Puppy Training Tips and Advice
I have mentioned previously that puppy training is a fundamental part of owning a dog. Without proper training, life with your dog could be extremely difficult. Training will allow him and you to enjoy taking part in a range of activities because he will be social and more obedient whilst out and about.
Some dogs will obviously be harder to teach than others, some may have certain issues that will need to be addressed or managed. But whatever the case a trained dog means a happy dog and a happy owner.
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Puppy Training Firsts
A dog’s first experience of structured training is likely to be at a puppy class. Although training a puppy should really start with the basics when you first bring them home, teaching simple things like their name, where to toilet etc.
With puppy vaccinations done, owners are normally quite excited to be able to get their four legged crazies out to their first class. Most trainers would keep young pups together to start to allow them to begin the processes of socialisation with canine peers of similar age. Sometimes meeting older, stronger, more mature dogs at their first ‘social’ can be a little daunting.
The 'New' Stuff
The first few classes are about socialisation. There will be lots of new experiences to take on board:
- Humans
- Dogs
- Smells
- Sights
- Sounds
- New adventures
All this to take in for the pups’ very immature brain. So don’t be surprised if he is very tired after these sessions.
Raising a dog with appropriate social skills is very important. Even more so now than it was many years ago when it was likely that dogs were kept to work. They were often kennelled when not performing their job and would rarely be away from the home. More dogs are now considered to be part of family life than they have ever been and are now out and about with their family rather than kept purely as a working dog.
Socialisation
Socialisation is the most important part of the puppy training process and it will be for some months. Every time your pup meets something that is new to him, he will address it, assess it and acclimatise to it. How quick that happens really depend on the pup’s own confidence, whether he has been worried by something similar before and also how you as his owner and ‘guide’ deals with each situation too. Dogs feed off our emotions so keeping calm and level headed when faced with difficulties will help your pup immensely.
Some puppies will approach every new situation with confidence and very little if anything, will phase them. This is a great place to be with your pup, although sometimes they can be so confident and excitable that they can cause other dogs to be phased by them. The key here is to teach them to approach people, dogs and situations calmly and in control of the situation.
Other pups could be at the opposite end of the scale of course and cope badly with new things. Building confidence without stressing the pup more will be what is required and your dog trainer and in more difficult cases, a behaviourist, will be able to help here.
Scary Moments
Don’t be surprised if down the line your wonderful, well mannered, confident pup is suddenly frightened by something they have never seen before. We cannot acclimatise our dogs to absolutely everything in the early days, as everything is not going to be on hand all of the time to do this. Your pup may not experience his first thunderstorm or hear his first shotgun echo till he is well on his way to adulthood. Always be accepting of the fact that something unusual may concern your dog at any age and deal with his fear calmly and without drawing too much attention to it. Distracting him from his concern, praising and rewarding his attention to you will help him feel more comfortable with the situation.
Over time you may find that your dog has a problem with certain situations. They may find it difficult to cope with the feelings that being in that position makes them feel. You need to provide your dog with the confidence he needs to overcome this fear and allow him to be more comfortable with the situation by providing distraction, encouragement and reward.
I come across many owners that will avoid a situation becuase they think that it is best for the dog. I have seen owners cross a street to avoid other dogs or turn round and walk back from where they came from just to avoid meeting other dogs. This only reinforces the dog's fear of what they are avoiding. It does not help them to overcome it.
Allowing them to calmly face their concern, with you rewarding any wanted behaviour they give you with your marker, praise and a treat will help them realise that the situation is not as scary as they thought it was. Over time, their confidence will grow and the scary moment isn't scary anymore.
Basic Obedience
Your pup will need to learn the essential basic commands as a minimum to ensure his safety and the safety of you and others around him. However, you may find that he will excel at his training and you and he could develop an interest in taking his learning further and get involved in more serious obedience work. Whatever route you take, you need to be able to control your dog with the basic commands and starting this early on when you first bring your puppy home will give you a head start.
Generally, dogs have varying levels of obedience, we know this because it is evident in our daily life. We see those owners that have perfect control over everything their dogs do, perfect recall, perfect wait/stays. Then there are those that no matter how much the owner shouts instructions to them, the dog carries on his merry way regardless. Much of the variation can be put down to the extent of the training and reinforcement of commands that the dog has had. Some of it can be put down to the individual dogs’ determination to do what it wants at the time and perhaps a bit of both for some.
