Puppy Training Made Easy 

"How To Raise The Perfect Puppy"

Puppy training can be fun and rewarding for both you and your puppy if you go about it the correct way. Remember that one of my points on the main page was that obedience training is how you get the best from your dog. That's because a well-trained dog is a happy dog.

I'll be giving you some basic commands so you can get started on your puppy training right away. But for all the command, techniques and lessons your puppy should learn, take a look at my resource page under the obedience training category for my reviews. 

Ok, on with our mini lesson.

Give your puppy the exercise it needs, and they'll spend much of the day resting - not chewing, barking, digging, escaping, or destroying things. I don't mean to exercise them into the ground, but puppies have a lot of energy that needs to be used or that energy will go into eating your furniture.

If you allow your puppy to be rewarded for some action, they're likely to repeat it. Consciously allow rewards to happen for actions you like, and prevent your dog from getting rewarded by you or the environment for actions you don’t want to encourage.

For example, if your new puppy chews your furniture don't correct them by giving them something else to chew on like one of their toys. They'll process that as "chew furniture, get toy."

Puppies will act in ways that they’ve learned are successful. Ways that gain them Good Things and help them avoid Bad Things. Behavior that is rewarded is going to be repeated by them.

To successfully train your dog, you must be the leader of your pack, or at least rank above him. Always be firm and consistent with your dog, as this will show him that he can't get away with everything, even if he really is the cutest thing alive. 

While it may seem mean, it's a good idea to show your dog who's boss by pulling rank on him occasionally. If he's sitting in your seat, make him get up so you could sit in his place, and eat your meal before feeding him his, even if he's drooling a lake by your feet. 

Don't act scared if your dog growls at you when you ask him to do things - just snarl back without touching him and stand your ground. Seriously, I speak to my dogs in doggie language like standing over them and growling. I've never laid a finger on my dogs for any kind of discipline.

You should NEVER yell at or hit your dog, no matter how frustrating your puppy training can get. Going off on your dog only teaches them to be nervous around you and fear you, making it hard for them to concentrate on what it is you want them to learn. By the way, we better not catch you ever hitting your dog.

Reinforcement through repetition and consistency is effective in training anyone - humans included. Habits, good and bad, are formed when an action is repeated over and over again with consistency. So during the process of training your puppy, don't give up the routine until they got it. 

Remember: Repetition with rewards will reap the right actions and behavior.

Around 10-12 weeks of age, your dog is ready for some command training.

When you first begin training, stay in a quiet, confined location without any distractions, then slowly work your way out to public areas.

The first step in training is to figure out what your puppy likes so that you can reward him with a desired prize. If your puppy is the food-motivated type, prepare some small treats that don't crumble. 

If your dog loses interest in the treats, switch the type of treat. You may also want to try scheduling training sessions around mealtimes.

If your puppy is more driven by petting or a chance to play games with you (as many small-sized dogs are), haul out the squeaky ball. 

Don't get caught up in the petting and playing during a training session, though. Just reward your puppy with less than half a minute of playtime and then get back to work.

For the following basic commands, you'll need your puppy to be collared and leashed. Collars come in a variety of designs and materials, but a simple nylon one is fine. If you use a choke chain, make sure it isn't made of chain link, as it can accidentally choke your dog. 

Personally I wouldn't have a collar on a dog that's unattended, especially in a fenced in back yard as I've known many dogs that have accidentally hung themselves by getting the collar caught on the fence.

The 3 basic commands below should start making your life a little easier right from the start. You'll of course want more detailed obedience training for things like heeling, pulling, jumping, biting, etc. 

The sit command is possibly the easiest command of them all:

1. Start by facing your dog with treat in hand.
2. Show him the treat and as he trots over, raise it up and over his head. In a desperate attempt to keep his eyes on the food, your dog will be forced to sit down.
3. Say "SIT" as soon as your dog starts to do so.
4. Then reward him with the treat.

If your puppy won't sit for the food, kneel down next to them, hold the collar in one hand, and push the rear end gently but firmly down until his butt touches the ground while saying, "SIT." Then reward your puppy.

To get your puppy to lie down, he must first have mastered the sit command:

1. After telling him to sit, hold your dog by his collar, stick the treat right in front of his nose, and move it downward toward the ground slowly.
2. Your puppy's love of food will leave them no choice but to follow the treat down into submission as their restrained collar keeps them from lunging at the treat.
3. Say "DOWN" as they begin their descent and reward them only when they are lying fully on the ground.

If your puppy's willpower is stronger than his appetite, kneel down next to your sitting dog, gently pick up their front legs with both hands and lower them into a lying position while saying, "DOWN." By pulling their forelegs out (gently), they'll be forced to slide down. Then reward.

The Come Command

This useful command will get your puppy to stop doing just about anything and come to you:

1. Start by standing a short distance away from your puppy with food or a favorite toy in hand.
2. Call out your puppy's name and as their eyes zero in on the treat and they start to walk towards you, say, "COME."
3. When your puppy reaches you, respond by showing your happiness for their obedience and then give them the treat.

In the early stages of training, never tell your dog to come over to you for an unpleasant reason (they will associate "come" with negativity and hesitant coming to you).

During the weeks when you're training your puppy to do any of these commands, if they do an action without your prompting (like if they just happen to walk over to you and sit down), go nuts over this great accomplishment, even though you didn't ask them to do it. Make a big fuss and gush, "GOOD SPARKY! SIT!, Good boy!" 

Any time a training session isn't going well switch to repeating a command that your puppy has already mastered, reward them for following your command properly, and end the session.

Lastly, I don't recommend doing sit, down and come all as one session. Puppies have short attention spans, so break up each of the commands throughout the day into shorter sessions.

There a many more commands that your puppy needs to learn such as heeling so they don't drag you around town, dropping things they've picked up (could save their life), not to bite, not to jump and so on. Obedience training is not difficult, but you have to put in the time.