-and neither can your puppy.  Set your puppy up to always be successful and you will have a peaceful, rewarding, enduring relationship with your puppy for a lifetime. 

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog, as you are the teacher of your children.  And remember, “Opportunity Barks!”

Jim Burwell

If you have just gotten a new puppy or are getting one for your children as a surprise for Christmas (although not a good idea!) you will definitely need a few effective puppy training tips.  Yes, puppies are adorable, they’re fun, they have great puppy breath—but, they can also be a handful. 

Some puppies like to chew on everything, others get into anything they can find i.e. toilet paper, short bathroom trash containers, you name it, they get into it.  It is essential that you start training your puppy early, before there is time for bad habits to really set in.

Here are a few basic puppy training tips:

Begin crate training your puppy as soon as you bring the puppy home, so that the puppy will quickly learn how to have some alone time (to discourage separation anxiety), help the puppy to learn to “hold” it and not soil except outside.  Leave the puppy in the crate for only SHORT periods of time.  You must never ever leave a puppy in a crate all day long without breaks for exercise and potty time. 

Remember this general rule of thumb:  for every month a puppy is old, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they can hold their business.  This is generally speaking because there are MANY factors that need to be taken into consideration for this “time frame to be accurate”.  You must understand how to set your puppy up to succeed NOT fail by understanding the right way to train your puppy. 

Teach your new puppy the sit and the stay commands as soon as you can.  These commands come in handy no matter what kind of behavior you try to teach the puppy later on.  Give the puppy plenty of praise and reward when he obeys.  Remember little puppies can do commands, they just can’t sustain them for very long.  Keep your expectations age appropriate.

Teach your puppy not to bite.  This is especially important if you have small children, as even playful biting can hurt the little children.  If he nips during play, stop the interaction, say NO in a high pitched squeal and leave.  He will learn that when he nips/bites the thing he wants to play with goes away.  Also remember, kids and puppies are a two way street, you must teach your children to be kind to the puppy with no ear or tail pulling, no spanking etc.

Never be cruel or abusive your your new puppy,  Striking or smacking with a newspaper will only instill fear and will case a setback on anything he has learned.  The puppy will begin to associate training with punishment.

Practice patience  and set aside time each day to work on the commands you are teaching him.  Train your puppy for about 2 minutes per training time.  Always be sure to give lots of praise and some treats when your puppy does what you ask.

Be consistent and soon your adorable new puppy will behave well in your home and everyone will be happy with his good behavior. 

Jim Burwell

If you have a new puppy in your home one of the first
things you want to accomplish is potty train your puppy.
No one wants their home to smell like a kennel and
constantly cleaning up potty accidents after a puppy gets
annoying and stressful.

Most dog owners know that puppies don’t understand that
they have done anything wrong.  It is their natural
instinct to potty when they need to.  The connection
between the brain of a puppy and the bladder and bowel
doesn’t really start to mature until closer to 4 months
of age.  So puppies have to be taught potty training.
Here are some tips that will make this easier for you:

1. Be aware of how much you feed your puppy.

What does this mean? Simply this:  feed your puppy on a schedule 3 times per
day.  Give a measured amount of food at each feeding.
Pick up the food after 10 minutes whether the puppy is
done eating or not.  What does this accomplish?  You can
determine the exact amount of food the puppy has eaten,
you know when the puppy has eaten, which in turn,  will
help you determine when it’s potty time for your puppy.

2. Remember that young puppies will always have to go
potty at these times:  immediately upon waking in the
morning or waking up from a nap.  After playing and about
5 minutes or less after eating.

3. Do not scold your puppy for accidents.  It does
absolutely no good to come upon an accident, go get your
puppy, rub his nose in it then scold him.  Puppies/dogs
only understand correction or praise within 1.0 to 1.5
seconds of doing the behavior.  Rubbing their noise in it
is a confrontational move on your part and not the way
you want to train your puppy.

4. When you absolutely cannot watch your puppy, confine
him to a small gated space in your home or crate him.

What about overnight accidents?  A puppy is best kept in
a small indoor crate or pen at night until they are old
enough to hold off the need to potty for several hours at
a time.  Also, avoid feeding or having your puppy drink
lots of water right before bedtime and do not put food or
water in their crate with them at night.  Take the puppy
out immediately before crating them for the night.  And
remember the rule of thumb:  for every month old a puppy
is, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they
can hold it.  Plan on getting up during the night with
your puppy.  Yes, it’s inconvenient but it’s your
responsibility to train this puppy right.

Again, whatever you do, never resort to physical
punishment when your puppy has an accident.  Puppies
haven’t learned a good potty routine yet and they
wouldn’t know why they are being punished.  What they
will know, is you’re not safe.

These tips will help reduce the number of accidents in
your home over a short period of time.  The most
important thing to remember is to start training your
puppy as soon as you bring him home.  Behaviors are much
easier to change when a puppy is still young.

For more great information on how to start off on the
right paw with your puppy, please visit:

http://www.puppytrainingsecretsrevealed.com

Puppy  Training from “nose to tail”

One of the benefits that a puppy receives by staying in the litter until 8 weeks (assuming the breeder is doing their job), in addition to bite inhibition, is learning how to communicate with their littermates.

Certain puppy signals say “let’s play,” “out of my space,” “easy,” or “no harm intended.”

It is these signals for communications that dogs learn as puppies and as adolescents which they carry into their adulthood. These signals, when used while playing, allow dogs to communicate with each other and to keep play at a reasonable and tolerable level and most of all fun for all.

Some dogs never learned these signals because they were not given the opportunity to interact and learn how to communicate.  As they develop into adolescent pups and begin to interact with other dogs and puppies in the real world, they are unable to play normally. This is where normal play stops and threatening behavior begins to intensify.

