Positive Reinforcement Puppy Training

Puppy obedience training doesn’t have to be an uphill struggle and one of the best methods is positive reinforcement training.  This simply means praising and rewarding your puppy for good behaviour and ignoring the bad behaviour. Ok if this sounds like you will be letting your puppy get away with being naughty then you are wrong.

If for instance you shout and yell at your puppy when he has an accident on the carpet, how do you think this will affect your puppy?  It will make him nervous and resentful and he will not want to cooperate with you.  If you tell your puppy off after the event, he wont know why you are yelling at him because puppies only live in the present moment and will have long forgotten about what happen 10 minutes ago.

Shouting and yelling at your puppy is not a pleasant thing to do and you are not really a bully, are you?  Put yourself in your puppy’s place for a moment.  Imagine your puppy is having a lovely little nap and suddenly he is rudely awoken by his angry mistress yelling and shouting at him.  He is now feeling very frightened and bemused.  Why is his usually kind mistress shouting and being rough with him.  The poor little pup will not realise you are angry because he had previously done a big puddle on the carpet, he will have long forgotten about it.

If on the other hand you took your puppy outside to his toilet area at regular intervals and gave him praise when he did his business, he would soon get the message that your were pleased with him for using his toilet area and that was the place where he should go to potty.

Another example of positive reinforcement training is if your puppy is being naughty and barking at you for attention.  You should remain calm and ignore his barking, but when he stops barking you can reward him for stopping barking.  This will reinforce his good behaviour and take the attention away from his bad behaviour. He will soon get to know that by stopping barking he will get your attention and be rewarded.

Rewards don’t always have to be food treats.  Rewards can also be puppy toys, praise and cuddles.

Puppies love to have praise and attention, so by using positive reinforcement puppy training you will find your puppy will do his best to please you. With patience and persistence you will soon have a well behaved puppy who will be a valued and loyal member of the family.

You can get more puppy obedience training tips and find about positive reinforcement puppy training here

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Sep 22, 2009 | 2 | dog training, puppy obedience training, puppy training

Puppy Obedience Training

puppy-obedience-training-meganPuppy obedience training didn’t cross my mind when I first got my new puppy Megan.  Megan is a Welsh Terrier and she was such an adorable little pup with curly brown and black fur.  She looked just like a little teddy bear.  All I wanted to do was to pet her and play with her all day.  I did teach her some things though, like how to sit and give me her paw.  She had a lovely temperament and loved people. She was an all round lovely puppy dog but I just couldn’t get her toilet trained.  She was good during the day when I was at home with her but during the night and when had to go out and leave her, I would always come back to a mess.  I would leave paper down in the kitchen and let her have the run of the kitchen and hall but she would always manage to mess on the hall carpet.

At first I thought she would gradually grow out of it and get clean but the weeks went by and she was still messing on the carpet.  I was starting to get desperate and my house was beginning to smell.  Worst of all and I am ashamed to admit this, I was really starting to lose my patience. Every time I came home and found mess on the carpet, I would get very angry and shout at Megan and tell her off.  I feel really bad now because I now know that to shout and tell your puppy off after the event is very wrong. Puppies only live in the present moment and don’t remember what happened previously.  So my poor puppy would be waiting for me to come home and I would come home and reprimand her for messing on the carpet.

So I started to read everything I could about puppy obedience training and puppy toilet training and although there was some very good information and advice around, nothing really seemed to work with Megan.  I was beginning to think I would have to put her in nappies lol. Then I stumbled upon a book that changed everything for the better for Megan and me.  Its called Painless and Positive Puppy Training and it teaches that positive reinforcement is the best and most humane way to train a puppy.  It teaches that instead of punishing your puppy for bad behaviour, you reward your puppy for the good behaviour.  So you take the focus off the bad and put all the focus onto the good.

Well I started using this method for training Megan and it was really great.  I didn’t have to scold or reprimand her anymore but was taught to ignore her bad behaviour and give her lots of praise and rewards for her good behaviour.  In a matter of two weeks she was completely toilet trained.  It was just amazing!  No more smelly hall carpet, no more mess to clear up.  I could come home to a lovely clean home and a welcoming loving puppy dog.  Life was great!

If you too are tired of trying to train your unruly puppy and are beginning to lose your patience take a look at Painless and Positive Puppy Training. It worked for me and it will work for you too!

Technorati Tags: , ,

Oct 03, 2009 | 0 | puppy obedience training

Welcoming Your New Puppy Into The Home

When you bring your new puppy home, the first thing you should do is get your puppy accustomed to his new surroundings.  Take things slowly and remember that at first everything will feel new and strange to your puppy.  It is a good idea to confine your puppy to a small area of your home and let him get used to it before letting him explore the rest of his new home.

