Puppy Obedience Training

Puppy Obedience Training – Why Is My Puppy So Disobedient?

When your are training your new puppy and he is not responding very well, one of the things you should bear in mind is that your puppy may not understand what you want him to do.

Some people when they are trying to train a new puppy will get impatient and frustrated and resort to shouting and yelling at their puppy. They think their puppy is deliberately being disobedient and ignoring their commands.  Nobody likes to be ignored, so often owners will become very angry.

Dogs are pack animals so of course you should establish yourself as leader of the pack, but this does not mean shouting commands at your puppy and ordering him around.  This will not get you very far and could result in your puppy becoming nervous and confused.

So when carrying out puppy obedience training you should always be calm and patient.  Give your puppy clear commands and keep the words short. Your puppy will also rely on your tone of voice because of course you puppy does not understand English.

You should also match your commands with the appropriate action.  For example if you had a puppy called Rover and when you come home your puppy rushes up to you excitedly and starts jumping up at you.  If you then say “get down Rover” but start laughing and giggling and playfully pushing him away, your puppy will associate “get down Rover” with a fun game and will want to keep playing it with you.

Another example would be if your tone of voice is not firm enough.  If for example you puppy did something naughty like running around madly and jumping all over the sofa and you said “bad boy Rover” and started giggling (yes puppies can be very comical!), again you puppy would think this is another fun game and want to continue with this behaviour.

You should always make your commands to your puppy short and simple.  If your ask your puppy to do something, rather telling your puppy to do something, this could be another reason why he is being disobedient. If for example you said to your puppy “could you please come here Rover?” it would seem like you are giving your puppy a choice.  So you have to make yourself clear. Keep the commands short and say something like “come”. This does not means you should yell at your puppy, just be firm and clear. A good tip is to always make coming to you a pleasure for your puppy. For example when calling your puppy try knelling down and have your arms open to hug him when he comes.  Always praise your puppy when he comes to you even if it takes him a long time to get there.  Never call your puppy to you and then tell him off.

Of course you should have fun with your puppy and you can make puppy obedience training a fun time for you and your puppy.  Puppies love to please, so give your puppy lots of praise and encouragement when he does get things right.  Keep you tone of voice positive and happy. Create a loving environment for your puppy and he will love being with you.

Positive reinforcement really is the best and most humane way to train your puppy to be obedient.  If you would like some more help with training your puppy you can find more puppy obedience training information here

Technorati Tags: house training puppies, how to train a puppy, puppy care and training, puppy dog training, puppy obedience, puppy obedience training, training a new puppy