So I suggest in your training, it’s really important if you see a behavior that you don’t like you have two options. Number one, figure out a way to prevent that behavior by managing the environment as you train your dog appropriate behaviors. Or number two, you need to interrupt that behavior as soon as you see it.

So if you see your puppy going to chew on your furniture you need to interrupt your puppy immediately. A lot of people believe that you have to use punishment to interrupt undesirable behavior. But this is really not true. I’ve been training dogs with this method for over 15 years and I’ve never seen any issues arise from this method. And I actually believe it’s a better way of training. The reason I use it because you don’t get any of the side effects that are associated with punishment.

I don’t believe that it’s cruel or inhumane to tell your puppy or your adult dog no when they do certain behaviors you dislike. But I really believe that by using an interrupter that you’ve trained with, like a cue, that tells your dog what to do is a much better way of training because you don’t get the baggage of punishment.

Here’s a list of the different ways that you can interrupt your dog without using physical or psychological intimidation:

1.) Attention noise
2.) Recall
3.) Leave it
4.) Stationing behavior
5.) Drop it
6.) Let’s go
7.) Alternate behavior
8.) Treat lure
9.) Release cue
10.) Move the dog

First you need to set up training sessions to train your dog these behaviors. You might only need one or two depending on your situation. But once you’ve trained your dog the behavior you then need to prove the behavior in proofing sessions. This simply means asking for the behavior in different scenarios and different environments to make sure the dog understands that no matter what situation the same behavior is required.

1.) Attention Noise

Now I’m going to discuss all those different behaviors on the list starting with the attention noise. I think this is the easiest and the quickest interrupter to train. I use it with new rescue dogs and puppies who haven’t had any prior training because it’s quick and easy. Now all you have to do is make a kissy noise and when your dog looks up at you you mark and reinforce your dog for looking at you. Once you’ve trained and proofed that behavior then if your dog is doing something that you don’t really like you can make the kissy noise your dog looks at you to say what?

Then you tell your dog what you do want them to do.And if they don’t know any cues yet you can show your dog. So say if your puppy is chewing on a chair you can make the kissy noise and then show them their ball. Now it’s really important when you’re interrupting behavior that you understand that it’s not the interrupting of the behavior that is important in creating a well-mannered dog. The really important thing is training your dog what you do want them to do. Puppies chew. So if you are simply just trying to punish them for chewing your furniture they’re going to keep wanting to chew. The best solution is training them what to chew on which is their dog toys, their bones, etc.

In this post I’m talking about interrupting behavior. But if the only training that you do with your dog is interrupting them then that’s the only time that you’re giving them attention. So if you were to use punishment and you were telling your dog no every time they touch things, and ignore your dog all the other times, your dog is going to start to want to do undesirable behavior to get your attention. Therefore with this training it’s extremely important to reinforce the behaviors you do want your dog to do like relaxing calmly when you’re ignoring your dog.

2.) Recall

The second interrupter is a recall. Say your dog is at a distance and you need your dog to move away from something. You can teach them to come to you when you call them. When they come to you they are moving away from the thing you wanted them to get away from. The recall response seems to come naturally to some dogs. For others, it’s a hard-won behavior. The good news is it’s not as hard as you might think. It just takes a commitment to regular practice, keeping it fun and happy.

Start by “charging” your “Come” cue. This will be a word that will always mean to your dog: “Absolutely wonderful stuff is about to happen and you better get over here fast or you’re going to miss out!” Say “Come!” in a loud, cheerful voice and feed your dog a very high-value treat – chicken, steak, whatever they think is totally wonderful. Repeat many times, until your dog’s eyes light up when they hear the cue. Always treat your dog or puppy nicely every time they come to you — kind words or a pat on the head are a must because little treats reinforce the good feelings.

Note: If you’ve already taught your dog that “Come!” sometimes means “bad stuff” then you’ve “poisoned” your cue, and you need to pick a different word.