These dogs begin to ignore all clear signals from their playmates that would normally keep the play at a fun level. The intensity of behavior is triggered at what is considered lower thresholds of play with the other dogs.

This type of aggression may also inadvertently be directed at humans who begin to play with the dog. Humans can accidently increase the intensity of the play to a boiling point and the aggression begins.

It is sometimes very difficult to tell the difference between play aggression and what is thought to be rough play.

I think that the lesson here is don’t rough house with your puppy and make sure that your puppy gets an adequate amount of socialization with people, kids and other dogs.

It is a “use it or loose it” kind of thing.

Rough play can escalate into aggression for some puppies. When we see rough play in very young puppies, there is a greater chance that some puppies will develop escalated behavior (aggression) as they mature.

Not sure if you’re giving your puppy what it needs?  Check out our Puppy Primer – Nose To Tail Training at  http://www.puppytrainingsecretsrevealed.com

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children.  And remember, ‘OPPORTUNITY BARKS!”

It is a good idea to get a new puppy on Saturday or Sunday or when you have plenty of time. Even better, take a week off to make sure your house doesn’t stink.
Potty training can be quite intensive, even for you!

Individual puppies are very different frmo each other, just like children.  A puppy is a baby and requires patience to learn acceptable potty procedures. Young puppies don’t have complete control of their bladders or bowels. It’s your job to keep your puppy off your carpets until he’s trained, to teach him where he should go, and to be patient when he has an accident. At least your puppy doesn’t male you clean diapers!

Confine your puppy to one or two rooms. Don’t let him have the run of the house. Try to keep him to the room you spend the most time in so you can watch him. Close all the doors and block off other areas. One idea to contain puppy is to use baby gates.

Watch your puppy as much as you can. This is where diligence comes into play. You must be prepared to watch your puppy as much as possible. 

Here are some guidelines to help you potty train your puppy. These procedures will work whether you’re training your puppy to go outdoors or to go in a litter box indoors (which many toy dogs are trained to do). I don’t advocate paper training, especially with a dog that you will eventually want to potty outdoors. If you paper train him to go indoors, you’ll just have to retrain him later to go outdoors. Why not start by training for what you really want?

House training your new puppy doesn’t need to be complicated. I recently got an emergency call from an owner who was frantic about her new puppy peeing in the house “all the time”.

On my first visit I discovered that she was giving her new puppy free access to water and free access to unlimited play in the family room and kitchen, thinking she would just “watch her closely”. As the morning would progress, the owner would become increasingly busy with chores only to find out that the puppy was having accidents all over the family room. She couldn’t seem to catch her in the act.

Like I said, house training your new puppy doesn’t need to be complicated. This is what we did.  So as not to dehydrate the puppy, we allowed the puppy to have as much water during meal times, but limited (2-3 other times during the day) access to water coupled with frequent potty trips.  When in the house, the puppy was kept on a line or leash attached to the owner, which required the owner to pay close attention to her puppy. When she didn’t have time to watch her puppy, she simply crated her puppy after taking the puppy outside to go potty.

Problem solved.  See not complicated at all.  Just always remember to set your puppy up to be successful at house training and don’t set them up to fail.

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children.  And remember, “Opportunity Barks!”

If you have a new puppy in your home one of the first things you want to accomplish is potty train your puppy.  No one wants their home to smell like a kennel and constantly cleaning up potty accidents after a puppy gets annoying and stressful.

Most dog owners know that puppies don’t understand that they have done anything wrong.  It is their natural instinct to potty when they need to.  The connection between the brain of a puppy and the bladder and bowel doesn’t really start to mature until closer to 4 months of age.  So puppies have to be taught potty training.  Here are some tips that will make this easier for you:

1. Do not free feed your puppy.  What does this mean?  Simply this:  feed your puppy on a schedule 3 times per day.  Give a measured amount of food at each feeding.  Pick up the food after 10 minutes whether the puppy is done eating or not.  What does this accomplish?  You can  determine the exact amount of food the puppy has eaten, you know when the puppy has eaten, which in turn,  will help you determine when it’s potty time for your puppy. 
2. Remember that young puppies will always have to go potty at these times:  immediately upon waking in the morning or waking up from a nap.  After playing and about 5 minutes or less after eating. 
3. Do not scold your puppy for accidents.  It does absolutely no good to come upon an accident, go get your puppy, rub his nose in it then scold him.  Puppies/dogs only understand correction or praise within 1.0 to 1.5 seconds of doing the behavior.  Rubbing their noise in it is a confrontational move on your part and not the way you want to train your puppy. 
4. When you absolutely cannot watch your puppy, confine him to a small gated space in your home or crate him.

What about overnight accidents?  A puppy is best kept in a small indoor crate or pen at night until they are old enough to hold off the need to potty for several hours at a time.  Also, avoid feeding or having your puppy drink lots of water right before bedtime and do not put food or water in their crate with them at night.  Take the puppy out immediately before crating them for the night.  And remember the rule of thumb:  for every month old a puppy is, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they can hold it.  Plan on getting up during the night with your puppy.  Yes, it’s inconvenient but it’s your responsibility to train this puppy right.

Again, whatever you do, never resort to physical punishment when your puppy has an accident.  Puppies haven’t learned a good potty routine yet and they wouldn’t know why they are being punished.  What they will know, is you’re not safe.

These tips will help reduce the number of accidents in your home over a short period of time.  The most important thing to remember is to start training your puppy as soon as you bring him home.  Behaviors are much easier to change when a puppy is still young.

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children, and remember “Opportunity Barks!”