Puppy Training Hints and Tips
An owner can confuse a dog whilst trying to train it quite easily, but they don’t always realise they are doing it. Consequently, the dog will not know what you want of him. Here are some hints and tips to help you:
BE CONSISTENT
Use the same words to request each behaviour from your pup and don’t interchange them. Asking your pup to ‘wait’ but then using ‘stay’ when asking a second time if the requested behaviour wasn’t given, will only confuse. Choose your instruction words and stick to them.
MAKE TRAINING FUN
Training needs to be fun too. Dogs love to please us and they will know when we are pleased by our voice, our body language and the fact that they might get a tasty reward as well. When your pup gives you the behaviour that you have requested, reward and praise will reinforce the action, he will see you are pleased and remember the result of him performing the request.
USE A MARKER WORD
Most trainers will advocate using a ‘marker’ to give your dog at the immediate point that he has carried out the requested behaviour. It is a useful training tool and tells your dog that this is what you wanted and would like him to continue. Some might use ‘yes’ or ‘good’ some might use a clicker to mark. Whatever your marker though it needs to be used immediately after the dog has given you the correct behaviour. You can then follow this up with further praise and a treat reward as well to aid reinforcement.
FOLLOW THROUGH
Training is not complete after a few weeks of puppy classes. Working with your dog will be a continious effort and you will always need to follow through with the same commands, markers and even body language that you may have incorporated into the training to ensure that you dog always understands what you require of him. Teaching your dog indicators that he will recognise when you request a behaviour and then throwing these out of the window when you think you have trained him, will only lead to the dog being confused.
Behavioural Issues
The phrase “behavoural issues” encompasses a wide variety of struggles an owner might have with their dog, from things a simple as a lack of recall, to more difficult issues like separation anxiety and on to major problems like aggression.
Where an owner is having problems with a behaviour centred around obedience, a dog trainer will normally be the initial point of contact for advice. Other problem behaviours might be put into the category of ‘unusual’. This is where the dog might be carrying out a behaviour that is not considered usual for dogs generally and/or its breed.
We must not forget that within each breed there are likely to be traits that are instinctive to that breed of dog. For example, herding breeds are instinctive ‘herders’. The behaviour is innate and does not require learning. It might also be stronger in dogs where their immediate and ancestral family have continued to be worked in their historical role and their breeders might have chosen to breed the most instinctive dogs. Therefore, some owners of herding breeds may find they have dogs that could have a tendency to herd other dogs, people and more worryingly farm livestock if not kept under control. Innate behaviours are usually more difficult to train out and instead have to be managed.
Unusual behaviours are very often ‘unwanted’ and the owner/family is likely to consult a behaviourist. They will take a full history and assess the dog and will be able to offer advice on how to deal with the issue/s.
It is important to remember that if you are struggling with a particular problem with your dog, then seek help because trying to solve the problem behaviour yourself and doing it incorrectly, could actually make it worse.
Conclusion
Contrary to some opinions, puppies do not arrive at their new homes as perfect, well mannered, obedient dogs. If you are lucky when you pick them up at eight weeks old, your breeder might have done a fab job with social and toilet training. You will only have to build on their hard work making sure pup has ample opportunity to go outside to do its business and to carry on raising them with the appropriate nurture and skills to allow them to be happy dogs.
Training your dog should not be considered a chore as it is an opportunity for you to spend quality time together, to learn about each other and have fun.
Look for training classes that use reward based training (positive reinforcement). This training technique teaches the puppy that good things happen when they make a good choice. It builds confidence and allows them to think for themselves.
If you do run into problems, don’t try to solve them by yourself. Approach a good dog trainer or behaviourist for advice. You can find recommended trainers/practitioners on The Canine Behaviour & Training Society (TCBTS), the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC) and The Kennel Club's KCAI Scheme websites and the standards to which they expect their members to adhere to and maintain.
An unwanted behaviour doesn’t have to be caused by lack of training or innate temperament problems. Sometimes there can be a medical cause especially if there has been a sudden change in behaviour from the norm and medications can also cause your dog to react differently to certain situations as well, so consulting with your vet is always a good place to start They will refer on to a behaviourist to assist if needs be.
You will not be able to start puppy classes until you new charge has had their vaccinations, but this does not mean you cannot start pup's training. Basic commands are easy to teach if you use the correct methods. Remember, when looking for help and guidance for your training always look for trainers using positive reinforcement based training techniques.
Could you add a contact tel number pls.
Hi Claire,
Thanks for your comment.
All initial enquiries are made by email or contact form to avoid scam and sales calls.
You have the contact number now via our private email conversation, so by all means call me should you need to speak to me directly.
Best wishes
Liesel