3.) Leave It

The third interrupter that I like to use is the leave it cue. A lot of people ask me what’s the difference between a “kissy” attention noise, a recall and the leave it cue. For me I like to train the dog that leave it means don’t bother that specific thing but you can do anything you want. Leave it is one of the most valuable cues to teach a dog, and one of my favorites to train. Teaching a leave-it command is a practical and potentially lifesaving command that every dog should learn.

It works best to spend about 15 minutes per day in 5 minute sessions working on training your dog “Leave it”. Using small, pea-sized, treats to reward good behavior makes learning happen quickly and without overfeeding. If your dog is not interested in treats, you can substitute playing with him or scratching him where he really enjoys it for a few seconds. Try to tailor your training sessions so that they are easy enough for your dog to earn a reward most of the time. Setting him up for success will avoid frustration for the learner as well as the trainer.

4.) Stationing Behavior

Number four is a stationing behavior. Pick an area, or station, for your dog in each room, preferably a spot that is to the side or in a quiet corner. You can teach your dog to go to his bed or go to a crate or some other location. Then you can use that to interrupt behavior you don’t like for example if your dog is starting to play rough or get too excited. You could say go to their bed and then they could take a break. Then you could release them to play again. Or perhaps you have a guest come over and your dog gets a little bit excited. You can tell your dog to go to their bed and then they can relax. And when they feel more calm then they can interact with the guest again.

5.) Drop It

The drop it cue can come in handy if you have a puppy or a new dog that likes to tug on your clothes or pull on the leash. Or perhaps picks things up like your underwear or things on a walk. It’s easiest to start teaching a puppy “Drop It”. But most every dog can learn this cue if you are patient and consistent. You’ll want to keep your training sessions short and sweet. Practice each day for about five minutes at a time starting with low value items. You’ll need lots of yummy Dog Treats, and of course a dependable dog collar and leash for your dog. With your dog on a leash, give them an item to investigate. Make sure you begin with a low value item to start. If your dog loves socks, start with something a little less exciting like a T-shirt.

Place the object on the floor in front of your dog and allow them to check it out. While they are engaged with the object say your dog’s name and then “Drop It” (or whatever your relinquish cue will be). As soon as your dog looks at you say “Yes!” or indicate with your clicker and give them lots of treats. If your dog has a hard time relinquishing the object, use your leash to gently move them away from the object and then reinforce them. Repeat this exercise several times each day.

When your dog is responding consistently to the “Drop It” cue with low value items, begin challenging them with different objects. You’ll find that your dog will have a harder time with some objects than others. When you identify what objects are of high value to your dog spend lots of time working the relinquish cue. Don’t be afraid to use your leash to move your dog away from the object. But be sure your movements are smooth and gentle and ALWAYS reinforce your dog when they respond correctly.

As your “Drop It” training progresses, practice in different locations. Ideally, you want your dog to be able to drop a chicken bone they find in the alley without hesitation. But remember, this takes lots of practice, so always be patient with your precious pet. With plenty of positive reinforcement, patience and love, your pet will master the “Drop It” cue like a pro. You can tell your dog to drop it and then tell them what you do want them to do.

6.) Let’s Go

Let’s go! This is a cue that means I am moving, move with me. You can use it when your your dog is on a leash. It’s great if you have a reactive dog and you notice that they are getting a little bit worried about something in the environment. You can say let’s go and then move in the opposite direction. It gives your dog the opportunity to know that you’re going to be moving. That’s better than just startling them by pulling on their leash to go in the other direction. Another great use for let’s go is if dogs are meeting on a leash and then you see your dog’s getting a little bit too excited. Or perhaps the other dog is getting too excited. You can say let’s go to teach your dog to move away from that other dog.

7.) Alternate Behavior

Number seven is alternate behavior. If you have a dog that is doing a behavior that you don’t like you can cue them to do a behavior that is incompatible with the one that they’re doing. Behaviors that aren’t rewarded in some way eventually extinguish. Especially if you make it a point to reinforce an alternative and preferably incompatible behavior.

