Tips on Effectively Toilet Training Your Puppy
Toilet training your puppy is one of the first things you will need to learn as a new puppy parent. Having a new puppy is one of the greatest joys even more so if your puppy is toilet trained. You have a couple different options in toilet training your puppy. The first option is to teach your puppy to use the toilet outside. Your second option is to paper train your puppy on puppy pads. Lastly, and one of the newest options for toilet training your puppy is to litter train your puppy. So now the question now is how to you go about toilet training your puppy?
No matter which option you choose to toilet train your puppy, you will need to incorporate a puppy training crate to reinforce his/her training. For the first five weeks, use the puppy training crate to reinforce your puppy’s toilet training is important. The method of keeping your puppy in the training crate and then taking him to the proper location to use the toilet is the best way to toilet train your puppy.
If you do this every time you take your puppy out of the training crate, he will be housebroken in a very short time. You want to get your puppy accustomed to doing using the toilet outside of his training crate. It is the most effective method I have tried and the puppy learns very fast because he does not like being confined. Crate training, however, should be done the proper way to have its desired affect.
Determine the size your puppy will grow to before you buy your training crate. Most of you who have pure bred puppies know what size your puppy will grow to. You know, for example, that if your puppy is either a black, yellow, or chocolate lab; German shepherd, retrievers, border collies, or rots; you know that these will grow to rather large dogs. Likewise, if you have a poodle, Pekinese, shitzu, schnauzer, or pug, you know that these are rather small dogs and will not get large. Buy your training crate accordingly. For those of you who have a rescue from your local shelter, it might be more difficult to determine how big your puppy will grow. There are some signs you can look at when you choose a puppy from a shelter. The key is that puppies with very large paws will generally grow into large dogs, whereas puppies with smaller paws will grow into smaller dogs. Looking at the paws, however, can be a bit misleading. Your vet can get a better estimate on how large your dog will grow. The vet will look at several factors in how big your dog will grow, not just his paws. Your vet has knowledge of the different breeds and their genetic characteristics and with those characteristics he can determine what breeds are mixed in your dog and can also estimate your dog’s size. Buy the training crate accordingly. You need to know that your puppy will grow the fastest in the first 12 to 18 months of his life. Puppies usually reach their full grown size within their first year.
Do not keep your puppy in the training crate all the time. Your puppy should only be in the training crate when you are either away or asleep during the night. When you are home, you should have your puppy next to you and have him keep you company. If you see your puppy begin to do his business in the house, either let him out in the yard or get him on a walk. If you see him in the act of doing his business inside your house and the mess is already there, put him in the training crate for a certain period of time. As you catch your dog in the act of pooping or peeing in the house, put his nose in the mess and tell him “NO!” You should do this before you put your puppy in the training crate.
Line the training crate with blankets and soft bedding because your puppy will be in the training crate every time you go to bed or are away from home, be it work or out shopping. You should also have your puppy’s food and water in the training crate.
Praise your puppy every time he poops or pees outside on the walk or in the backyard. The puppy will learn that peeing and pooping is to be done outside. This together with scolding him when he poops inside will train him to hold it while being in the house. The training crate teaches him to hold it also, since dogs do not like to do their business in confined areas where they sleep.
Toilet training your puppy is not as difficult as it seems. Once your puppy reaches six to eight months, you might want to gradually ween him outside of the training crate. Get your puppy to either sleep in your room or in any other part of the house. Have your dog’s food or water in a place, such as the kitchen once the training crate is no longer needed. Remember, your puppy will be with you for at least ten to fifteen years and sometimes even more. Your puppy will turn into the type of dog you make him into. Your puppy can be a great asset to your family, a great playmate for your children, and a good companion for you or he can be incorrigible and drive you to take him to the shelter. It all depends on how you train him and toilet training is one of the most critical aspects of training your puppy, so remember do it right.
Training Your Puppy to Sleep Through the Night
Training your puppy to sleep through the night is one of the first challenges for new puppy parents. I’m sure that the first night you brought your puppy home, you did not sleep at all. If you were lucky enough to sleep the first night chances are that wasn’t the case every night.
