Puppy Training Tips

Puppies can be a challenge to train because-

• They have short attention spans.
• They are very curious, will try to bite everything, and put everything in their mouths.
• They have a lot of hyper energy.

As a result, puppies require a lot of attention and supervision.

However, puppy-hood is also the best time to train our dogs because-

• Puppies learn very quickly.
• Puppies are eager to please.
• Puppies are highly food focused.

Here, we present some useful puppy obedience training exercises that will help build a strong bond, and provide structure for a young dog. In this way, when puppy grows up, he will be balanced, confident, and happy.

Socialize puppy to a variety of objects, people, dogs, and new experiences.

Puppies are naturally interested in exploring the environment around them. We can use this natural curiosity to introduce puppy to new objects and experiences, in a positive way.

The more accustomed a puppy becomes to seeing, hearing, and doing new things, the less he will fear what is unusual or unexpected.

Puppy class is a fun way to socialize a new puppy to other dogs and people, as well as to learn some useful dog training techniques. I also invite friends over to meet puppy, and get him used to various objects that may seem scary, such as umbrellas, skateboards, and bicycles. Once puppy gets all of his vaccination shots, I start walking him around the neighborhood, and taking him to hiking parks.

Dog socialization helps a puppy gain confidence, and to live a more stress-free lifestyle that is not dominated by fear of people, fear of other dogs, or just fear of anything new.

Handle puppy as much as we can, but only in a positive way.

Puppies can get shy and stressed about being handled. This is especially true of sensitive areas such as paws, muzzle, and ears.

To properly care for our puppy, we will need to handle these areas when trimming his nails, brushing his teeth, or cleaning his ears and paws. Therefore, we want to get our dog comfortable with handling when he is young, and more open to new experiences.

We can desensitize our puppy to handling by pairing it with high priority food rewards, calm energy, and a happy voice. Make the puppy handling sessions short, and stop before puppy gets stressed.

Ian Dunbar’s book After You Get Your Puppy also has some helpful lessons on how to train a puppy to tolerate handling.

In addition to home grooming demands, handling exercises become extremely important when visiting the vet. A dog that is uncomfortable or fearful of handling may need to be sedated for examinations. Try to find a vet who will spend time to get to know your puppy, and who is able to combine the physical examination session with calm energy, praise, and sometimes food.

Make restraint fun, and NOT a punishment.

In addition to handling, most puppies also dislike restraint.

Some dog trainers and books suggest using restraint to settle a puppy down. Restraint does not work with my Shiba Inu. Instead of calming him down, he just gets more stressed.

What worked best for me is to treat restraint like any other puppy handling exercise. Make it fun and short. Stop before our puppy gets stressed. Definitely stop if he is already stressed and trying to get free.

Note that this is counter to the advice of some trainers who only release the dog when he stops squirming, mouthing, or whining. This makes sense in cases where the puppy is not really stressed, and is only trying to get back to what he was doing. However, it does not make sense for a really stressed out puppy who is afraid of restraint.

I always prefer to set my puppy up for success, and stop before he starts to misbehave. It is best not to use restraint as a dog discipline method. Use time-outs instead (see below).

When I say restraint, I mean simple dog hugs, or picking up my dog – I DO NOT mean alpha rolls. DO NOT perform alpha rolls on a dog, and especially not on a puppy. At worst we will get bitten, and at the very least we will lose our dog’s trust.

Time-outs can be helpful.

Puppies like their freedom, and they like being with their family/pack.

Since a time-out takes away both of these things, it is an extremely effective method of dog discipline. To give our puppy a good time-out, we want to put him in a really boring room (no low windows). Make sure he cannot misbehave, and there is nothing in the room that he can play with or chew on. Also make sure that the room is safe.

My dog’s time-out area is the laundry room.

Nobody is to give puppy any attention during a time-out.

I only use time-outs for extreme misbehavior. Some of my dog’s time-out offenses include biting on humans, any kind of humping, and leash biting. When my dog starts or even thinks about starting any one of these actions, I will give him a stern NO or ack ack. If he stops, then I praise him and let him continue with his regularly scheduled programming. If he continues with the behavior, then I say Time-Out and quickly remove him to his time-out area.

I start with short time-outs (approximately 1 minute). If my dog continues the bad behavior after he gets released, I lengthen the next time-out significantly (15 minutes). It is best to be flexible and to tailor the time-out duration according to our dog’s age, temperament and behavior.

Do not use time-outs for training mistakes or lack of motivation.

Beware of quick fixes and miracle cures.

There is a lot of misinformation in the dog training world. When I got my first puppy, all my neighbors chipped in with all kinds of sage advice about how I should train and discipline my puppy.

Some suggested slapping him on the muzzle, collar corrections, alpha rolls, holding his mouth shut, using the spray bottle, and much more. A lot of what I heard is wrong and inconsistent.

There is also a lot of conflicting and false information on the internet. Many snake-oil salesmen try to sell miracle e-books with special commands that will magically transform a hyper crazy puppy into an obedient angel. Others promise risk free, easy to use equipment, that will bring fast results with little effort.

If it sounds too good or too easy to be true, then it most likely is a scam.

What I have learned from my dogs is that there are no miracle books, equipment, or dog training techniques. What is required is a lot of time, patience, effort, a willingness to learn, and an open mind.

When it comes to puppy and dog training I try to get information from a variety of different sources -

• I rely on studies and scientific data from well respected animal and behavioral psychology labs. For example, a study from the University of Pennsylvania showed the following ...

In a new, year-long University of Pennsylvania survey of dog owners who use confrontational or aversive methods to train aggressive pets, veterinary researchers have found that most of these animals will continue to be aggressive unless training techniques are modified.

~~[ Penn News ]

• I rely on institutions that have a proven track record as true advocates for dogs.
• I rely on observing my own dogs and listening carefully to what they have to say, and what their needs are.

I have found that veteran breed owners can also be very helpful. When I got my Shiba Inu, one the best places that I got information from was on the various Shiba Meetup group forums.

Congratulations on your new puppy, good luck, and take lots of puppy pictures! :-)

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