The most important puppy training tip to rememberThe most important puppy training tip to remember is that the moment you pick up your new puppy you are beginning to form a relationship that will be the basis of your life together. Your puppy is learning every minute of the day even when you are not formally 'training'.
Habits (bad and good) and behavior patterns are being formed all the time. These first months of ownership are the formative ones. Lessons taught now will last your pet a lifetime.
What you do and what happens around your puppy during the first four to six weeks of ownership shapes and builds your pets permanent behavior. Your puppy's most impressionable "imprint" period is from birth to 16 weeks of age.
The first days of ownership you and your puppy are getting to know each other, so make sure that he associates you with pleasurable times, moments of enjoyment and interest. Your puppy will need lots of sleep time and depending on age, usually needs to be fed three or four times a day.
Feeding your puppy at the same times each day will make it more likely that he’ll eliminate at consistent times as well. This makes housetraining easier for both of you. Being consistent with everything you do will ease the learning process.
Your puppy will learn much more easily if you use part of his daily food ration as a motivation for good behavior. If you scold or punish your puppy for bad behavior, yet ignore him when he is good, you are reinforcing bad behavior.
Always enthusiastically praise him when he's doing what you want, even if he's only sitting beside you, or quietly chewing on one of his toys.
Baths, brushing, clipping nails, cleaning ears, examining and brushing teeth should become a regular and pleasant part of your puppy's life. Include many tiny treats. Your goal is to have him look forward to being handled by you.
Another important puppy training tip is teaching your puppy what's OK to chew and what's not. This can be just as important as housetraining him properly.
Pet toys are very important to stimulate your puppy's brain activity. Choose toys that won’t confuse him, i.e. never use an old shoe as a toy. Also the way you deal with your puppy's playbiting now can really influence the way he uses his mouth later. He may seem very harmless right now, but when he's older his bite can cause serious injury.
One more puppy training tip - Don't allow your puppy to get away with begging. If you don't reward him for this behavior now, you will not have to deal with it when company is present.
You will want to take a photo or video the day you bring your puppy home and maybe weekly, thereafter, for the first year. This is a great way to chart his growth and create a library of memories.
SitStayFetch: STOP Your Dog's Behavior Problems! Click here!
+ Puppy training tip treats + * Ice cubes - made with water or low sodium broth * Large carrots - nice if dipped in water and placed in freezer
* Kong Toy
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