The first few nights can be the most challenging because your puppy is probably whining, crying, barking, or all of the above. Relax! There is nothing wrong with your puppy. This is perfectly normal behavior for your puppy as it has just been taken away from familiar surroundings and has been placed in new and strange surroundings. Your puppy was probably taken away from its mother and is frightened and uncomfortable. This will usually go away, though in some extreme cases, your puppy might need to be trained to stop.
Why does your puppy whine at night?
Puppies can rarely sleep through the night until they are al least 16 weeks old and in many cases they are afraid of their new surroundings. Many people do love to get a puppy because they are cute and cuddly, but they will soon realize that the crying can get on their nerves really quick. In many cases, the first nights you have your puppy at home with you can be trying times and you might think that you just want to silence him. Now, this is the wrong line of thinking. You need to realize ahead of time that you will have some sleepless nights with your new puppy, as he gets accustomed with his new surroundings. There are ways you can get your puppy to sleep through the night before they reach 16 weeks with some simple training, but you need to be patient.
Where you make your puppy sleep can be critical in getting your puppy to quiet down during the night. You need to remember that puppies and dogs are social animals. For this reason, the best thing to do is to get your puppy to sleep in the bedroom with you. Some advise to have your puppy sleep in bed with you other advise to put your puppy in a training crate. Which ever you chose, realize that your puppy might need to go to the bathroom several times during the night for the first few weeks. For this reason, having your puppy in the same room can be a great benefit for you, because your puppy will become restless before actually having go potty. He’ll let you know. This way you can get up and take him outside to go do his business when he needs to.
For those of you who prefer your puppy sleep in another room, you should have some kind of ambient noise in the room, such as a radio, fan, or other constant noise-making machine. As your puppy hears the noise, he will feel safe and will be less likely to stay up and whine all night. The only drawback to this is that you will not hear your puppy fidget before he does his business and you might find an accident in the morning. You need to remember that the longer the mess lingers, the greater the chances your puppy will do his business in the same place again. Your puppy can still smell his excrement, even when you have cleaned it up. Dogs use urine as a territory marker and the scent of the urine will tell your puppy that this is his toilet. You need to make sure that you clean the messes when they are still fresh and you should get special cleansers that can remove all the scent from the mess, including those scents that we can’t smell, but your dog can.
Crate training your puppy can be a great way to get your puppy to be quiet at night. Though training crates are usually used to potty train your puppy, but they are also great for night training because they are small and confined, providing your puppy the sense of security he needs to be comfortable and sleep at night.
Training Your Puppy to Sleep at Night
Establish bed time for your puppy. Like small children, puppies will tend to nap in the afternoon or early in the evening. This can pose a problem because if your puppy has gotten the required amount of sleep early during the day, he will be active during the night. Keep him busy in the course of the day. Horseplay with him throughout the evening hours and keep him active until you are ready to go to bed and walk him at night to get him to do his business outside at night before you go to bed in the evening. This way your puppy will be tired and will sleep at night. He will also get used to your routine and this will carry on throughout the whole life of your dog.
Having a puppy can be great joy if you simply put up with a bit of the annoying behaviors your puppy has in the beginning. With a little training, you will have a loyal companion who will keep you company for years to come.
Tips on Successful Puppy Teaching
Teaching your puppy all kinds of things from tricks to begging a certain way can be good fun, but there is a method to puppy teaching. Different breeds can learn different tricks. Teaching your puppy to shake, rolling over, play dead or beg, are popular tricks. Though begging may not necessarily be a desired behavior to some people, whereas other people think begging can be cute; there are ways you can teach your puppy to either beg in a cute way or not to beg at all. Many people find it cute to see a small dog, such as a Shitzu or a Toy Poodle stands on his hind legs with its front paws hanging down. Other people like it when big dogs give a handshake with their paws or do other tricks. Whatever trick you want your puppy to do, you can teach him easily through rewarding him with a treat upon performing the desired trick. A tip when puppy teaching is to use training treats to reward your puppy for listening to your commands.
A. The paw shake trick is one of the most common dog tricks people like to teach their puppy. The typical command for getting a dog to shake his paw with your hand is done with the command “SHAKE!” Teaching a puppy to shake is done by first getting him to sit and then gently lift one of his front paws and tell him “SHAKE!” Using the verbal command should also be done simultaneously with a hand gesture. The typical hand gesture in getting the dog to shake is by tapping the floor with your hand in front of the dog’s front paw. Encourage your puppy to lift up one of his front paws to get to shake. As you repeat the verbal command “SHAKE” and do the hand gesture, and every time your puppy complies, give him a treat. It’s that simple.
