Puppy training can be a daunting task, especially for first-time owners. When we work with people at all levels of experience to learn to communicate with their puppies and teach them the right behaviours that will follow them all the way through the rest of their lives. In this post we cover some of your most frequently asked questions about puppy training.
Read on to find out more.
When Should I Start Puppy Training?
There are many differing views and opinions as to when you should start puppy training. Here at Salisbury Dog Trainers, we have been working with domesticated dogs and puppies for 26+ years. Over the years the science on puppy training has evolved. Having studied the scientific research and the brain development of puppies, we can offer two answers to this question.
Have you bred your own dog and now have a litter?
Scientific research points towards a crucial time to start puppy training and this is not as many believe to be at the age of 8-10 weeks. In fact it has been said that by the age of 8 weeks a puppy’s learning ability is the same of an adult dog.
Puppies are born without fear, usually between 5 and 8 weeks old is when this truly becomes part of their makeup, so actually training your litter from as early as 3-6 weeks can be seen as a good window of opportunity. I know many trainers would disagree and say that this can cause stress at such an early age. However, without the fear emotion, one would say that you can profoundly change the way your puppy learns for the rest of its life. By introducing new experiences at this early age when the anxiety levels are at their lowest can be seen as a positive step towards training. An example of this could be exposing the puppy to a loud noise like the sound of fireworks.
As the noise is ingrained on the central nervous system it will forever be seen as something non stressful. Now I am not suggesting you put a loud speaker by your 3 week old puppy and play firework sounds, I am just trying to make the point about the imprint of the positives during this cognitive development stage. During this early time where things are stress free, we could also gently work on developing problem solving skills like sitting or shaking a paw. This kind of training will also be imprinted in their minds which can further aid the brain development later in life. This science is also linked to humans and even been said reading to your new born baby on a regular basis can improve the brains development as they grow up. I have worked with assistance dog trainers over the years and they are advocates of training in the 3-6 week age range.
Have you just bought your new puppy?
This of course is the more practical time to start training as most of us bring our new arrivals into the home at the age of 8-10 weeks. You shouldn’t delay your training though, starting at 8 -10 weeks is important and especially after their environment has changed. We are now at the age where brain development gives them the learning ability on par with an adult dog. What we teach now will imprint for life and it is important to make sure we cover all the bases. The general conception is to work on the basic commands, sit, stay lie, but it is not just about the commands, teaching our young pups is about the communication and understanding through positive methods.
What Is The Best Way To Train A Puppy?
As a professional dog behaviourist that has worked in many countries and spending most of my time correcting behaviour, there is only one way to train a puppy for me and that is by positive reinforcement methods.
Ok so you may or may not have heard what positive reinforcement is, well in a nutshell and to simplify, you are basically using kind, ethical training methods to entice your puppy to make the right choices. An example of this may be giving your puppy a chew toy to play with. Then after a short time around a minute you take the toy away, if your puppy allows you to do this with relative ease you should then praise them for being such a good dog. This action of praise when they let go will reinforce the behaviour. Your puppy will realise over time that letting go gets them attention in a positive way, “good boy” with a stroke will go far in your pups mind.
Positive training methods were first discovered and used on humans to get the best out of us. This became very popular in the 1980’s for the dog training world. I remember working my first job when I was just 16 for a local magazine in Finland. I had just finished a junior article on fashion and although I lacked experience and was missing some important factual quality, I was told this was a great effort and if I kept up this kind of level, it wouldn’t be long before I made it to print. Well I never actually did make it as around 6 months later I relocated to Germany and choose a different path. What I do remember was how excited he had made me feel and I continued to work hard until I left. Just a small compliment got the best out of me for the short time I was there.
It was after this I soon realised that you can get the same response from dogs just by praising the good behaviour. I adapted these techniques into my training even from my beginnings working with dogs.
What Is Clicker Training?
Clicker training is a type of positive reinforcement training. I used to use the clicker a lot back in my early days, not so much now as many of our clients don’t find it practical and I do like to give them the best from all my knowledge. However it can certainly be a fun, rewarding an effective way to train your puppy or dog.
