Archive for October, 2008

Positive Reinforcement is widely recognised by dog training experts as the best and kindest way how to train puppy.

It is good for puppies training and good for you as a loving and caring puppy owner determined to cement the foundations of a great relationship with your canine companion.

What is Positive Reinforcement?

It is simple. Positive Reinforcement means rewarding the good behaviour you want from your puppy and paying no attention to the behaviour you do not want – from stopping a puppy biting to potty train dog.

Why is Positive Reinforcement the best way how to train puppy?

  • Both you and your dog will thoroughly enjoy her training experience.
  • This training method encourages you to build up a lifelong trusting relationship with your dog.
  • When your puppy has fun learning, she will easily remember what you have taught her
  • No force or coercion is necessary to get the results you want in puppies training
  • Your puppy gets to use her own brain to work out what you want so she is never bored

Consistency is key for how to train a puppy

In order for positive reinforcement to work optimally, you must be consistent. You cannot reward good behaviour too infrequently or too randomly or your puppy will have no association between her behaviour and your reaction. You will simply confuse your dog and frustrate yourself.

Puppy training takes focus and effort on your part, especially when your puppy is very new. This is the time when your dog is looking to you to learn the rules and the time you put into training your youngster will stand you and her in good stead for the rest of her life. You may find it valuable to learn to crate train puppy at this point in time.

Positive Reinforcement training must be relevant (to your puppy)

Offhand, half hearted rewards like an absentminded pat on the head are not going to cut it with your puppy. A verbal or physical display of genuine affection or a tasty food treat are what your puppy will respond to best.

These rewards are significant and you can rely on your puppy to respond well to them. Not so different from a human, really!

You have to get your timing right for how to train a puppy


Your puppy must be able to clearly associate her behaviour with your reward so that she connects what she has done to her treat and your happiness. Timing is of the utmost importance in how to train puppy.

Some people find that using a “clicker” helps to give their puppy the immediate association reaction and follow the “click” up with a treat or affection.

If you leave it too late to praise or give a treat your pup will not learn.

Positive Reinforcement training done consistently from the outset will make your dog a pleasure to live with and to handle both at home and in public.

A well trained dog is a happy and valued member of your family.

Learn more about how to train puppy using Positive Reinforcement.

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We have a 1 year old border collie female; we just got another puppy that is now 12 weeks old. The thing is if the puppy does something wrong during the puppies training the older dog thinks she is in trouble. Or when we are trying how to train puppy like sit or stay the older dog feels left out and gets upset and wants extra attention making it hard to focus on the puppy. I feel bad if I put her in her puppy training crate while I train him because she looks at me like she feels left out. I know we needed to give her extra attention, but the thing is the puppy is having hard time learning. Its really like monkey see monkey do. And if the older dog is not there he does not know what to do. What can I do that both dogs would benefit. There both very sweet and good tempered. They’re like my kids. when I put the puppy in the puppy training crate he throws the biggest fit and will whine, bark and cry to be with her if they are seperated. It makes it tough to crate train puppy. He is more attached to her then me.
This is often the case when you have 2 dogs living together.You mention that your puppy will throw the biggest fit if he’s seperated from your older dog and that he’s more attached to her then you.This often happens when the puppy becomes more reliant on the older dog for companionship, play and communication.When we purchased our 2nd dog, we trained, walked, played and fed him separately from our older bitch as a big part of the puppies training.

Yes your older dog may look as if she feels left out but it’s in the best interest of both dogs if done this way.Walking your puppy seperatly etc gives you time to strengthen your relationship with your puppy and devote much needed training time and socilisation.

Many people assume when they get a new pup that it will learn off the older dog and be socilised by the older dog, this is not totally the case, as older dogs also teach puppies bad behaviours, thought hey do help to stop a puppy biting. Socilisation needs to be done separately away from your older dog, so the puppy builds his own confidence up without relying on your older dog.

Again training needs to be done separately; if possible join a puppy training class where just you and your puppy go and spend quality bonding time together. Commit to a quality how to train puppy program. At home you could train in a different room to your older dog. It’s important you build a strong bond up with both dogs so they dont become to engrossed in each other, as training becomes very difficult when both dogs won’t listen to you as they don’t value you as high ranking as they do each other. Good luck.

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Our westie puppy gets VERY playful and bites our feet which really hurts. We shout or scream which doesn’t do any good against the puppy biting . He just gets a bit out of control with the biting. Would rewarding with treats if he leaves our feet or hands work, or will he associate biting with getting a treat?
Just say “No” in a calm assertive voice and your biting puppy should listen; if not put him in a time out situation as an effective method for how to train puppy.

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I have two puppies, one will be one year old in December, the other is 3 months old. How long does it normally take to fully potty train dog or puppy?
It depends on what breed you have. Some dogs are more stubborn than other dogs, and some dogs will do anything to please you. I would say about two to six months with a few accidents, of course. But it also depends on how you scold them when it happens. If you’re calm and nice they will figure it’s okay, but if you sternly say “No!” they will understand they weren’t supposed to do that. There are several options for how to train a puppy to ensure success when you potty train dog.