B. Teaching your puppy to sit is another important command that many people teach their puppy. You need to remember that puppies are highly energetic and can be rambunctious; therefore you need to get him to simmer down in certain situations. What better way than teaching your puppy to sit. Like teaching your puppy to shake, teaching your puppy to sit on command can be done with a simple verbal command, “SIT,” and the simultaneous hand gesture. Typically, the hand gesture for the “SIT” command should be either your hand or finger first pointing to your puppy and moving downward. The first few times, get the dog to recognize the verbal command with the hand sign by gently making him sit by pushing his hind end down to sit. As soon as your puppy sits on command by himself, give him a treat to reward him every time he obeys your command.
C. Begging can be cute or can be annoying, depending on the person. Eventually your puppy will be near the table and will begin to beg for food. Some people who come and visit might not like it if your puppy begs by putting his chin or paw on your guest’s leg. Other dogs can beg vocally by lying under the table and moan or bark or both. This kind of begging is obviously undesirable and should be curbed, however, small dogs might beg in a cute manner by standing on its hind legs. But its up to you in teaching your puppy, you can either encourage your puppy to beg or not.
1. Teaching your puppy not to beg can also be done very easily. First, why does your puppy beg? Simple. It wants what’s on the table and will do something to get what it wants. If you give your dog a scrap from the table every time it does some kind of begging, it will continue, that is what you are teaching the puppy. If your puppy knows that every time it moans or barks it gets some table scraps, it will continue this behavior because it has the desired affect. It the dog is ignored, she knows that she will not get anything and will stop begging. If your puppy gets very obnoxious when begging, tell him firmly “NO!” Or you can say “BAD!” You need to be firm and you need to do this repetitively. Sometimes, take your puppy away from the dining table when he begs and tell him “NO!” Lock your puppy in its room for some time and then let him back out.
2. Teaching your puppy to beg is not difficult. If you want your dog to do a particular trick while begging, such as standing on its hind legs or you see it does something else that’s cute, such as the sad “puppy dog look,” give it something from the table every time it does that particular trick. Again, that’s rewarding desired behavior.
There are many different ways in teaching your puppy to do what you want it to do. Obedience schools specialize in puppy teaching, but with some of the simple tips in this article, you can do the same thing as obedience schools do and you will have a well behaved and obedient puppy without spending the money for obedience training.
Litter Training A Puppy
For those of you who are not walkers, there is a way that you can litter train your puppy to poop in a part of a house, like a litter box for your cat. Though there are many different dog litter boxes available from expensive ones, like Ugodog or grass turf to get your dog to poop or pee, but the best thing to do is to get the same kind of litter box as you would for cats. The only difference is that you need to get a bigger litter box than you would if you have a larger dog.
Though I have never seen to litter train my own dogs because I am a walker, but I do understand that certain conditions might prevent dog owners from walking the dogs often enough to get them to do their business outside. If you are elderly and cannot walk long enough or you work long hours and are not able to walk your dog often enough, litter training your puppy can be the best thing for you. Take note, however, that this can be great for small dogs but might not be so great for large dogs. The reason is that large dogs need exercise. Many large dogs were originally bred to hunt; guard herds of sheep, cattle, or goats; or as work or sled dogs. This means that these dogs are meant to run and need regular walks. Small dogs, on the other hand, were originally bred to be pets for the aristocrats. This is especially the case with some of the smaller dogs who look like little elegant toys, such as poodles, Pekingese, Shitzus, Pappions, and other such breeds. These kinds of small dogs do not require the exercise that most large dogs do.
Setting up your puppy’s litter box is much like setting up a litter box for your cats. You need to get a large tray that is big enough for your dog to maneuver in. Get the same kind of granules that you would buy for your kitty litter box and fill the tray with it. You want to make sure that the tray is deep enough to hold enough granules to enable them to absorb the urine, yet low enough to allow your puppy to comfortably climb into it and do his business. You should get the kind of kitty litter granules that absorb the dog’s urine and form hardened clumps that are easy to scoop out and throw away with the poop.