Using the clicker correctly can be a great way to gain the behaviours you wish to reinforce. You can use clicker training from as young as 8 weeks old, taking into consideration your puppy’s gender and breed and temperament. Some pups will take to this kind of training quicker than others.
You should use the clicker training method by making the click the exact moment your puppy does something good. An example would be; if you ask your puppy to sit, of which they do well, you can then use the clicker followed by praise, ”Good Boy” or a treat. Timing here is everything, also be patient, your puppy may or may not get it right to begin with. You can learn about clicker training with me by booking my puppy training services and requesting to use one. My research into this subject has taken place over two decades and although it is good fun you can achieve the same results without it.
What Are The Most Important Things To Train A Puppy?
There are lots of important things to teach a puppy and the internet is mine field of advice and tips pertaining to this subject. For my clients I use a structure for puppy training and although one shoe certainly does not fit all, following these basic steps in the beginning will surely lead to a happy and well balance puppy and dog for the future.
Routine and consistency is everything!
I always advise my clients on a video call before we have even met one on one. This advice usually starts with how to avoid overwhelming them, especially in the first few days to week when they arrive. Limiting your puppy’s environment within the home is the first step to this. Perhaps just allowing them in the living room, or a having a puppy pen, don’t give them free roaming of the entire house right at the beginning. I also say don’t litter their area with lots of things to stimulate them, like toys or chews. Introduce these things slowly and then take them away to create the understanding.
Teaching them their name is probably the most important thing you can teach a puppy. Now I can imagine what you’re thinking, that your puppy will know its name if you use it enough, which in time is true. However there are steps you can take to teach this quickly and the advantages will be reaped as they get older. Your puppy’s name is also a command in itself. Using the name to gain focus and attention and rewarding them in the correct way when you get what you asked for. Try not to use their name when they do something wrong, only use it for the good stuff. If your pup is constantly jumping up and we use the name like “Benji no, Benji stop it” you can actually be giving the message you want this behaviour. Using commands to stop the negative stuff is more effective than using their name.
Toilet training is always high on the list of things to teach your puppy. For most families this can be a bone of contention and causes the most frustration and upset. After all we don’t want their ones and twos all over the house. Remember like babies and young children, bladder control stems from the brain development and so patience is a virtue here. There are many ways to keep this to a limited amount of accidents and most dog trainers will cover this when you book puppy training.
Biting and teething is another area we should be looking to teach our puppy in the first few weeks. This can quickly manifest and become severe for some people even as young as 12 weeks old. The teeth sharpen fast for our young pups and how much pressure they apply can be hard for them to judge without the correct guidance from us puppy parents. It should be considered too that puppy’s use their mouths as mater of instinctual behaviour. It shouldn’t be seen as a naughty action, they are only trying to gather sensory information on what is in their mouths. It is how we deal with this and what we teach them that aids in their understanding of what they should and shouldn’t bite.
As a new puppy owner you should be looking to having this mastered before the adult teeth come through usually between 12 -16 weeks.
My last top tip for what we should teach our puppies is socialisation. Now this is another highly researched subject and you can so much conflicting advice. The best thing I can suggest is pick one or two pieces of advice from trainers on the internet and draw on the similarities for a more consistent approach to this. For me and Salisbury Dog Trainers I have a specific outline of advice and this usually is conveyed to the new puppy owners via my pre appointment video call. Socialisation starts from the beginning!! Your dog is living in a human world and needs to soon learn all about it. Here are my do’s and don’ts on this subject.
• Do you the hoover near them from the beginning
• Do allow them to be exposed to other loud noises in the home
• Do take them out in sling or in your arms and expose them to the outside
• Do take them in the car
• Do not pamper them when they look like they fear something in the home.
• Do not, when they are allowed out to meet and greet dogs all the time
• Do not overexpose them to lots of puppy play
There are lots more things to consider but all in all exposing them to the human world as much as possible from a young age will benefit their socialisation skills.
Recent Comments