Training Your Puppy Yourself

There is virtually nothing as embarrassing as when your holiday guests arrive and your dog Fido is jumping all over them. You start tugging and ordering him to get down and stop, but as usual he doesn’t acknowledge a single word coming out of your mouth. You have tried everything and he refuses to listen to you. Is there any hope for a good puppy?

There is no need for an expensive trainer to teach your puppy. You can do this on your own, without an expensive trainer. With training your dog will no longer cause you any unnecessary embarrassment. For you to successfully train your dog to obey your every command, you will need to do a few things.

It is vital that you do not give up on your puppy or yourself. You need to be clear, consistent and persistent at all times. Believe that you can succeed in training your dog to do exactly what you want him to do. Keep in mind, even after you have ended a training session, you can continue to teach your dog. Just like you would your child. You wouldn’t only teach your child right from wrong during a specific time, you do this all the time.

When you are teaching your dog to obey, you will need to make it interesting for him. A dog will easily lose his drive to please you if you do not keep things fun and hold his attention. Similar to teaching a child to clean up their toys after play time, you need to make it seem like fun, not work.

Positive reinforcement is very important in training your dog. Reward your dog for the behavior that you are asking for. You can reward him or her in a way you feel is appropriate. Some people find it best to reward the dog with a treat. Others find it best to not use food rewards, instead a quick rib or pat on the head.

Once you begin to work on a specific task with your puppy, you should continue with it until he has mastered it. Avoid throwing in too many new things because you can confuse your dog. Try to have a consistent tone of voice s well. This will let your dog know you mean business. Keep the commands you are trying to teach as simple as possible. One to two word commands are best when teaching now things.

Continue training once you have gone in the house. For example, if you are working on sitting during your lessons, implement it in the house. Try to have your puppy sit and wait for you to give him his food or a treat. Or you can have him sit while you put his leash on to bring him for a walk.

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Punishing a Puppy

by David the Dogman

I think the message I have is that we cannot ever expect a puppy to think human…therefore it is quite reasonable for us to think like a dog. A very good book on the market is called Think Dog…by the late John Fisher, well worth getting.

When puppies annoy the bitch she will use eye contact and facial expression first. The youngster will carry on the unwanted behaviour then the mother will give out a low growl which will increase in volume with a show of teeth. If this is not enough to produce the desired result the bitch will to all intense and purposes fly in at the youngster. This is not a full blown attack, far from it, it is dress rehearsal for the pup, conditioning him for life later on. No contact is made although from the resulting noise mainly from the puppy, one could be excused for thinking that the litter had been reduced to one pup.

It is interesting to note that the bitch will immediately console the puppy and start to lick it all over…and this behaviour is observed every time the youngster steps out of line.

From this we can learn that the puppy has been taught by the bitch the correction and reward. Correction…Growl (our voice NO)…the moment the behaviour stops the lick (we simply stroke the pups head). Now what we are doing is copying the mother. This way the puppy is never fearful of us.

In my humble it is cruel to punish a dog for anything after the act. In other words if you come home and find a mess, destruction etc. then ignore this. The puppy or indeed the dog will never understand he has done wrong. To come home and shout will make any dog put his tail between his legs and cower or shy away. Many owners will say “You see…he knows he has done wrong”. He does not know anything other than the human has arrived back at the den and is aggressive.
Commitment, Firmness, but kindness.

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Do you have any problems with your pet? Then why not send your problem to DAVID THE DOGMAN. David is a Canine Behaviourist who works and lives in Marbella, Spain. Tel/Fax (00345) 2883388. His web site is located at: http://www.thedogman.net. David has his own radio and TV shows, and writes for many newspapers and magazines. David has been working with dogs for many years and started his career in Israel, working on the Border Police. He has been involved in all forms of training, including air sea rescue, air scent work, and has trained dogs for finding drugs. David has devoted the past 10 years to studying behaviour and the very passive approach. He does not use choke chains, check chains, or any form of aggression.

David The Dogman is available for private consultations in your home, for further details telephone; Tel; (95) 2883388

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