Litter training your puppy can be just as tricky as paper training your puppy. You should use your training crate to hold your puppy until you are sure that he will always go to his litter box to do his business. This can take a while and as your puppy is outside of the training crate, you need to watch your puppy at first. If you see that your puppy is starting to squat or lift up his leg, you know he is either going to leave a sausage link or make a lice lake on your hardwood floor or carpet. Direct him to his litter box before he does it. That is the best way.
If you see the mess already, put him in the training crate. Leave him in there for a while. Keep in mind, when your puppy does his business other than in his litter box, you need to put your puppy’s nose in the mess and tell him “NO!”
Praise and reward your puppy every time you see him do his business in his litter box. Tell your puppy “good boy” or “good girl” when he goes to his or her litter box without your guiding him or her. Give him a treat and he will eventually learn that this is the doggy toilet.
Keeping the litter box clean is very important to make your puppy comfortable doing his business in there. The right granules will solidify when they come in contact with urine. These solid clumps can easily be scooped up and thrown away with a proper scooper. The proper litter box scooper is a sifted scooper, which has slats that allow the dry litter to fall back into the litter box but hold the clumps that are too big to fall through the slats. This means that you are able to pick up the urine clumps together with the poop and conveniently throw it into the garbage, like with a cat litter box. Make sure that after cleaning your dog’s litter box, the granules are spread evenly. You should add new granules occasionally.
Remember. It’s all in the training. Puppies usually learn quickly if you are persistent. If you choose to litter train a larger dog, you will still need to take him for a walk so that he can get the exercise he needs.
Quick Steps to Leash Train Your Puppy
Leash training a puppy is an important trick to practice with your dog. Walking your puppy on a leash is good training and you can do it every time you walk together. When you are ready to walk your dog, you want to have your dog to either walk ahead of you or by your side. In most cases you will walk your dog on a leash since many communities require your dog to be on a leash when you are walking him in public areas, such as streets, parks, and nature trails. Some communities also have ordinances that require you to pick up after your dog .
Pulling can be a common problem when you are leash training a puppy. Like human children, puppies have a lot of energy and they can pull hard on the leash when you are walking them. Some puppies like chasing animals when you are leash training. There are many ways to control the pulling of your dog ranging from choke collar to a dog harness. Personally through the years have used many different collars to leash train my puppy, the trick is to find which one works for you. Take your puppy and her leash to a store and try them on. Practice leash training your puppy and see which collar fits your puppy best and how she reacts.
Teaching your puppy to heal is key to getting your puppy to walk with you in a disciplined manner. When do you want your dog to heal? Any time there are many passing cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and walking or running people. This can especially difficult if you have a puppy that enjoys barking and chasing passing vehicles or people. Having your dog heal means making your dog walk in close proximity to your side. Teaching your puppy to heal is done by doing the following:
A. Cut the leash short and pull back on your dog to get your dog to walk closely to your side. As you pull back the leash and the choke collar tightens, making your dog get closer to you, firmly say “HEAL!” Get your dog to understand that when he hears the word “HEAL,” to walk slowly by your side. It is a good idea to take a bag of treats in the beginning and as your puppy starts to heal in a disciplined manner, give him a treat. Then when he hears the command “HEAL,” and feel the gentle tug on the leash, he will heal properly.
B. Hold your dog on a short leash for the duration of time you want your dog to heal. Once you feel that your dog can pull forth again, let length to the leash. Your dog will learn when the leash gets longer, he can go farther forward.
Crossing the busy street or intersection is another thing that should be done in a disciplined manner when walking your dog. Most of you are more than likely in urban or suburban communities, where there are many busy streets or intersections to cross during the course of your walk with the dog. Having your dog cross the street in a disciplined manner is a safety issue for both you and your puppy. Training your puppy to cross the street should be done as follows:
A. Have the dog heal as you approach the busy intersection and obey all pedestrian traffic signs and signals.
B. Have your dog sit as you get to the curb and you have to wait. When you get to the edge of the curb and you have to wait to cross, tell your dog “SIT!” Give your dog a treat or pet him when he sits.