8.) Treat Lure

Number 8 – Using a treat lure to interrupt behavior. I like to use a treat as a lure to interrupt behavior. Especially in training sessions when I’m training behaviors. For example a down stay. Lets say that the dog was in a down stay and I raised criteria too quickly (walked too far away) and the dog doesn’t understand that to get the treat they need to stay. If the dog was to get up and follow me I could quickly get a treat and lure the dog back into the position (lure them into the down stay) with the treat.

I would not give them the treat because I don’t want them to learn that getting up immediately gets them the treat. Then I make the criteria a little bit easier than the last trial. Meaning maybe I went 30 feet away before and now I’m just going to go 5 feet away. And then I reinforce the dog for staying in the down position with a treat. From that point I would increase the criteria little by little.

The reason that I like to use this way of interrupting behavior is because if I set the training up to be too hard for the dog why should the dog be the one who gets punished for my crappy training plan. So I say to myself oops I messed up I’m going to reinforce this dog for an easier behavior. And then figure out a way to raise criteria where the dog is understanding what I want every step of the way.

9.) Release Cue

The 9th interrupt is using a release cue to interrupt behavior. I like to use the release cue for a sit stay or down stay for my dogs. I like to use this for dogs who guard space. So for example if a dog guards the couch and the dog has a sit-stay where the owner says sit and then they say release and the dog runs to them happily.

You can use that cue, which has a conditioned emotional response of “yay I love getting up”, for the resource guarder. Say your the dog’s laying on the couch and another dog comes over. Then you see your dog about to guard the couch you can release your dog off the couch by saying “free”. Then when your dog comes to you, if they haven’t guarded yet, you can reinforce them with a treat.

But if they have guarded you could then wait a little bit and use a different behavior that you like. Use something that in the future they’re going to do to reinforce that new behavior instead. You don’t want to always reinforce your dog quickly after you’ve interrupted them from doing a behavior you dislike. The important thing is doing training sessions where you build these cues to be reinforcing for your dog. Then they want to listen to you and they want to be doing these alternate behaviors. Use the cue to interrupt behaviors but don’t give them a treat. Instead give them a treat for an old alternate behavior, that you like, throughout the day.

10.) Move the dog

The final behavior that I’m going to be talking about involves moving your dog when your dog can’t listen to you. Either they’ve not had enough training or they’re too excited or fearful or scared. In that circumstance you need to move them. For example you have a puppy and they’re chewing on a power cord. You make your kissy noise, you try to encourage them to get away from the cord and your dog is not listening to you. Then need to move your dog. You also maybe don’t want them chewing on your really expensive furniture and your puppy’s not listening to you when you tell them to stop. Pick the puppy up and move them away.

Now you don’t need to do this in an intimidating way. The idea is that you don’t want to use intentional physical or psychological intimidation. Now it could be true that you pick your puppy up and they’re like whoa I don’t really like that. Then you say to yourself, “oh no my puppy doesn’t like being picked up”. So instead of just always picking your puppy up and turning being picked up into a punishment you want to spend many sessions training your puppy to like being picked up. Especially if you have little dogs. It’s so convenient to be able to pick up your little dog without them feeling like it’s some type of intimidation game.

Now for bigger dogs. If you have a very large dog and you can’t pick them up you’re going to need to take their collar and move them away from whatever dangerous situation they’re in. Or some behavior that you really don’t want them to learn. For example, putting their paws up on the stove. You want to get them away from that stove as quickly as possible before they get hurt. If they’re not listening to you you are going to take their collar and you’re going to move them off the stove or move them with your hands.

Now the idea is that if you don’t do any training most dogs find physical movement, pushing, shoving, moving them by the collar, really not fun and very punishing. So you have to set up training sessions where your dog understands that these behaviors are cues to mean move with me.

