Puppy Training Tips

New Puppy Training Tips

1. New puppies love to chew! They are teething just like infants and they use their mouths like hands to explore the world. You will need to teach your puppy that mouthing is not acceptable unless you want a dog that treats you like a chew toy.

Tips: When your puppy starts mouthing you offer a chew toy to divert his attention and show him a proper outlet. Yelp like he really hurt you, pull your hand away and ignore puppy for a period of time. You need to be firm and consistent so your puppy does not get mixed messages. You will need to supervise your puppy with children for 1-4 months until your puppy understands the no chewing humans rules.

Practical application: Neala, an Australian Labradoodle puppy http://www.grandviewlabradoodles.com, was kept on a lead at all times for the first 3 months as a puppy. She loved to chew hands and loved to chew children. Keeping your puppy on a lead is a great and easy training technique. The day that she started losing teeth was the day she stopped chewing the children. I was well rewarded with a well behaved, for the most part, puppy because of my dedication of keeping her tethered on her lead.

2. Never play tug of war. This can cause a host of problems in the future. While it is a fun game, you won't be happy when your puppy is playing tug of war with all of the fun things he will find around the house like dirty diapers, socks, my little ponies, and everything else! Tug of war can also promote dominance. This is a game that comes naturally and in the dog world the winner is the top dog. You don't want your puppy learning that head shaking and growling are good behaviors.

Tips: This is another reason why your puppy should be tethered at all times if you have children. The puppy is going to pick up the child's toy and the child will naturally want to take it back. A fun game of tug of war will be the result, or a game of keep away with him is just as bad. If your puppy learns this behavior at a young age it can become a habit that is difficult to break in the future. It will also cause you lots of frustration and anger in the long run.

3. Don't let your puppy play chase with the children. You may end up with an adult dog that won't come when they pick up dangerous items because he just wants to play his favorite game.

4. Supervise your puppy. While dogs and children are a wonderful mix their relationship requires a lot of supervision for the first year or even 2. With consistent training Neala was allowed freedom in the house at 4 months. She still likes to jump on the children when they are laying down and nip at them from time to time while running outside so I need to be very diligent about these issues. Each puppy is different but all puppies take a lot of time and loving guidance from us.

5. Take a training class with your new puppy. You will want to start the ground work at 8-12 WEEKS of age. Your efforts will be well rewarded.

Books I highly recommend reading:

The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell Cesar's Way by Cesar Millan (Please note that at the end of the book he recommends ignoring your dog for the first 2 weeks. DO NOT follow this advice for a new puppy!) The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze Beyond Obedience: Training with Awareness for You & Your Dog by April Frost

Jennifer Bartlett of Grandview Australian Labradoodles is a breeder of Australian Labradoodles and works directly with families to create the best puppies possible. She also works with clients who need assistance with behavior modification of older dogs. Jennifer believes that dog owners need to fully understand dog psychology and treat dogs as dogs and not children. She is always available to offer advice to pet owners. You can reach her through her website at http://www.grandviewlabradoodles.com