Pet owners are often confused about when they should start dog training. The answer is immediately. However, your dog must first have confidence in you before he begins learning. Puppies are much like children – they’re still growing, have short attention spans and conditions must be ideal for them to understand what you’re trying to teach.
Finding the best accessories, puppy treats, food and bed might be your main priority, but you need to spend as much time thinking about what you’ll teach your new puppy. Your pet needs you to take control just as much as he needs nutritious meals and a safe place to live.
If the dog perceives you as being weak, he will take control and develop bad behaviors, such as excessive barking, leash-pulling, chewing and a general lack of discipline.
So proper training begins when your puppy understands that you’re in control, and that should be established early in the relationship.
Other aspects of the training could begin at 8 weeks. For instance, you can begin with socialization skills, followed by “come” and “sit” commands at 12 weeks, and more intensive training at 5 months.
Dogs are naturally conditioned to eliminate outside of their personal spaces. Therefore, 2-4 month old puppies learn the concept of housebreaking with little effort because of their natural instincts.
Always provide a safe and familiar place for the dog to relieve himself in the early days of housebreaking. Take the dog outside to the same area early every morning. Consistency is crucial during this process as it will ensure the dog learns the habit.
Always reward good behavior: it’s the only way the puppy will understand that you want him to repeat the behavior. So if he goes outside without your prompting, make sure to reward him with an approving tone or give him a treat to communicate that he did an admirable job. Make sure to have a lot of treats on hand during training, and give them to the dog whenever he does something right.
Some dogs take to housetraining easier than others, so do not punish the dog if he has an accident or for anything related to his bodily functions. Maintain your calm demeanor and lead the dog to the place where you’d like him to go.
Housetraining your dog is one of the easiest lessons to teach. But training can cover a wide range of topics. Start with the basics – teach him “No!” and other essential commands.
Once he’s learned those lessons, you can move on to teaching socialization skills. According to experts, the best time for your puppy to learn socialization skills is between 4 and 16 weeks.
These are the skills that will help your puppy grow into a well-adjusted dog. Socialization skills give your dog the confidence to interact with different types of people in different places and situations. With the right skills, your dog will not be fearful of strangers, strange objects and other animals.
Exercise is critical, so find safe ways to exercise your puppy. Daily walks or time at the park will help an active puppy expend his energy in a positive way.
Always walk in front of the dog, especially in the early stages – this will establish your position as the leader. Once your dog understands that you dictate the pace of the walk and where you go, you can begin walking alongside the dog, but always maintain your control.
Training doesn’t have to be long – a puppy will learn a lot if you spend 5-10 minutes a day teaching him the things you want him to learn. In fact, shorter training sessions are most effective since puppies have extremely short attention spans. The dog’s age and breed determines the attention span, but as a rule, training sessions should be 5-10 minutes at most.
Finally, be realistic about your dog’s capabilities. Puppies will learn a lot, but they won’t always respond the way you want. Give the dog time to learn, be patient and maintain your control.