A fun and enjoyable experience is on the way. You and your puppy will have to learn the basic commands to become a team. For the puppy to turn into the dog you want him to become, he will have to be molded. An important step to bring peace into your house is to begin training your puppy.
Training with the Reward System
The reward system is the most positive method of training. Finding the right treat for you puppy should be fairly simple. Little cut up pieces of hot dogs treats are used most. Love and lots of praise is the other reward. Keeping it fun for yourself and your puppy is so very important.
The Training
Your puppy will learn to sit, down and heel as these are three basic commands. To keep control of your puppy, these commands will be very important. When your well trained puppy begins to listen to you, different social situations will be much easier to handle. The attention span of a puppy is not very long so keep the training sessions to around 10 to 15 minutes. As the puppy learns and grows, the training sessions can get a little longer.
Leash Training
Leash training your puppy will begin by holding your treats in your left hand and the leash in your right, just hold the treat in front of your puppy’s nose. Using your happy voice, say the puppy’s name, then say heel. As your puppy is walking beside you, begin giving him the food and lots of encouragement. If the puppy should stop, just continue to hold the treat in front of him and gently tug the leash. Eventually the leash and collar will not bother the puppy.
Teaching The Sit
The best way to get a puppy to sit is to hold the treat in front of his nose and then gently lift it over his head. Every time you practice this, use the word sit. The sit can be taught anytime, just take one or two minutes and practice it during a commercial.
The Down
To teach the down, start with the puppy in the sit position, show the treat to the puppy, then slowly lower the treat to the ground and then forward. Say down every time you start to lower the food.
If you stay consistent and patient, training your puppy should move along rather smoothly. Whether they pick it up pretty fast or if things seem to be going a little slow, just keep on going. What we’re after is for the puppy to do these things with all verbal commands. Just stick with it and the results will show up. A happy home equals a well trained puppy.
