Training a puppy should be simple and enjoyable. Don’t pressure the puppy expecting too much from him all at once. Remember that it is an immature animal, physically and emotionally. Don’t try to teach more than one basic command at a time. The easy way to teach the commands properly is to teach only one command a day. The puppy’s attention span is deliciously short. At 8 or 9 weeks, a puppy can pay attention for less than 5 minutes on a good day. This will grow over time. Be patient and enjoy your puppy’s ‘childhood’.
Consistency is another virtue upon which to build your training. Establish house rules that the puppy finds on a daily basis;
we don’t urinate in the home
we don’t sit on the furniture
we don’t eat mommy’s macramé, etc.
Changing your stance on any rule will only confuse the puppy that he is already trying to remember if it was the furniture or the macrame that was not allowed to eat. Everything for a puppy is new and can easily be overwhelmed without you being inconsistent.
Do not start training sessions when the puppy is playing. Let the puppy exercise and play first. Why compete with all that puppy energy? This is especially true of teaching the puppy to heel. You don’t want to go home with a half-hanged puppy after your first heel lesson.
Avoid Punishing Your Puppy
If you expect to have a well-trained puppy, you should realize from the beginning that the punishment has no place in the dog’s training. The correction, on the other hand, does. By correction, we mean that the dog is told ‘NO’ in the middle of doing something wrong.
Scolding the puppy 3 minutes after finding the pile in the playroom or your chewed shoes means nothing to him. You have to catch him on the spot. Some behaviorists have speculated that you have seven and a half seconds to correct the behavior or that it is forgotten. Many trainers believe that a puppy can recognize his wrongdoing if they take it to the pile and say ‘NO’. At least he’ll notice that something is wrong here. How he connects his scent with your screams is not entirely clear.
Somehow, quite suddenly you are training the puppy unkindly, and for reasons completely unknown to him. If you catch the puppy on the spot, you can punish him by isolating him for half an hour. Many trainers have recommended this. While it is true that puppies hate being ignored, it is not clear if the puppy associates its past action with its current state of unhappiness. Dogs really live the moment. They face the moment they are. Dogs do not worry in the same way as people do.
When Command “NO” Is Not Enough
For sure, hitting the puppy with your hand, swinging a newspaper or throwing the nearest indoor plant are not options. Under no circumstances should you ever hit a dog? This does not communicate with the animal. His mother didn’t hit him. Your options are to get the puppy out of the situation so you can take care of him. A leash correction, of course, involves a firm tug on the leash to redirect the puppy’s attention.
Regardless of how to correct the puppy, the most important part is to praise the puppy after you have reprimanded him. Dogs do not learn from the negative “NO.” They learn only from being praised for doing the right thing and learning what is not acceptable. As soon as the dog stops barking, digging or jumping, tell him he is good.
Communication With Your Dog
To improve your communication with your dog, you must understand how the dog thinks to interpret his body language and recognize what he can and cannot easily understand. We know that the dog will never speak your language, nor can you convey exactly his own, even if you are a great growler. Instead, use your own language in the most effective way for dogs. Choose simple words from a syllable to teach your commands such as NO, COME, SIT, STAY, HEEL, DOWN, SHAKE, PAW, etc. Ideally, you should choose a name for your dog that is or can be shortened to 2 or 3 syllables. It is irreversibly foolish to choose an eighteen-wheeler canine name that can never be pronounced quickly.
When you call the dog to raise the inflection of your voice to get his attention, make it bright and lively and he will pay you mind. When you give an order that does not require him to move, use a medium or low register, for example, ‘NO’, ‘STAY’ and ‘DOWN’. For commands such as ‘COME’ or ‘SIT’, your tone should be louder so that he is attentive and ready to execute the command.
Easy Way To Teach Basic Commands To The Puppy
Remember that puppy training should be done when the puppy is well-rested and exercised. Commands should be simple, short and sweet. Praise the puppy for every little thing. Be consistent and mean what you say. Don’t settle for a half-executed command. Always finish the lessons on a positive note or else your puppy will start to fear and at the time of recent training. Training should be fun, and your puppy should wait for your lessons because they are time spent with his favorite person; YOU! But remember that training is a serious matter. The lessons and the play are two clearly different things.
Sit
The most common method to teach the ‘Sit’ command is to give the command while holding a portion of food on the puppy’s head until he sits down to see it, then rewards it with the bite and many praises. Soon he will recognize the command to sit down without you having to keep the tidbit on his head. Another method involves giving the command, ‘sit’ and pushing the back of the dog down. For some puppies, this may be the least effective method of the two, since it is not advisable to touch the dog during the lesson. Many dogs resent being touched where they cannot see. These dogs will squirm when you touch their rear ends.
While the ‘sit’ command may be the most basic command to teach a dog, some trainers do not recommend teaching a show dog to sit since show dogs are often taught to stand up. A show puppy that sits in the ring every time a tidbit is presented can be problematic.
Stay
Always remember that when you say “stay” do not move back. The puppy’s instinct is to follow you. The command is given to the puppy when he is already sitting. Once the puppy has learned to stay, you can slowly step back and repeat the command so that he understands. An effective hand signal for this command is to show the puppy the palm of your hand as a traffic officer would say stop. You can also use the ”stay” command when the puppy is standing. ”Stay” is one of the most important commands to teach a dog, for obvious reasons, it can save his life.
