My Pet Site - Puppy Training

Puppy Training

Whether its your first puppy or your fifth, proper training and socializing is very important to making your pet a valued member of your family. In many ways it is easier to train a puppy, rather than an adult dog. Puppies are like a blank page, they are not yet set in their ways. They can be taught the right way the first time, which causes less confusion for your pet.

One problem you can run into is that puppies are easily distracted. Everything is new to them and provides a new chance for distraction. Therefore you will want to keep your training sessions short when working with a puppy.

   You should allow your puppy plenty of play time and time to interact with other puppies and dogs. Socialization training is very important to making your pet a good member of your community. A properly socialized dog will learn how to play well with other dogs and overly aggressive play will be punished by the other dogs in the group.

   This type of play learning happens among siblings in litters. As the puppies play with each other, they learn what is appropriate and what is not. Inappropriate behavior, such as hard biting or scratching, is punished by the other puppies and the mother dog. Unfortunately, many puppies are removed from their mothers and sold or adopted before proper socialization is learned. Most puppy preschool training programs provide time in each session for proper dog interaction to be learned.

   You should introduce your puppy to new experiences and new locations. Teaching your dog to be obedient and responsive around a varity of distractions, is very important. One great way to socialize your puppy is to take him/her to your local pet store. Many major pet stores allow you to bring your pet to the store. This can be a great place to introduce your pet to new sights, sounds, smells and other dogs. Be sure to make sure the store allows pets before heading over.

   It is important for you to structure your pet's environment so that the puppy is rewarded for good behaviors and not rewared for others. One good examply of this is jumping on people. Many people inadvertently reward this behavior because it can be cute. While it is true that jumping can be cute for a 10 pound puppy, it will not be so cute when that puppy grows into a 75 pound dog.

   Instead of rewarding the puppy for jumping, try rewarding him/her for sitting. This type of positive reinforcement will result in a well behaved adult dog that is a valued member of your family and the community. This type of reinforcement can also be used in potty training your new pet. For example, teaching a puppy to use a unique surface such as gravel or asphalt is a good technique. The theory is that the puppy will associate this surface with going potty and therefore be reluctant to use other surfaces like your carpet or kitchen floor.

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