Puppy Training For Beginners

Jan 15
09:27

2010

Jimmy Fera

Jimmy Fera

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See what to do and what not to do with your new puppy. Puppies learn by association and repetition just like adult dogs, so don't get too paranoid about moving ahead with training early.

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For the most part,Puppy Training For Beginners Articles training a puppy is no different than training a dog who is 4 years old. The primary difference between puppy training and training a dog who is an adult is that the puppy has absolutely no experience while the adult dog does have experience. While in many ways the same, puppy training should be approached from the standpoint that your puppy is much softer and more susceptible to emotional and physical trauma than an adult dog.

List of Do's:

  • Start training your puppy straight away

  • Take your puppy to your veterinarian for an exam

  • Don't leave your puppy unsupervised

  • Buy toys, beds, a leash, a collar and bowls for food and water

  • Teach your puppy the rules of the house as soon as he comes home

List of Don'ts:

  • Solicit advice from your family or friends about puppy training

  • Allow your puppy unsupervised freedom (not even for a minute)

  • Allow your puppy to get away with murder because he's young

  • Stay away from parks because you're unrealistically fearful of health issues

  • Cripple your puppy by being overly protective

Puppy training is really the process of exercising primary prevention as opposed to tertiary prevention. If you can eliminate problems before they occur, you will be ensuring the happiness and well being of both your new puppy and your family as well. For example, if you eliminate a chewing problem before it has time to progress, you will have eliminated a much more serious problem in the future. You need to create an environment that will prevent bigger, more serious problems later on. Don´t be shy, don't be weak, but don't be a jerk either.

Puppy training has to be approached from the perspective that your life is going to change when you bring your puppy home. You're not going to be able to do things like you did them before. You're going to have to make some concessions and accept the fact that you're going to have to spend time and energy training you new little buddy.

That being said, you also have to realize that although there will certainly be some adaptations you'll have to make, you can't start living a totally different life than you are used to living. If you do, you're not going to be very happy for very long and your puppy training efforts will fail. The road to disaster is a road frequently traveled by new dog owners who fail to achieve a balance between their lives and the lives of their newfound friends.

In conclusion, understand that although your puppy training efforts will at times feel a bit daunting, if focused correctly, will bring rewards the likes of which are difficult to describe. The joy of seeing your puppy develop and learn about the world around him cannot be understated. Set limits, supervise and observe and don't be too mushy but, don't be a jerk either.