Bringing home a puppy for the first time is the best feeling anyone will ever experience. It’s also the easiest part of the whole life of owning a dog, as choosing your newest family member is an effortless activity. The challenge is now housetraining a puppy to ensure that it grows up to be a good and obedient adult dog.
The best way to ensure that your pooch develops good habits and has a good temperament is to ensure that you have a program or routine to follow. It starts initially with the right potty training schedule, followed by set meal times and crate training. The last thing anyone wants is a spoiled dog and acts as if they are humans because this will destroy their training regimen. Here are steps to train your puppy to develop positive behaviors:
1. Keep a Consistent Schedule
Dogs are easily trained if they are given a schedule to follow. Puppies aren’t animals that you can just leave alone and expect them to learn their own behaviors. Canines are highly dependent on their masters, which is why you’ll need to instill a disciplined schedule. Once they have completed their shots and are old enough to start taking walks, bring them for a walk or out to pee at the same times each day. Once in the morning, then in the afternoon, and the evening is a great way to potty train your pup.
2. Use a Crate from the Get-Go
It can be challenging to introduce a crate if your puppy grows up without one. Don’t get them used to sleeping on the bed straight away, and ensure that they enjoy their time in their crates. This method is excellent to train them to be okay with being stowed away, which will prevent them from whimpering or excessively barking to be let out. They will also learn to relieve themselves if you are gone or not available to walk, making it easier to deal with them when they grow older. Their crate has to be the right size and not too big, so they also learn bladder and bowel control, which will help them ask for their walk or potty time from you.
Don’t keep them in the crate for too long, but make sure they know that it isn’t a place for punishment or isolation. Doing this will make them more disciplined and help them understand their place in your home.
3. Let Them Play With Other Dogs
While keeping them at home and giving them toys to stimulate their playful behavior is good sometimes, nothing beats a social dog. Since canines love the company of other people and animals, they are likely going to enjoy playing with other dogs in a dog park. If your friends own dogs, make them interact with each other early on in a shared area and not at home so that their space doesn’t feel invaded. Being exposed to other people’s pets is a great way to develop their social skills, which will make them friendlier and less aggressive.
4. Reward Your Puppy’s Good Behaviors
Training your puppy to be housetrained means rewarding their good behaviors at all times. Since dogs react heavily to treats and love, you’ll want both at the ready when they do something good. If they go near you and nudge you to remind you that they need to relieve themselves, bring them out and reward them because they didn’t go inside the house. This way, their brains will be trained to associate these actions with a treat or praise. Treats should be used during a puppy’s early training stages, as this is the best way to reinforce their best behaviors that will carry over to later life.
Conclusion
Puppies are a welcome addition to any family, but many experience difficulties with their dogs because they don’t train them well. To have a fully-grown canine that follows house rules and is friendly, you’ll need to ensure that they develop good behaviors early on in their life. The saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” may not be entirely accurate, but it’s more challenging to get rid of the negative behaviors of an adult pooch than training them early on.
Dog Obedience Training is a dog training blog dedicated to teaching owners how to train their puppies to develop positive behaviors and a more friendly temperament. Don’t let your puppy grow to be an issue by reinforcing their good growth habits during their early months. Read our blog to find more tips on training dogs!