C. Have your dog heal when crossing the street to keep him under close control and to prevent him from wanting to chase cars or get into other potential dangerous situations in the street.
Crossing a busy street can be very dangerous if you do not cross with care. This is why it is important to take time for leash training your puppy properly in crossing a busy intersection.
House Breaking while Leash Training a Puppy – The purpose of walking your dog and leash training is not only to housebreak your puppy but also to exercise him. When leashing training your puppy you should be considerate of other people. Avoiding know obstacles like busy roads, play grounds, and construction sites is a great idea until you and your puppy are comfortable training your puppy on a leash.
There is nothing more pleasurable when you are walking your dog. Both you and the dog get exercise and most importantly, you and your pal can spend some quality training time. Having your dog walk in a disciplined manner and in orderly fashion will keep you at ease with your neighbors and other people you meet on the street.
5 Tips for Housebreaking A Puppy Now
Though housebreaking a puppy may not be the most fun thing to do, it is one of the things that you need to do with a puppy. When you are housebreaking a puppy it does not take long to do if done right, but it can be a trying time for both you and your puppy. I will teach you the quick way of housebreaking a puppy quickly and effectively.
Housebreaking A Puppy Tip #1 – The training crate is the best way to start with housebreaking. Training crates are wonderful because they create a sanctuary for housebreaking a puppy and keep a puppy in a confined area when you are away. Plus you don’t have to worry about a puppy doing his business in the house when you are away shopping, running errands, or at work. You can also keep your puppy in the training crate during the night when you are sleeping. This will teach your puppy to hold it until you are ready to walk him, making it one of the best ways for housebreaking a puppy fast!
Housebreaking A Puppy Tip #2 – Walk your puppy frequently because the younger a puppy is, the more often he will have to do his business. As a general rule when housebreaking a puppy is to take him out will shortly after eating or playing. This means that you should first feed your puppy and then take him out for a walk after he has eaten. The same thing applies after playtime. Take your puppy out for a walk after playing with him. This routine will also help in housebreaking a puppy fast. When you walk your puppy, you should always praise him when he urinates or defecates outside on the walks.
Housebreaking A Puppy Tip #3 – A much harder way for housebreaking a puppy is to monitor your puppy frequently while inside to see if he is about to urinate or defecate. This is stressful to keep your eye on a puppy so see if he is sniffing around take him outside quickly so that he does it outside. This is why Tip#1 and Tip#2 are important to follow with housebreaking a puppy. The important thing here is that you need to catch your puppy in the act before he actually does it. Signs that your puppy is about to do his business are easy to spot. Females will usually squat low to urinate to make sure that the urine will not run down their hind legs. Males usually lift one of their hind legs and aim their John Thomas in a direction away from their hind legs to urinate. All dogs will squat in a specific position to defecate. If you see your puppy perform any of these above mentioned actions, you need to stop him and take him outside. Then praise them when they do it outside.
Housebreaking A Puppy Tip #4 – Clean up accidents quickly before the scent gets permanently imbibed by the area where your puppy did his business. This is very important, because even though you may have cleaned it up and you don’t smell anything, the urine can produce scents that you can’t smell but your dog can. This means that your dog will think that that area is his personal toilet because it will smell like a toilet to him. Chances are that if the scent stays in one area where your puppy did his business, he will do it in the same place again. This is why it is important to clean any accident with powerful detergents that clean up all the scent chemicals to leave no sign of scent for your puppy to smell.
Use a Puppy Training Crate for Success
What exactly is a puppy training crate? Well, a puppy training crate is a cage to hold your puppy and restrict its movement around the house and is designed to be used in house breaking your puppy and keeping him safe. It works on the idea that the puppy does not to sleep in its own excrement and the idea is to use the puppy training crate together in walking your puppy and training your puppy to do its business outside.
What do you need to determine when buying a puppy training crate? First and foremost, you need to determine the full-grown size of your puppy and this can be a bit tricky for those of you who have a mixed breed puppy or mutt. Those of you who have purebreds, you can already have an idea. German Shepherds, Labradors, Collies, and Golden Retrievers are usually rather large dogs and you will need a fairly large training crate to house this kind of breed. Likewise, if you have a toy Poodle, Shih Tzu, Chihuahua, or Pekingese; you will need a smaller puppy training crate. For those of you who have mix breeds or have adopted a young puppy from a shelter, you can get a ballpark idea of how big your puppy will grow by how big his front paws are. Usually, the larger the paws, the larger of a dog your puppy will grow into. Your veterinarian can also determine how big your puppy will grow to, but even his advice will be an educated guess.