If you have children or other members of the family make sure you don’t overwhelm your puppy by letting everyone come and see him at once.  Let him meet the other members of the family gradually and make sure your children know how to treat a puppy and to be very gentle with him.  Children tend to get over excited by a cuddly new puppy in the house, so do make sure they don’t go mad and overwhelm him.

First of all take your puppy and show him his sleeping area and where his food and water bowl is located.

The next thing you should do is to take your puppy to the area where you want him to go to the toilet.  If you want your puppy to go to toilet in the garden, take him outside on his leash and take him to his toilet area.  Puppies have weak bladders and so when your puppy is very young you will need to take him outside every half an hour or so.  Always take your puppy to the same spot in the garden where you want him to go to the toilet and be sure to praise him when he does his business.  It is a good idea to use suitable keywords when you praise him.

Feed your puppy at regular times and pick up his food bowl when he has finished eating, but make sure your puppy has plenty of drinking water at all times.  You will need to take your puppy outside to his toilet area approximately half an hour after he has eaten his meal, first thing in the morning and also when he has been running around and playing.

You can begin your puppy obedience training program straightaway . Just teach him the basics to begin with, like sit, stay and down and teach him not to nip or bite.  Do not make the mistake of letting your puppy get away with bad behaviour just because he is a young puppy.  If you do it will be difficult to train your puppy properly at a later date as he will be used to getting his own way.

Treat your puppy kindly and with lots of love and affection but make sure he know you are the leader of the pack.  When training your puppy give him firm commands and praise him when he gets things right.  Keep up with training your puppy every day at regular times but keep the training lessons short at first and gradually increase them as your puppy gets older.  After every training session with your puppy, have some play time with him and take him out for walks and exercise.  Form a strong and loving relationship with your puppy and soon you will have a firm and faithful friend for life.

You can get some more Puppy Obedience Training Tips here.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Sep 20, 2009 | 0 | dog training, puppy obedience training

Puppy Toilet Training Made Easy

Puppy Toilet training can be one of the most difficult and time consuming parts of training your new puppy.  But if you get well organised before your new puppy arrives in your home, things should go more smoothly.

To begin with you should decide where you want your puppy to relieve himself. If you want your puppy to go to the toilet outside. you should designate a place in the garden for this purpose. Chose a place in the garden that is away from people so your puppy can feel safe and comfortable about using the area for his toilet.  First of all put him on his lead and take him outside to his place in the garden and when he relieves himself there, give him lots of praise.

Puppies have weak bladders and are unable to control themselves until they are about six months old, so you will need to keep a close eye on your puppy and watch out for signs that he wants to go to the toilet.  If your puppy does have an accident and makes a puddle on the floor, just pick him up straightaway and take him outside to his toilet area.

If you have to leave your puppy on his own it is best to put him in a confined area.  If you have decided to crate train your puppy, you can put him in his crate.  Puppy crate training is an excellent method for toilet training your puppy. But if you are not crating training your puppy it is a good idea to put him in the kitchen and leave plenty of newspaper on the floor for him to relieve himself on.

Young puppies need to go to the toilet very frequently so take him outside to his toilet area every half hour or so.  Take your puppy outside after meals and after he has been ruining around and getting over excited.

Never lose your temper and shout at your puppy when he makes mistakes.  Accidents are bound to happen when your puppy is young so you must be very patient and persistent with his toilet training.  You should never scold your puppy when he has had an accident and left a puddle or mess on the floor.  If you scold him after the event your puppy will not realise why he is being told off.  Puppies only live in the present moment. If you do catch your puppy in the act, just say a firm no and pick him up and take him outside to his toilet area.

Always lavish praise on your puppy when he gets things right and goes to the toilet in his designated area.  Puppies love praise and he will love to please you.  So give your puppy lots of praise and affection and he will do his best to get things right and please you.

Puppy toilet training will take time and lots of patience and persistence but it will be worth it in the end.  You will soon have a well trained puppy you will be proud to own.

You can get more Puppy Obedience Training Information here

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Sep 16, 2009 | 1 | dog training, puppy toilet training

3 Essential Puppy Obedience Training Points You Should Consider

Once you have decided to get a new puppy I am sure you will be very excited and want to rush out and get the cute little bundle of fur as soon as possible. Getting a new puppy is a lovely and exciting time for all the family but before you rush out and acquire a new puppy there are some important points you should consider.  You should also have a proper puppy obedience training plan worked out before you even bring your new puppy home.  Below are three important points to consider.

