Starting to Train Your Puppy
Make sure you give enough time to all aspects of your puppy’s training, it is a process that requires patience and perseverance, and it is vital to establish and develop the right relationship with your puppy. You will be rewarded with a happy, obedient, and well-adjusted dog.
Training with treats and praise will play on your puppy's natural curiosity and his eagerness to make him want to earn your approval.
Just as all children vary in the speed with which they are able to learn new activities, you will find big differences in how quickly different puppies manage to learn correct behavior. Some puppies are very quick to understand what it is you want them to do, while others need much more time and patience. Nevertheless, all puppies are eager to please and enjoy warm praise, attention, and treats, so you can be sure they will only be too ready to do whatever they can to earn your approval.
If you are willing to spend some time each day training your puppy — even if you can only spare five minutes — you will soon find that your puppy rewards your patience and attention by learning forms of behavior that ensure that he is a credit to you and a joy to have around.
Warning! Hands Off
Any form of physical violence directed against a puppy is not only cruel and cowardly but totally pointless, more likely to enforce bad behavior than correct it. Ill-treatment may trigger a dog’s “passive defense reflex,” leading to a painfully, timid animal, or alternately activate his “active defense reflex,” producing a hostile and potentially dangerous animal.
Setting the Rules
If possible, arrange some vacation time when you first acquire the puppy so he has plenty of time to get to know his surroundings and to settle into a routine. The whole family can be involved in his basic training — especially housetraining — before the puppy has to be left for the first time. It is important that all members of the family know the “house rules” as they apply to the puppy. These must be agreed upon and applied consistently by everyone from the moment the puppy arrives home. Will he be allowed on the furniture? What about upstairs? Are any areas of the house off-limits? The family must decide the rules and stick to them or you will have a very confused puppy.
Speaking the Language
It is very important that you understand that puppies do not understand English (or any other human language). This probably seems obvious, yet many owners still act as if they believe that so long as they shout or talk slowly and succinctly in sentences, the puppy will somehow know what he should — or should not — do. Puppies can, in time, learn simple cue words such as “sit”and “stay.” They are unlikely to understand whole phrases such as “stop doing that,” “get off that chair,” and “you are a bad dog,” although they will understand tone of voice. Even more important, they are unlikely to see a connection between your cross words and angry face and any action of theirs that may have displeased you, if the “bad deed” took place minutes before.
Both puppies and adult dogs have an associative memory of about three seconds, so it is pointless to scold them for something done minutes or hours before. It is far better to reward a puppy when he does something right, than punish him when he’s done something wrong. If a puppy does not understand why he is being scolded, he will simply assume that irrational outbursts are a normal aspect of your behavior and he will eventually stop trying to please. For this reason, rather praise and reward good behavior.
When you start training your puppy, give him a treat whenever he shows that he is beginning to understand you instructions, and extra treats when he does exceptionally well.
Types of Treats
Make sure your puppy knows when he is performing correctly by immediately rewarding good behavior with treats and praises. There are many types of treats that you can offer. In the Treats section, we give recipes for hard-baked garlic-flavored liver treats that most puppies will love. Put some in a small jar or plastic container that you can keep with you at all times, perhaps tucked inside a pocket or bag. Cheese is another favorite with puppies. Sometimes it’s a good idea to let the puppy see and sniff the treat so that he knows that a reward is coming. You can also “treat” a puppy by letting him play with his favorite toy (see What to Buy). The most important treat of all is to praise the puppy when he performs really well. Gently stroke him, and say his name along with warm, soothing talk. The tone of voice is more important than the words themselves. With these techniques, he will be eager to practice his new obedience skills in order to earn your approval again. Be aware that it is not a good idea to pet your puppy with a brisk rubbing action because he can get overexcited when handled this way. A calm voice and gentle stroking will make sure that you are a secure and and reassuring presence in your puppy’s world.
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