City Living Puppy

10 Top Puppy Training Tips

10) When trying to settle a puppy into a new home, providing them with a warm hot water bottle and placing a ticking clock in the room where they sleep will help to replicate the body heat and heartbeat of their litter mates and can really help them to relax in their new environment.

9) When taking your puppy to the Vet for its first inoculations, health checks etc, it is good practice to sit with your puppy on your lap and not have him or her on the floor. Don’t allow your puppy to think you are nervous or concerned, instead make a game and even take a toy to amuse the puppy with while they sit on your lap.

Always ensure from the earliest possible moment that your puppy is given his or her own, private sleeping place that is not used by anyone else in the family or another pet. Your puppy will benefit from short periods left alone in his or her den with you always returning to reward the pup when he or she is relaxed and quiet.

7) Try to make sure your puppy is entertained adequately for short but regular intervals during the day. Long periods of being left unstimulated may lead to destructive or disruptive behavior later in life.

6) Don’t over-train your puppy. Remember, a one-year old dog is, effectively, the same as a seven-year old person. It is a good rule of thumb to keep reminding yourself would I expect a three, four, five or six-year old child to accomplish some of the tasks I am asking of my pup?

5) OWWWW! Teach your puppy that biting or nipping is not a  pleasant experience for you by reacting as if in pain to their playful nips. Rather than scold the dog, let him or her know that nipping is not a pastime that you wish to engage in. Letting out an over-exaggerated expression of pain will more than likely shock the puppy into ceasing this behavior.

4) Decide early on what is and is not acceptable in your house. If you donít want your pup to use the living-room sofa as a raised dog bed when they get older then don’t encourage/allow him or her to come up when they’re young just because they look sweetly at you.

3) Jumping up. All puppies love to jump out when greeting anyone. Rather than reprimand the pup, simply ignore the behavior and wait until he or she settles down and is not jumping up before lavishing any attention on them.

2) The puppy’s name will be with them for life, make sure they know it by associating it with all things pleasant and fun.

1) From the moment your puppy comes into your life teach him that coming to you when called is nothing short of being the best thing in the world. Puppies can’t resist humans who sit down on the floor with legs spread apart so, while they’re easily persuaded to come by this very simple gesture, make the most of it by using their name, sparingly, but making a huge fuss when puppy arrives.