When should you have your puppy in the training crate? The puppy training crate is primarily designed to be used to housebreak your puppy and should not be used as a cage to keep your puppy in all the time. You need to remember that your puppy is a social animal and needs your company. Use the training crate only to keep your puppy, which is not yet housebroken in when you are either away from home or asleep for the night.
How do I use the puppy training crate to housebreak my dog? When choosing a training crate make sure it isn’t too big for your puppy. If you purchase a crate that your puppy will grow into you want to block off a portion of the crate so she doesn’t have a lot ot room to soil it. A box is an inexpensive way to reduce the size of the training crate. Aside from the training crate you should take your puppy out for walks on a regular basis. Ideally, dogs should be walked at least three times a day, however, puppies grow very rapidly and therefore have a huge appetite. This means they eat more than mature dogs and of course, as a result will poop more and their feces will be much larger and softer than those of more mature dogs. For this reason, you should walk your puppy more frequently than when he is more mature. Furthermore, puppies have a lot of energy and can use the extra exercise, and so can I.
Can the training crate be used for anything else besides housebreaking? Yes, there are all kinds of different training crates available ranging from the typical wire dog cage to the travel crate, which is made from two pieces of hard cast plastic screwed or bolted together with a wire gate, and are ideal for travel. You can also use the puppy training crate to discipline your puppy for other undesirable behavior. For example, if you have company and your puppy is begging at the table, you can use the training crate to teach it that this is not acceptable behavior.
The best training crates are the kind that have dual use, this is much more economically. Get a travel cage and use it as a puppy training crate. In today’s economy, you can’t afford to waist anything, so even after your puppy is housebroken and trained, you can use the same travel cage to take your dog with you when you are flying somewhere, going in the car, or even camping. Using a puppy training crate is particually important when flying your dog. Most airlines require that your dog needs to be in a special travel cage when you are flying with him anyway. Check with your particular airline, they will have crate specifications on their website, both size and types.
Puppy training crates are available in most pet shops or in stores, or online.
How to Stop Your Puppy From Whining
Keeping Your Puppy From Whining
Finding a puppy that does not whine when you first bring him home is difficult. However, if you have a strategy to stop your puppy from whining that is easier. Everyone wants a puppy that doesn’t whine and many people don’t often realize that puppies grow up to be dogs and some of them even grow into big dogs. Like children, puppies also need to be trained and educated that whining isn’t an appropriate behavior. One fact that many puppy owners don’t realize is that most dogs end up in the shelters due to behavior problems, like a whining puppy. Owners have not properly trained their puppies at the early age can see how a whining puppy can become a barking dog. Barking and puppy whining can also be the main cause of conflicts between neighbors. The dog will bark in the middle of the night and the neighbor sometimes even call the police. In some cases a whining puppy can be the reason why puppies are abandoned or given away to shelters. All of this can all be prevented by some simple puppy training strategies.
A. Ignoring the whining puppy may sound insane at first but it is in fact a very effective method to stop your puppy from whining for attention. Don’t ignore the puppy will whine at first, then check in on him. Using a puppy training crate is a great way to teach your puppy to stop whining. For starters be sure that your puppy’s food and water dishes are always filled with clean water and given enough food. Once you have seen that food and water is not a problem, but your puppy continues to whine, close the door and let him whine. This may sound cruel, but the puppy whines to get your attention. Much like small children who throw temper tantrums, the puppy whines to get your attention. If you let the puppy whine, it will soon see that he is not getting the attention he is after, he will stop whining.
B. Rewarding good behavior is the next step after ignoring the puppy when whining. If the whining persists, you should occasionally come into the room and firmly give the puppy the “NO NOISE” command. When the puppy stops whining after hearing “NO NOISE,” even for only a minute, give him a treat. The trick here is to give him the treat right when he stops whining. Repeat the reward every time the puppy stops whining. The puppy will soon realize that when he stops whining, he will get a treat and will stop. This might take some time, but rewarding good behavior with treats always works. When the puppy stops whining, bring him into the room where you are and give him some attention. Then let him stay next to you. Puppies and dogs are social animals and they like your company. You are after all the pack leader. If the puppy starts to whine again, isolate him in his room and crate again until he stops.
