Training your puppy.

When you first start training your new puppy, you will find he what he responds to best. Toys, treats, or affection. You will also start to learn if your puppy deals with distractions (noise, people, other pets, etc.) Just take your time and be patient.

The easiest way to start training your new puppy, is to start in a quiet, well lit room, least distractions possible is best. Bring treats, his/her favorite toy, and bring your patience. Some dogs will catch on easier then others, so make sure if you are using a training schedule, to allow less or more time, depending on your dog. You may also want to purchase a clicker, which is a small box that "clicks" when pressed. This allows you to mark the exact time your puppy did the right thing, making it easier for him to learn. Below, I'll go into a simple step by step training process.I will show you how to train with treats, as most dogs respond to treats well. If you decide to train with toys or affection, just opt. out the treats, and add in your reward.

Clicker (optional): if you decide to purchase a clicker, you must first train your dog to realize the "click" means "good boy" and that he/she will get a treat, toy, or affection. Start by clicking the clicker, and saying "good boy", and giving him a treat. After 15-30 times, (depending on your dog) stop saying "good boy" and just click the clicker, and give him/her a treat. You will soon see your dog "catching on" realizing what the click means. Good job!

Sit: Possibly the easiest command to train, is sit. Start by backing your puppy up to a wall, and then holding the treat over and behind his head, while saying sit, until he sits down trying to get the treat, click your clicker then. Keep repeating until you must just say sit once, and he obeys. You may also want to add in hand signals, as these can be very useful in noisy environments. Invent your own, or the most popular is to stick your arm out strait, palm up, and flexing your elbow in, so your hand is strait up.

Stay: Training stay before come, makes training come so much easier, I learned that out the hard way. Sit your pup down, and stick you arm out, with your palm facing him, and say stay. After a second or two, click, and give him him reward. Slowly lengthen your time, until you feel that your dogs understands. Now, take a step back, then click, and return to your dog with his reward. Make sure to not let your dog move, walking TOWARD HIM, not visa versa. Keep taking more steps back, and more rewards, until your dog is staying for atleast 1 minute or more. Also make him stay standing too, as that will take more will power for him to do.

Come: To train come, Sit, and stay your dog. Take a few steps back, and then with your arm sticking strait out and palm to the left, flex your arm to the left, as if your putting your hand on your heart, and say come. When he gets DIRECTLY next to your feet, click, and reward. Keep practicing, until your dog comes even when he occupied.

Remember, with all of these training tricks, slowly accustom him to more and more distractions. You can also try to just use hand signals, or just voice, and see how he responds. Use these methods, into all training, and soon you'll have obedient friend for life. Enjoy, and remember to please share, as Im trying to expand this blog.

Housebreaking your puppy.

When you bring a new puppy home to meet the family, it is an exciting time for everyone involved. Your family's attention will be soaked up by your new arrival. But, as the little guy adapts to his environment, it will become obvious that with this new arrival comes the tasks of responsibility and patience.

To have the ability to train your puppy will become essential. Your new arrival will rely on you to help him adjust to his new environment. His behaviors from here on out will determine on your guidance and leadership.

The way your puppy behaves will be solely in your hands. Many puppy owners are surprised when their puppy acts untrained. The little guy is having accidents all over the house, he is chewing on items in your house you would rather him not chew on, he barks, digs and so on.
Keep in mind that training your new pup will require patience and repetition, which will be a time consuming process. This will be more then worth it though, if you are one that truly loves and care for your pup and want him to succeed in having a happy life.

Beginning with training early on and having your pup interact with other puppies will help your puppy mature into a well trained dog. Your pup will need dedication and accountability that will help him throughout his life.

To give the best possibility of success with you puppy, you will need to instill basic obedience; leash training, puppy interaction, and house training right from the get go.

The best way to train your puppy is through means of encouragement and positive interaction. As soon as you bring your puppy home, begin your puppy training by offering praise and rewards when your puppy does something correct.

To help your puppy achieve his best, it will be important to focus on creating good habits and preventing the bad ones. It is best to start your puppy off right, instead of having to correct bad habits he has learned over time.

When you are developing good habits for your puppy, it helps to be consistent. Also, begin your training with simpler commands and always follow through multiple times by developing a repetition. Keep your training exercises short as your pup is new to this and may lose focus over longer periods of time.

You will find that if you earn the trust and respect of your puppy, he will be able to comprehend and sustain the new knowledge instilled in him quicker versus using punishment or harsh corrections.

Before you know it, you will recognize your puppy wanting to be trained. The happier your pup is, the more he will be excited to be trained and have willingness to learn.

Patience in yourself is strongly encouraged as your puppy is still a young little guy and doesn't understand what exactly you are trying to accomplish in the beginning. Being realistic and understanding of this will increase his chances of successfully mastering his training.

This information will be new to you pup. Move past the shortcomings and focus on his journey, starting from where he came from when you brought him home.

This part of your puppy's life is very important. Once your puppy senses that you are enjoying the training exercises as much as he is, you will be able to create a strong, trusting bond with him that will last a lifetime.

Constant pulling on the leash? Helpfull products are here!

Leash pulling, almost all dogs do it. For some dogs, its an easily stopped habit, with a little training, he never pulls again. For others (including my dog) daily walks are needed to keep him trained. But for some stubborn dogs, it seems like nothing will stop him from taking his owner for a walk. So for this month, I am going to review a few great anti-pull products, some which will work better for certain dogs than for others. I will also provide the basic costs for each product, keep in mind though, these are only estimates and depend on the quality of the product. 1.The most simple type of anti-pull device is the choke chain. Though debated whether cruel or not, it works great on aggressive dogs, which will probably ignore other methods when aggressing other dogs. Choke chains, which can also be made out of rope, nylon, etc. constrict on a dogs neck when he pulls, causing "choking" until the dog stops pulling. ($1.00-10.00) 2. A more gentle approach to pulling is a Head collar or Non pulling harness. The Head collar fits over a dogs muzzle, and gently redirects the dogs muzzle when he pulls or jerks, causing him to simply redirect his attention. These are said to work great on softer willed breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Spaniels, and dog of those origins. Non pulling harnesses are about the same concept, except they constrict over a dogs breastbone, merely causing a temporary discomfort until the dog ceases his behavior. ($10.00 &$15.00) 3. This one-of-a-kind anti-pull device is taking Europe by storm. The Patento Pet® Dog-e-Walk is a high quality German designed product getting great results everywhere. The Dog-e-walk connects to your dogs leash, and then to your dogs collar. When it senses your dog pulling, it emits varying degrees of ultra sonic sounds (depending on how hard your dog is pulling), that are inaudible to human ears. Dogs dislike the sound, and promptly stop the behavior. If you purchase Dog-e-Walk premium, it can also be used as a handheld transmitter, allowing quick, effective corrections anywhere. One word of caution, may be to purchase the Dog-e-Walk at a nearby store, or a internet seller that allows returns. The reason I advise you to do this is because some dogs, especially older dogs with hearing problems, may completely ignore ultrasonic sounds, rendering the product ineffective. If you've used ultra sonic products on your dog before, and he has responded, then there shouldn't be any reason why he wouldn't respond to the Dog-e-Walk. (Basic $31.99, Premium $50.00) These products are available at PetEdge.com, in their monthly catalog, or should be available at your local PETCO or Petsmart. The Dog-e-Walk can also be ordered directly from www.dog-e-walk.com. Enjoy your walk!