It’s time for some enjoyment and fun. You and your puppy are about to become a team by learning just a few of the basics. Your puppy will have to be molded into the type of dog that you want him to become. A trained puppy causes much less friction in the home.

Tips for Training Your Puppy 

The Reward System

The reward system is the most positive method of training. Food and treats will be the main reward in the beginning. Little cut up pieces of hot dogs treats are used most. The other reward is an awful lot pf praise and love.  Keeping it fun for yourself and your puppy is so very important.

The Training

Heel, sit and down are the first three basic commands a puppy should learn. 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. A puppy’s attention span is short so you will need to keep the sessions short in the beginning, 10 to 15 minutes. It won’t be long before you will gradually lengthen the training sessions.

Help for Training Your Puppy

Leash Training

While holding the treat in front of your puppy’s nose with your left hand, and the leash in your right hand, leash training begins.  Using your happy voice, say the puppy’s name, then say heel.  Become a human pez-dispencer, dishing out the treats and encouragement to keep the puppy walking beside you. Give the leash a gentle tug while holding the treat in front of the puppy if he stops.  It won’t be long and the leash and collar won’t bother the pup at all.

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. Use the word sit while practicing this. Every once in a while, if you’re watching TV or reading a book, go ahead and take one or two minutes to practice the sit.

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.

To train your puppy, you will need to stay consistant. Don’t worry if it seems like it is taking a little longer for your pup to get the hang of it, he will. 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.

Puppy Training Advice