C. Provide a negative reaction to the puppy whining. There are many different methods for negative reinforcement. A squirt bottle can be an effective teaching tool. Though some dogs like to go into water and others don’t, almost all dogs do not like to be squirted with water from a bottle. When the puppy whines, squirt the bottle at the puppy each time. Dog whistles can work great also. These are special whistles that make a very high pitched whistling sound that you cannot hear, but the sound is unbearable to the dog’s sensitive ears. Use the dog whistle every time the puppy whines. Another solution to stop puppy whining or any negative behavior is to “throw a party” anytime your puppy does what you want. For example, if your puppy isn’t learning the sit command. When he does finally learn it or sit on command praise your puppy in a rather exaggerated manner just to emphasis that he did a good job.
Training a whining puppy not to whine can be very easy and with the three strategies mentioned, you should be able to train your puppy not to whine rather quickly.
How to Teach Puppy Obedience
Teach Your New Puppy Congratulations! You now have a new addition to your family and your new puppy can bring you a lot of joy, be a great companion or playmate for your kids. Puppies are very cute and adorable, but you will soon realize that these cute adorable puppies can also have quite a bit of energy and as their teeth begin to come out, they have the tendency to chew everything in site. This is why you need to teach your puppy what’s acceptable behavior and what’s not.
Teaching your Puppy obedience is the most important thing about teaching your puppy acceptable behavior. Many people will spend thousands of dollars on obedience school to teach their puppy, when that’s not even necessary. You do not need puppy obedience school if you know how to teach your puppy properly. Now, obedience training is more than just teaching your puppy how to obey your commands. It’s actually teaching your puppy what is acceptable behavior and what’s not. Most of puppy obedience training is done by reward training. With reward training, you give your puppy a treat after he follows a specific command. This method is also great for teaching your puppy tricks.
Aggression management is also something you should consider and teach your puppy. Usually puppies are not aggressive when they are still small. Aggression is a learned behavior and can be common in dogs which may have been abused before or may have had to compete with other dogs (occasionally seen in for shelter dogs). There is a disturbing tendency for some shelters to euthanize perfectly good dogs who show some signs of aggression, especially with food. This is very sad, because if your rescue is still a young dog and still has some puppy in him, you can still successfully teach him that this kind of aggressive behavior is not acceptable. Likewise, as puppies get older and begin to develop sexually, some dogs will show aggression with other dogs usually of the same sex. This is normal behavior, since male dogs and female dogs will compete to mate. Some of the most common aggressive behaviors and their solutions are listed below. One way to keep your dog from getting aggressive is to spay or neuter your puppy at about 6 months.
A. Food aggression can be the most common display of aggressive behavior of dogs. How can you tell if your puppy is showing too much aggression when eating? Well, take a pole with a curved edge that can grab the rim of your dog’s food dish and as your dog is eating, gently pull the food away from the dog. This is usually aggressive behavior associated with eating will show. What to look for: Does your puppy growl? Does your puppy show his teeth? Does your puppy attempt to bite or snap as you pull food away from him? If you answer yes to any one of these questions, your dog can be overly aggressive with food and this behavior should be curbed if possible. So how can you get your puppy to stop being aggressive with its food?
- Gently pull the food dish away while your dog is eating with the pole. Each time your dog attempts to do any of the three things mentioned above, in a firm voice, tell him “NO! BAD DOG!” Pull the food dish away several times as the dog is eating. Do it on a regular basis. Your dog will eventually get the picture that this is not acceptable behavior. As you pull the food dish away and you see that your dog is not displaying any aggressive behavior, compliment him on it. Let him eat again and reward him with a special treat. Each time you pull the food dish away and your dog does not show aggressive behavior, praise him by petting him and tell him “GOOD DOG!” Show affection to your dog. This will eventually show the dog that aggression with food is unacceptable behavior.
