Techniques Used When Training a Puppy

Often times when a person gets their first puppy they are really unsure as to how they should train their new furry friend. They may look into different methods that have been used by others when they have trained their puppies. They soon realize that there are various techniques that can be used when training a puppy.

As you might guess some of these techniques work better than others. Seeing that this is your first puppy it is going to be difficult for you to know which technique is best for training your puppy.

Let's first take a look back at some techniques that used to be quite popular but today are seldom used.

A lot of these techniques that are not used as much today are techniques based on punishment. Basically when your puppy's or dog's behaviour is unacceptable you respond in a negative way. This negative way could be a quick jerk on the leash while the dog is wearing a choke or a prong collar. The dog would feel pain from this. Another negative response that trainers often used was through the use of a shock collar. You would shock the dog anytime the dog's behaviour was inappropriate, example, dog jumping up on people.

The problem with these punishment based training techniques is that you could end up with a very obedient dog but obedient out of fear. This could leave you with a fearful dog that may end up cowering in the corner every time you raise your voice or you could end up with a very aggressive dog that could be dangerous. Not a good scenario especially if you are dealing with a large breed dog.

So techniques commonly used nowadays are positive based training.

One thing that is emphasized today is the training of a dog starts the minute you bring that puppy home. This is interesting since not all that long ago trainers would wait until a puppy was at least 6 months old before starting any type training other than potty training. A young puppy's brain is like a sponge, so learning is best at this young age.

So what do we need to know about positive dog training techniques?

When you are training your new puppy using positive dog training techniques you are going to be using praise and positive reinforcement whenever your puppy or dog displays good behaviour. The reward can be in the form of a treat, a kind word, a pat on the head etc. Dogs do respond very well to positive training techniques.

When using these techniques at no time do you hit, spank, scold or punish your puppy in any way. Most puppies do not respond well to punishment.

So let's look at some examples of positive training techniques that you might find useful for that new puppy of yours.

If you are going to reward your puppy's behaviour with treats you may need to have some on you at all times. Say you want your dog to sit. Whenever your puppy sits say "Sit Good Boy" in a very enthusiastic voice, and then give your puppy a reward, whether it be a treat or a pat on the head.

Another time you can use positive training techniques is when your puppy does its business outside where you want him to go. Again be ready with the reward and the enthusiastic voice.

I use to chuckle every time I heard Barbara Woodhouse say sit and her iconic "walkies" but she had the enthusiasm in her voice and those dogs responded well to that.



Just remember as you train that new puppy that he will make mistakes especially when housebreaking but keep up the positive type training and especially the enthusiasm and your puppy will be trained in no time.

Remember a trained puppy will be a well trained dog and a well trained dog is a joy to own.

For information on how to train a puppy check out Dog Training Online