1.  Do You Have The Time To Train A New Puppy
Training a new puppy will take time and lots of it.  If you have a full time job and a family to look after, you should consider how you are going to find the time to train your new puppy.  Puppies are just like children and until they are properly trained they are going to need a lot of time spent on them.  As part of your puppy obedience training plan you will need to set aside time for training your puppy, taking him for walks and exercising your puppy. If you do work full time, you should ask yourself if it is really fair to bring a new puppy into the family only to have to leave him alone for a good part of the day.  Dogs are very social animals and do not like being on their own for too long.  Of course if you do not work full time or if there is someone else who will be in the house to look after your puppy and help train him while you are at work then yes having a new puppy can be a great idea.

2.  Do You Have The Patience To Train A New Puppy
Training a new puppy can be very rewarding and a great deal of fun, but it will also need a great deal of patience and persistence.  So the second question you should ask yourself is do you have the patience to train a new puppy.  In the beginning your new puppy will make lots of mistakes and there are bound to be accidents when your puppy will relieve himself on the floor or chew up your best shoes.  Are you prepared for all the potential mess and upheaval having a puppy in the house will entail. It will take a lot of work, time and patience.  If you are prepared to put in the work and cope with the potential accidents then having a new puppy and training him properly will be a very rewarding experience.

3.  Do You Have The Room For A New Puppy
One of the things a lot of people fail to take into consideration when acquiring a new puppy is that their now small cute puppy will soon grow into a full sized dog.  So you should always take into account the full size your puppy will grow into and whether you really have the room for that particular sized dog.  Another point is do you have a big enough garden or back yard for your puppy.  When toilet training your puppy it is a good ideal to designate an area of your garden or back yard that is a bit secluded for your puppy to do his business so you can train him to always go in that area.  This is especially important if you have children as you do not want your puppy to relieve himself all over your garden.

As long as you take into consideration the above points and are realistic about the potential problems and hard work involved, then having a new puppy will be a lovely and enjoyable experience for you and the whole family.

If you would like help with training your unruly puppy you can get some Puppy Obedience Training here

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Sep 14, 2009 | 3 | house training puppies, puppy obedience training

Puppy Toilet Training

Before you even bring your new puppy home, you should decide on how you are going to toilet train your puppy.  Puppy toilet training should play a very important part in your overall puppy obedience training plan.  Bear in mind that your small, cute and cuddly puppy will soon grow into a full size dog that is full of energy and spirit . So have a solid puppy toilet training plan now and avoid the pain and upheaval of living with a unruly dirty dog! 

First of all decide where you want your puppy to relieve himself.  If you want you puppy to go to the toilet in the garden and you have enough space, chose a secluded place for your puppy to go to the toilet.  Dogs like to be private when doing their business so chose a fairly secluded space in your garden where he will feel comfortable and safe. Make sure your puppy always uses his designated place in the garden to relieve himself.  You do not want to allow your puppy to urinate and defecate all over your garden, especially if you have children.  Keep his toilet area clean and washed down with suitable cleaning fluid.

Plan your puppy toilet training routine around your puppy’s needs.  Watch out for the signs that your puppy wants to relieve himself.  Usually he will start sniffing around or walking round and round in circles.  In time you will get to know what signs are that he wants to go to the toilet.  When you notice this behaviour put him outside immediately, even if he has started to urinate already  Do not scold him for his mistakes, instead praise him when he gets it right and goes to the toilet outside. Puppies have very weak bladders and normally need to urinate about every hour or so and also if they have been playing and running around or getting overexcited.  So anticipate his needs and put him outside every hour or so and also after he has been playing or has been overexcited. 

Feed your puppy at regular intervals   Do not leave food down for your puppy all day. Pick up his food bowl after he has finished eating, but make sure he always has fresh drinking water.   Take him outside 30 to 40 minutes after he has finished his meal.  Aways accompany your puppy outside and praise him when he does his business.

If you are going to leave your puppy at home alone for any length of time, make sure you put him in a puppy proof room and leave newspaper down for him to relieve himself on.  Or if you have decided to crate train your puppy, put him in his crate whilst he is alone at home.  If your puppy does have an accident and you find a puddle on the floor,  please do not scold your puppy. Your puppy will not understand why he is being scolded.  Accidents are going to happen especially when your puppy is very young.

Always lavish lots of praise on your puppy when he gets it right. Puppies love praise and they will do their very best to please you.  So do have patience and persevere with your puppy toilet training, it will be well worth it in the end!

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Aug 16, 2009 | 3 | puppy toilet training