How To Raise an Obedient PuppyPuppy Obedience: The breed of your puppy can affect the teaching of it. Some breeds are naturally more boisterous than others, some are more food orientated, some enjoy fussing and playing more and some breeds are more submissive than others. However, the fundamentals are basically the same, reward good behavior and be stern for bad behavior. Do not chastise or punish your puppy, just give a stern 'no' and do not praise or give a treat. Patience is a virtue and by the time you finish your puppy obedience training you will feel very virtuous.Most puppies, in fact all, really like their food, and with young puppies being fed up to 6 times a day it is, in fact, quite easy to reduce their food bowl content slightly and to use that part of their normal daily food as treats for training. If possible though, it is probably better, if your pet likes carrot, apple or any fruit to reward them with small pieces of fruit or vegetables. One of the things to consider when using food as a treat for training is the puppy's health and weight so fruit and vegetables are good if they can be used. Of course whenever a command is given and followed reasonably well then you should always praise your puppy, puppies love being made a fuss of. Do not play rough with them whilst training as they may interpret this as a telling off. Whatever your training session is going to be it should be short, approx. 10-15 minutes, and regular, about 3-4 times a day. Stick with a few simple tasks and gradually build up, do not try everything in one day, give the puppy a chance to learn one thing before moving onto the next. Once you have taught a few basics; like their name, sit, and come, then move on but come back now and then to recap so the puppy does not forget. Puppy obedience training is about time, patience and reward. Give consideration to the reward, making a fuss is always a reward, but you can often reward with toys thereby negating the need for food based treats and the possible health issues. Your dog will not thank you if it grows up to be very overweight and have bad hips as a result, common in some breeds.The need for a structured approach is important with puppies; the more consistent you are the better they will perform, and the faster they will learn. To have an obedient dog makes it a pleasure to spend time with them and take them out. The more obedient they are the safer they are. If puppy runs towards a road then you call them back, it is important they respond correctly. Another thing to consider is to develop hand signals that go with the voice commands, this will mean you can still instruct, or call, your dog back when they are far away or there is a lot of background noise, but you must remember the hand signal that goes with each command. |