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What to do against puppy biting

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Potty Train Dog

The term “potty train dog” gives you the biggest hint for how to train puppy to toilet in the correct places.

A little puppy, like a human baby has a small bowel, small bladder and no built in self control mechanisms – this must be learnt and you as the trainer, must be patient.

You must never physically punish your puppy for “accidents” in your house. You can scold her if you catch your pup in the act, but any delay at all between pooing/peeing and your reaction means that the dog does not connect the two and puppies training is ineffective.

Never ever rub your dog’s nose in it’s excrement or urine. A dog’s nose is extremely sensitive to smell and the smell receptors are very easily damaged.

Think about the complex message you are trying to give your puppy with this misguided action. The message it gets is not “Oh right, you don’t want me to poo on your expensive carpet. I’ll never do it again” but something more like “This big bully is doing unspeakable things to my poor nose. Why are they so mean to me?”

Rough, punative behavior with a baby animal simply can not work.

Frustrating as it is, your puppy, like a human baby, will occasionally do it’s business at the wrong time and in the wrong place. To potty train dog means accepting these little mishaps and putting your energy to rewarding your pup when she does what you want her to do.

There are 3 main ways to potty train dog

1. Vigilance. Straight after your puppy eats or wakes up, take her outside to the spot you’ve chosen as a dog toilet area. Wait for her to do her thing then as she poos or pees, praise her. A very young puppy will need to go out every 2 hours or so. Watch when she is playing, often you get a good indication of her interrupting her play to look for a good place to “go” – that’s the moment to get her outside.

2. Newspaper training. This is especially good for night time. Choose a small enclosed area of your house and cover the floor in newspapers. In the morning you will see where your dog has chosen to poo and pee.

Take about a quarter of the newspaper out from an area well away from her chosen toilet spot.
Over time, cut the paper area back more and more till only a small amount or eventually even none is left. If a small amount, your dog will use that paper at night. If none, she should wait to be let out in the morning as her night toilet is no longer available to her.

3.Crate Train Puppy. This involves confining your dog to a very small area when you cannot supervise her. She will not go to the toilet in an area where she sleeps or plays, so she will wait to be let out. There are some specific guidelines for using a puppy training crate to ensure it’s effectiveness to potty train dog, but done properly, without coercion, it works a treat. It is not a punishment, however and should not be used to discipline a puppy biting, for instance.

Potty training is just one aspect of your dog’s education that you need to address through proper puppy training to have a well behaved and obedient dog in your family.

how to train puppy

 

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Why is your Puppy Biting ?

Puppies who bite and “mouth” are doing what comes naturally to dogs. Like human babies, they teethe and so need something to chew but unlike babies, their mouth is their main means of connecting with their world physically – any picking up and holding must be done with the mouth in the absence of hands or effective toes.

How Not to Stop a Puppy Biting

Yelling at or hurting your puppy for biting will not work. Yelling can make them more excited and likely to bite harder and more frequently. Picture young children running around squealing because puppy is biting their toes – this always spurs the young dog onto greater efforts because in her mind everyone is obviously having so much fun. If the puppy then gets smacked for her excited behavior, she is totally confused and if you look at it from her eyes, you really can’t blame her.

Hurting your puppy is likely to make your dog either timid or aggressive and that is an accident waiting to happen. How to train puppy cannot involve pain or coercion if you want a good result.

Puppy biting is best handled with the positive reinforcement method.

A biting puppy must be trained to understand its boundaries and to behave in a socially acceptable way.
A dog that never learns from its “pack” how to limit these behaviors is not going to be a happy or popular member of your family. You have to focus on rewarding your dog’s good behaviour.

Tips to Stop a Puppy Biting

  • If possible, leave your puppy with its mother for 8-12 weeks, rather than the normally accepted 6. This little bit of extra time at a vital age allows your pup’s mother to do the training for you. Interacting with other puppies and friendly dogs from a young age is a most effective way for your puppy to be socialised.
  • Give your puppy its own toys and soft bones as “puppy rusks”. Your pup has to chew on something and she learns very quickly to accept toys and bones as the right things to gnaw on. Your puppy training crate should have toys and bones in it, if you are using this puppies training tool.
  • When your puppy bites, use a low, unexcited voice to indicate she has gone too far in her play. No” or “gentle” or even a menacing growl will do it.
  • When your puppy bites, you can remove yourself from where the puppy is; just move away or totally out of the area and shut the door behind you. Ignore your dog. Take the person from the dog, not the dog from the person – this is much easier puppies training for your new friend.

How to Train Puppy is simple, from stopping a puppy biting to effectively potty train a dog, but often we humans make it so complex it just cannot work. Your dog wants to understand and please you and a puppy biting habit can be fixed with the right training practices.

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