How to Train Your Puppy

Your Puppy is finally home! You need to begin training it immediately if you care about the new center rug you just got and wouldn’t want to smell like dog pee. You also don't want to be worried about coming back home to a kitchen (turned playground) filled with broken utensils. 

Whether you choose to train your puppy yourself or engage a professional to do so, there are some basic house rules your puppy must understand. The purpose of this training is to have a well-behaved puppy that you can trust to obey simple rules. You need to spend quality time playing, caring and training your puppy as this helps to create a bond between you and him. 

The following techniques should help guide you on how to train your puppy and reinforce good behavior.

Pick a name for your puppy

Pick a name you love but also consider a short name with a strong consonant sound. Call your puppy this name repeatedly till it recognizes it. Names like Jack, Saback or Patty have strong endings that when emphasized perk up your puppy’s ears.

Basic Commands

Giving or making command is a way to keep your puppy in check and a way to discourage or encourage good behavior. Train your puppy to understand Commands like ‘Yes or No.’ Commands like ‘sit,’ ‘stand,’ ‘come’ or ‘eat’ should be accompanied by gestures repeatedly. 

Basic House Rules

The faster you can set up house rules and make your puppy understand, the better it gets for both of you. Let him know what areas are out of bound, where he can play, where to pee or poo, what he can nibble on and how to behave when visitors come calling.

Crate Training

This involves setting an area of the house as your puppy den. This area is strictly for your puppy to rest and sleep. It might seem a bit tricky and challenging at the beginning as most puppies do not like being secluded, but it will pay off over time. Your best approach would be to reward your puppy with treats for every time he stays in his den and to dissuade him from sleeping in any other area of the house.

No Biting Rules

Because your puppy doesn’t have a hand to play with, is mouth and teeth are his playing tools. Discourage him from biting by providing toys he can nibble on in place of your hands or trouser pants. Another method is to pretend to be in great pain whenever he bites you by shouting in a high-pitched voice. This will get its attention and give you time to say ‘stop it’ which is one of the commands you have taught him from the beginning.

Time for a treat

Reward your puppy’s good behavior with a gift. Gifts could be toys, petting, a walk, play out time or heap of praise. Likewise, do not reward bad behavior as this will help him understand the difference. Never stop training and always give positive reinforcement.