The Dogs Bloggers

Puppy Obedience is Essential

Not long after a puppy is born, the puppy obedience training can begin. The breeder who you bought the puppy from could have begun basic puppy obedience training already.

Research has shown that until they are at least three weeks old, puppies are not ready to learn at all. Their entire world revolves around their mother, eating and sleeping. By the 21st to 28th day of a puppies life they begin to leave the blanket and search for somewhere to do their business. During this stage, puppies start becoming more conscious of their environment, and also become more sensitive to stimuli. Now is the time to make great strides in a puppy’s mannerisms and behavior.

Encouraging Puppies with Positive Reinforcement

While training puppies to obey, you need not use punishment to induce their readiness to please and do the right thing. Verbal praise along with special treats are more effective. Saying “no” and holding your hand in front of the puppy are the only acceptable methods of negative reinforcement. Hitting or hurting is unnecessary for a young puppy and it should really be avoided.

Puppies should be rewarded with praises and positive affection each time they respond correctly to a command. Puppies must be praised to avoid developing a sense of apathy with regard to obedience. When your dog has executed a command properly given a praise soon after will help teach them the fun and rewards from being obedient. Puppy obedience is based upon reinforcement of good behavior being linked with rewards. Positive reinforcement such as praises and treats strengthen the understanding and willingness of the pup to follow and respond to commands.

A Consistent and Proper Timed Approach

While puppy training, you should keep in mind that timing is everything. Your movements, actions, and corrections are related to the puppy’s ability to understand the lessons and trainings taught to him. It is imperative that pups learn to recognize that the corrections are given as a result of his untoward action and behavior and that it will not happen if only he did what was expected of him.

For example, when your puppy is chewing on a bone or playing with a toy he is likely to not come to your command.But if the puppy is told to “come” under controlled situations, like when he’s on a leash and is gently pulled toward the trainer then praised, he will find out that “come” means that he should head for the trainer and that it will also bring in the goodies.

While instilling puppy obedience training on your pet, keep it simple and do easy exercises one at a time. This will be a much simpler concept for the puppy rather than trying to teach them the whole exercise in a single session. Bring your patience with you when you are training and use positive reinforcement.  Slowly your puppy will learn to obey.