Say you’re walking down the street and you see a bicycle coming and they’re not gonna stop for your dog. You need to move your dog if they’re not listening to you and you. You say “let’s go” you stay calm and your dog doesn’t move you have to move them. So when you pull them on the leash most dogs don’t like it very much. They find it punishing. So what you need to do is set up training sessions where you teach your dog that when they feel pressure on their leash it simply means to turn and come with you. That way when you need to use leash pressure in emergencies the dog understands what you want them to do. And it’s been a reinforced behavior so they don’t find it so averse.

It’s great to use leash pressure with dogs who are fearful or reactive with other dogs. Because sometimes when they alert on the thing that they’re scared of you can prevent them from reacting by saying let’s go and if they’re not listening moving them further away on leash to an area where they can relax.

I hope you found this post helpful and it didn’t put you to sleep like it did my dogs!

The post 10 Ways To Interrupt Undesirable Behavior In Your Puppy or Dog first appeared on Puppy Blog.

In my last blogpost i wrote about how best to receive and adapt a puppy to its new home. In this article you can read about how you get the puppy to socialize with other dogs, what you study at the puppy schools, what positive leadership does – and a lot more.

Now chances are you’ll have had the puppy a while, hopefully started at a puppy school and is considering possibly continue at a dog school – and do whatever you can so you can get as much experience as you possibly can.

Teach the puppy to socialize with other puppies

Initially let me mention socialization. It actually is very important that our puppies from the start learns to socialize with other puppies. In addition, it’s fun to observe their “language” with each other during breaks. When I write socialization, I believe that the dogs meet, they discover their position in the hierarchy and learn how to communicate – or really, how they adapt what they learned from their mom, in order that it also works when they are together with other puppies. The more new puppies your puppy may meet up with earlier in its daily life, the better it is really. This way, your puppy may have significantly improved tolerance for other puppies later in life.

The way to coach your puppy

For puppy coaching, there are numerous aspects which might be learned. Very first, not surprisingly coping with other dogs, then “sit” which means, “Sit down and continue to be till other is said.” You train your puppy to sit down using a treat in front of the snout of your dog, generally the dog will automatic sit down once the treat placed upward. Once the dog then finds out that it will get the treat, it doesn’t take long to teach it the term “sit” aswell. It is possible to teach the puppy to “lay down” in the very same manner. This means that the dog should lie down and remain, the second being said. At first, the puppy naturally is not going to lie down for too long – and that’s okay. Only if the signal “lay down” is well learned, you can begin to “demand” that your dog has to lay down more time. “Lay down” is learned by holding a treat close to the dog’s chest and little by little leads down towards the floor – and as soon as the puppy lies down, the treat is given. “Stand” is learned likewise. This implies that the dog must be at rest on all four legs till other is stated.

The post Figure Out to Home Training a Puppy first appeared on Puppy Blog.

This article gives you effective puppy training tips on how to best crate train your dog.

Crate training a puppy can be helpful in animal training; specifically potty training. This means that a crate trained puppy will wait until he is released from the pen before he eliminates, therefore giving you something to work with in terms of scheduling his feeding and potty time. Make sure to use a crate that is comfortable but small enough for him not to use a part of it as a toilet.

Place the crate in a room with a lot of people. Allow the puppy to enter the crate himself. Put in some interesting things and toys. Let him feel comfortable inside the box and feed him there. This should be your dog’s personal haven from the stress so make crate training an enjoyable and pleasant experience for him. Never use it to punish him. As he is getting more comfortable inside the crate, shut the door for a few minutes. Make sure he sees and hears you in the room even if he is

enclosed. If he whimpers or gets upset for reasons other than pain or potty urges, wait for him to settle down before opening the crate. If you give in

and let him out because he is crying, he will use this to get his way in the future. If all goes well, the puppy will now be accustomed to a closed crate and is probably not noticing you as much anymore. Begin to go out of the room for longer periods of time. With the puppy toys distracting him, he is now at ease and even enjoying this time of play and quiet time. Do not leave your puppy alone for more than four hours at a time without going to the potty.

These are few puppy training tips that when followed, will do so much to increase your leisure time significantly. Crate training aids potty and sleeping habits without much hard work. The dog will be happy in his own world and you in yours. When you are successful in crate training a puppy– your former lifestyle will be as forgotten as a buried bone.