Come
The ”come” command requires good attention from the dog. The socialization part of early training will help strengthen the bond between you and the puppy. Clapping is a way to get the dog’s attention. Use his name every time you give him the command. Using a tidbit is also a good incentive for the dog to come.
Heel
Dogs prefer to walk with their nose on the ground so they never miss any important smells. Get the puppy to walk beside you, on your knees, with his head up takes a little convincing. Your job is to convince the puppy to do this. Your initial attempts at leash training have hopefully been successful. Before starting the serious attempt of heel training, the puppy must be accustomed to the collar and leash and following you. While teaching the heel, it is only sensible to speak to him through it and part of your knee to keep his attention and nose up. Maintain a good pace to encourage his attention. Let’s use a sidewalk or parking for the first lessons. A field of grass or lawns simply distracts a young puppy too much, all those attractive things that smell good.
The nylon collar can be pulled if necessary to keep him under control. Use the word “heel” with each correction. If the puppy ignores your attempts or is too excited, stop, reassure him and start again. Offer a food treat so often to keep the dog calm and under control. Make it a pleasant experience for the dog. Walking on the heel will make a difference in the world with respect to your attitude towards walking your dog on a daily basis. A good heeler is a pleasure to walk, a puller is a real dog, so to speak.
Stand
The ”stand” command is useful for the well-behaved dog: for allowing the veterinarian to inspect, for meeting new people, for cleaning his muddy legs, for standing during a bath. ‘Stand’ is also the command for a puppy that you hope to exhibit in a dog show. All dogs must stake for the judge, which means standing in a certain way so they can be seen and inspected. The dog must maintain this posture for a prolonged period of time when the show ring. Attract the puppy with a squeaky food or toy to get his attention. Do not let him jump. Say ‘no’ and put it back on the floor. For smaller puppies and toy breeds, this lesson runs best on a grooming table or countertop with a non-slip surface
Accumulate the puppy at the table first so he does not fear for his life. Puppies should be used to being touched and allow strangers to open their mouths and check their teeth, run their hands behind their backs and check the testicles of male puppies. You should do these things with your puppy and encourage him to like handling. Shy puppies are not doing well in the exhibition ring, nor do they enjoy it.
Down
Down is a simple and easy command that every dog should know. ”Down” indicates a position with the front legs extended and the body of the dog resting on the floor could be considered as “lye down.” Do not confuse this command with “off”, which tells your dog to get down from you, a guest or a sofa. Make your dog sit, pat on the floor and say “down”. Out of curiosity, your puppy can stretch to touch your hand or smell it, this is the ”down” position. Some trainers incorporate a treat to get his attention. Praise him briefly. If he doesn’t react to your patting on the floor, gently take his front legs and pull them forward.
Once the puppy is in the correct position, tell him to stay. The down-stay you will consider the most useful of the commands. This is a comfortable position for the dog and it can keep him ”underfoot ” and not underfoot, close nearby without being in the way. You can also calm him down if he is excited, or get immediate control of him if he is in a potentially dangerous situation. Of course, the puppy must completely trust you to obey this command in a very emotional situation, such as a crowd or on the street corner. Work indoors during the ”down-stay”, gradually increasing the duration of the exercise.
Off
Off is the command for those times when your dog is jumping, regardless of whether it is on you, your spouse, a neighbor, a stranger or a dining chair. Using your voice in a rough and explosive way will usually convey your disgust to the puppy. I suggest that you use the word “off”, although any word in English or Spanish will do the job of startling the puppy. Likely you will have to remove the puppy the first few times, physically with your hand on his neck, so that he understands what you mean. Once he is down on all fours again, praise him and move on.
Ok
OK is a positive command. A command that is not based on scolding the puppy. Next to dinner or lunch, this will be your puppy’s favorite word. Your puppy will be happy to hear your voice granting permission. Introduce the OK command when you offer this bone, dinner or open a door to enter or exit. In time, the puppy will wait to hear this word when you open the main door or his crate door, before crossing a street next to you and before greeting a new person, etc.
Wait
This word is human to wait. Teach the puppy the same way you would teach a child. It is recommended that you wait until the puppy is at least six months old before introducing this word. It is practically the same as ”stay”, except that the puppy will know that it will not be so lengthy or so intense. The word can be reinforced with a ”NO ”, which will attract the puppy’s attention. Puppies hear many words, garble that is. They have to recognize when the word is a command and not just more garble that they are not expected to understand. We realize that much of this garble is pleasant for the dog, especially if you directed the puppy with a loving tone of voice. Your voice should change when you talk to the puppy. Focus on being clear and distinct, authoritative or cheerful, convincing or soothing: garble takes on meaning, even if every word is not a known command.
Enough
let’s try not to overuse the NO command, so we don’t bother our dogs and get discouraged. In words, ”enough” command expresses your disapproval of a dog continuing to do what he is doing. A dog seems to instinctively understand this command, mainly because he has nothing to do but look at you and decide why you are yelling at him. At this point, he is stopped doing whatever it was bothers you and the command is obeyed.
Night Or Sleep
saying “night” or “sleep” tell your puppy that it is time to retire at night; playtime is over, no more night snacks. In the command, the dog must enter its crate and settle in.