- After using the pole, try moving the food dish away with your hand if your dog shows progress in minimizing such aggressive behavior. Do it slowly and gently. If your dog shows its teeth or growls as you attempt to move the food dish with your hand, in a firm voice say “NO! BAD DOG!” Keep repeating the action until the dog realizes that it’s OK for the food to be taken away. Note, that some dogs might be very protective of their food and this training may not have an affect. Keep using the pole until you are sure the dog will not snap at you when you try to take its food.
B. Aggression with other dogs can also be a problem with your puppy. Typically, your puppy will display this type of behavior when it reaches a year and is in heat. At this time it will be competing with other dogs of the same sex for the opposite sex. As a rule, female dogs usually show aggression to other females and males to other males. Some dogs can be more aggressive with other dogs than other dogs and this is a behavior that should be curbed, since it can even lead to liabilities if your dog is aggressive enough to seriously injure another dog. Now you’re probably asking what strategy you should have to teach your dog to stop its aggressive behavior? Well, the answer is as follows.
- Keep your dog on the leash when you are walking him. When another dog comes by and you see that your dog wants to duke it out with him, pull the leash back and tell him “NO!” The best kind of leash is a leash with a choke collar. The choke collar works very well in keeping your dog under control and will prevent him from pulling too hard and gives you better control over him when he is in attack mode with the other dog. As the dog will bark and growl at the other dog, hold the leash short and do not give him much movement, at the same time telling him “NO! BAD DOG!” This method can also work to teach your puppy not to bark at cars, bicycles, motorcycles, or joggers also.
- Each time your dog sees another dog and ignores him, reward him for not being aggressive and compliment him.
C. Minimizing aggression against the mailman or meter reader can also be a daunting task for the owner of some dogs. It’s good to have a dog that is a good watchdog and bark at strangers who come into your yard or door, but you need to get your dog accustomed to the fact that occasionally the meter reader will come from the local power company to read your electric and gas meters, or the mailman will have to deliver a package to your door. Though you may want your dog to attack an intruder, such as a burglar who is trying to burgle your house, at the same time you want your dog to leave certain people alone. This can be done easily. Get to know who your mailman is or who the meter reader is in your neighborhood. In many communities, it is the same person who services the various neighborhoods, be it the meter reader or the mailman. Introduce your dog to them. Get them to give your dog a treat. The dog will then associate them as part of the pack and will leave them alone.
There may be different aggressive behaviors depending on the kind of dog you have. You also need to know that some dogs are aggressive by nature and there isn’t much you can do with them. If you see that your dog is overly aggressive and there is no training that stops it, you may have to think about euthanizing him. This is the extreme situation. You need to understand that an aggressive dog can be dangerous, especially if you have small children or other pets. An aggressive dog can also be a liability issue if it bites or severely injures someone.
Do not play aggressively with your puppy if you want your puppy to be a passive dog. Puppies learn by playing and avoid your puppy to play bite or avoid encouraging your puppy to bite or attack particular objects. This can lead to aggressive behavior later in life.
Housebreaking your puppy can be a challenge to some people but it is not as difficult as training your puppy not to be too aggressive. Though some people like to paper train puppies, I personally never thought it worked. The best way to housebreak your puppy is to use a training crate and in the early phase of housebreaking, keep your puppy in the training crate and keep his food and water in the cage. Keep your puppy in the training crate only when you are away or asleep for the night. Take your puppy on frequent walks and then praise him every time he does his business outside on the walk.
Chewing can be another problem with puppies. It’s a fact that all puppies chew. There is a reason for this. Just as human babies growing their teeth feel discomfort and need to bite on things, puppies are the same way. They chew because their teeth are growing. The chewing can be destructive and you could probably kill your puppy after he chewed and ruined your $150 Nike Shox or your wife’s expensive high heels that she bought for that special night out. This does not have to happen though. Have chew toys available for your puppy to chew on. At the chewing stage, it might be a good idea to keep your puppy in the training crate and have these chewing toys available for your puppy to chew on. Chewing toys can be rubber squeaky toys sold at pet shops or you can give your puppy these pig skin chew bones that have meat flavored coating baked on them. These are great, because puppies can chew on these for a long time.
There are many other behaviors that are desired and not desired and the important thing is teaching your puppy what behaviors are acceptable and what is not. Using the different strategies mentioned above can help you get the perfect dog.