The post How TO Crate Train Your Dog first appeared on Puppy Blog.

What is the Secret to Dog Training? Domesticated dogs have been known as “man’s finest friend” for years and years. Before a dog reaches maturity, an active puppyhood should be dealt with. Dog training is essential it forms the basis of all future understanding. Initial lessons contain learning to come when called, understanding the sit command, and dropping items on command. Dog training classes also tend to be expensive an additional expense several of us can not justify in today’s tough economic climate.

There are, nevertheless, simpler alternatives for those searching to train their dogs in the comfort of their own houses. An easy, low-cost and successful way of training your pet at home is by making use of dog obedience games. Dog obedience games have been shown to be very successful in resolving many dog behavioral difficulties, and greatest of all it does so without having having to punish the dog or using difficult leash or collar methods.

Residence training a puppy is something that is done by the pet owner at home. Suggestions may possibly be learned by attending dog training school in regards to this matter yet repetition coupled with a reward system is usually the most effective approach. Dog obedience training is each bit as significantly of a learning process for the human owner as it is for the canine companion. Appropriate dog training is imperative for a positive relationship between owner and dog to survive the ups and downs of every day life.

Whilst numerous are skeptical at first, it need to be pointed out that youngsters and infants understand greatest by means of the use of understanding games several parents have first-hand expertise of this. The identical applies for young dogs and puppies. Here are two reasons why the use of obedience games need to be an integral portion of your dog training regimen at residence:

A young dog is much a lot more effortlessly trained than an older dog. Even though their young minds soak up information like a sponge, puppies tend to be restless and unfocused. We’ve all been exasperated by our pet’s wandering attention although we try in vain to teach it something new. Frustrating as it may possibly seem, it is not fair to blame the dog, since their natural tendency is to be curious is discover its surroundings. The trick to grabbing all this unfocused power and putting it to excellent use is to engage the dog in a small game. As you play dog obedience games with your pet, you’ll find that it not only learns new issues, but it is also too engaged having enjoyable with you to pee on the rug or chew the sofa.

Beagle training, just like training any other small or big dog, demands daily participation. This is accurate for both indoor and outdoor dogs. Prospective puppy owners also want to be aware that not each dog has the proper personality and intuitive nature to be trained as guide dogs for the blind or guard dogs. Guide dog training is reserved for puppies that stand out from the rest. These unique dogs exhibit certain skills at an early age that signal to the trainer or owner that they are capable of performing the job. Guard dog training is just as particular. Dogs, like individuals, have distinct personalities. Their distinctive characteristics require to be identified for the nicely-being of both dog and owner.

If you want to know how to train your dog to walk on a leash properly, then you will want to focus on particular body language methods so you can ultimately teach it when to sit, lay down, quit, or wait. If you dog is pulling too often then you will also want to know the really particular methods in which you can get your dog to stop pulling on the leash and walk in unison with you. Also, if you’ve ever experienced your dog dodging their collar, it can be very an obnoxious factor. There are really detailed instructions available on how to get your dog to stop pulling out of its collar.

Have you ever attended a dog training class with your pet? If you have you’ll see that the endless repetition training of ‘sit’, ‘stay’, and ‘come’ is draining both you and your dog.

The post Make Dog Training Much More Fun With Games first appeared on Puppy Blog.

In purchase to make your no cost puppy schooling get the job done for you, you have to be cognizant of the dog no matter whether you are going to be household or not. When you are not home, there are some factors you will need to do to assist the general home education practice. Initially of all, confine him to his private place in which he can experience safe. The room really should be completely puppy proofed with papers on the flooring. You must also have his mattress and toys in there with meals and water. Originally you won’t see any pattern to when or where by the puppy works by using the rest room, but you will be able to thoroughly clean up the mess quickly and get thoroughly clean paper down for him.

