Puppy Training Skills

Learn basic puppy training skills from Dove Creswell and her online dog and puppy training package.

Puppy Training 101 For Perfect Pals

Dogs are man’s best friend. They are faithful, lovable companions and are great stress relievers. Many dog owners feel their stress simply vanish when their dogs bound up to them with tongues lolling and tails wagging happily at the sight of their human friends.

However, dog owners are responsible for ensuring that their dogs are trained properly so that they don’t end up being a nuisance to their owners, others, and even to themselves. Every dog owner should train his dog properly as this will not only condition the dog to behave according to what is expected of him but strengthen the bond between dog and owner as well.

Dogs should be trained as early as possible. As the saying goes, "You can’t teach an old dog new tricks." This is true as puppies have a faster learning curve and thus are easier to train. Most dog trainers prefer to teach puppies that are as young as 9 weeks. What should dog training basics for puppies include?

"Crating" – Dog owners should always establish that their puppies’ territories are essentially limited to their crates whether or not the owners are home. Behavior-wise, puppies will soon learn what their limits indoors are and will be conditioned to not get into certain things or rooms around the house. This will considerably lessen incidents of breakage or accidents wreaked by puppy mischief.
Doing their business outdoors – House-training puppies will save dog owners from the headache of having their dogs make a mess inside the house and consequently cleaning up after them. Additionally, dogs will learn to respect that the inside of the house is not their toilet.
Accepting that humans are not their chew toys – Puppies chew everything and everyone in sight, and if dog owners don’t put a stop to this destructive behavior, they will find themselves being the object of their puppies’ teething and nipping.
Following commands – Puppies are naturally curious, so they are bound to get anything in their mouths. However, this makes puppies prone to choking and other hazards, so they must learn to drop whatever it is they have in their mouths when they are told to do so. Additionally, puppies should also learn to leave things alone when they are commanded to. Along with learning to drop or leave things alone, pups should also be trained to follow commands such as "sit," "stay," and "down."
Approaching their owners when called – This is one of the very first things that puppies should learn. Teaching puppies to come when called helps puppies to be more obedient to their owners.
Tolerating being handled – Puppies and even older dogs can get quite snappish when they are being handled in certain ways (such as grooming, bathing, ear-cleaning, nail-trimming, fur or tail being pulled, being given medicines, having things taken out of their mouths). To avoid injuries, puppies must be trained to tolerate handling without resorting to biting.
Walking on a leash without pulling or tugging – Dogs who are not trained to heel (to walk alongside their owners without falling behind or moving ahead) end up either walking their owners or letting themselves be dragged. To avoid this and potential accidents, canine companions should be taught to synchronize their front feet with their owners’ feet.

While this is not a comprehensive list of dog training basics, the things discussed above are certainly some of the most important. Proper dog training is the path towards a harmonious relationship between man and his canine best friend.
Author: Karthick R

To know more about puppy training go to Train Your Pets

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