training a puppy

Setting out on your journey to learn to train a puppy will be much more effective if you track and test your progress along the way. If that sounds a little too simple, there’s a lot more to it than you think, as it will be a big help when you come to review your progress, and will highlight what approaches worked best in the past. These notes show exactly what works and how your puppy responds to various techniques, and what areas either need more attention or a different approach. No matter what you do in life - the fundamentals are the same. And puppy training is no different - preparing a plan is crucial to being successful otherwise you’re simply planning to fail. It’s worthy of some time and effort.

Planning ahead is your first task when you start thinking about how to train a puppy, because it will have a big impact to the transition for your new puppy from his established and comfortable home to the insecure and brand new home you’ll be giving him. It is a very stressful and worrying event for a puppy during the first few days of leaving his mother and playmates, and he finds himself in new and unfamiliar surroundings where there is nothing but unfamiliar people and strange smells.

These emotions don’t just apply to young puppies. Even adult dogs are somewhat bewildered by the upheaval when moved to new homes. You need to be constantly reassuring your dog when you move him to a new home; he just sees a new and quite worrying place with none of his friends.

If it is at all do-able, an ideal plan would be to visit your puppy or dog at his current home. There will be some familiar ground for him then, when he does finally move to your place. When you start out, training a puppy he will already be used to you and better able to learn his new skills. Don’t worry if you can’t get to see your new puppy before he comes home - you can always take a piece of his current house to his new home, like maybe a piece of clothing that he’s slept on, or pretty much anything with the smell of his old home and help reassure him and survive the feeling of having nothing familiar in his life.

Without doubt, the ideal time to bring home a new dog or puppy is when you can give him several days on undivided attention. You need to be at home all day. A holiday period - a long weekend - or even take a few days off work. Please don’t move you dog in, then home him in kennels while you go on vacation. You need to have at least a couple of days at home, and help him overcome any separation anxiety he may experience.

Just as parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby and fill the home with everything we think the baby will need for a happy and healthy start, tips for training a puppy should be just as exciting. You should do the same for your new family member.

The perfect place for your new puppy is a cordoned off area in a main living area, because this will make house training your puppy much easier too as accidents can easily be cleaned up off the tile floors of these rooms. A kitchen or living room is an ideal location because there is normally a good deal of traffic and noise, which helps prevent your new dog from getting lonely.

Before you moved your new puppy in with you, he was used to lots of playmates. Loneliness could set in since leaving his littermates behind so you will need to take their place at least for a few days. At the same time, you must not let the puppy do whatever he chooses for the first few days and then lay down rules that prevent him doing those things when you start training him. House train a puppy can begin with the easy techniques, but needs to start as soon as he moves in.

It will only make it harder if you don’t control him from the off, as it will confuse him when he finally does start. All the techniques and tips used to training a puppy apply to the adopted adult dog as well. Being homesick and lonely is not just a puppy issue. All dogs entering a new living arrangement will need discipline, patience, and comfort. But it will be a very rewarding experience for both of you.