Lead Into Paper Education

Your totally free puppy instruction will count on you teaching behavior to your puppy. The puppy proofed area explained before is basically element of even bigger strategies in schooling puppies. You see, as he goes in the space, he is receiving into the habit of heading on papers. He will ultimately start off to have a put where by he prefers to go, and you need to notice wherever that is. At this position, you can clear away paper that is clean each and every day so that the puppy is left with only his “favorite” paper. After you have the puppy down to going on a person paper that you want, you can slowly move many papers to wherever you want. Eventually you will have him going outside. The procedure does acquire endurance, while, so really don’t fear if you have arranged backs from time to time.

Free puppy training is just a matter of a little do it by yourself know-how. If you observe the over ideas, for example, you can have your little Border collie or Labrador residence trained at about 6 months of age. Just bear in mind, you can operate on the habits prior to that, but he will possible be not able to do it correctly right up until all around six months.

Household training a puppy is not rocket science. In point my approach is swiftly and efficient. However, it does call for that YOU play the most vital component, and results or failure is dependent one particular hundred for each cent upon your commitment and involvement. The notion is straightforward: you target upon preventing “accidents” somewhat than waiting around for them to occur then punishing the puppy.

My strategy would make it quick for the puppy to do it perfect straight away and as I’ve previously pointed out, it is incredibly rapidly, so unquestionably that has to be the way to go. Puppies, just like their older counterparts love to make sure you, and they catch on easily when receiving praise and pats for performing a certain act.

So, why does my approach of property instruction include you so heavily? For the reason that you will need to dependable, proactive and affected person. Permit me clarify:

1. Trustworthy — Mainly because you will need to have to set up and stick to a schedule.
2. Proactive — Because you will need to have to retain an eye on your pup and get him external to his “particular spot” the fast he reveals indications of needing to pee.
3. Affected person — Mainly because this technique spots hefty emphasis on YOU.

The post Recommendations For Household Education a Puppy first appeared on Puppy Blog.

One of the most enjoyable dog training experiences is that of training a puppy. For both experienced and first time puppy owners, it is a pleasantly rewarding experience. You watch your puppy grow, bond with you and learn all the things you are teaching him. If you want to involve a dog trainer, I always advice that you participate as much as possible in your puppy’s growth and training.

Puppy training should be started as soon as possible. Some people say you should wait until the dog is a year old but this is entirely wrong. Puppy training should start the moment it is weaned from the mother and brought to your house. The kind of canine citizen your dog becomes is dependent on how much you help him to be conditioned to the human domesticated world.

If your puppy is not trained, he will grow to become an unruly and generally uncontrollable dog. One that will be an embarrassment to you and your family. On the other hand if you guide and lead him properly, help to shape is character and behavior then you will have a dog that will bring the joy of man’s best friend to you and your family.

Your puppy will have to be given the following basic training to become a properly disciplined dog: House training, Crate training, Socialization, Stopping excessive backing, Stopping biting/chewing and General obedience (seat, walk, stop etc).

Your first responsibility is to create some free time for his training. Let it take priority in your schedule. Plan his meal time bed time and wake up time. Watch what he eats and avoid food that can upset him.

When you start obedience training, make sure he is rewarded only for good behavior so you will not reinforce unruly behavior. Dog training needs a lot of patience. At first, you will not get it right and your puppy will resist the training. But if you keep at it persistently, he will come around.

Be a gentle as you can with your puppy. Do not be hash with him. He doesn’t yet have the endurance of an adult dog and will require more rest and naps to grow and develop. So take it easy with the intensity of the training. Let him trust you from stage to stage. Gradually build his confidence in your leadership ability.

The post Do It Yourself Puppy Dog Training first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Training a puppy can be a difficult, yet rewarding task. If done properly, you will be rewarded with a loyal friend for life. If done improperly, it can lead to frustration on both the part of the dog and the owner. One of the leading causes of learning disabilities in puppies is not due to defective genes or breeds, but to early separation from the dog’s mother. Because dogs have a much shorter life span than humans, they mature and learn at a much faster rate. A puppy learns more in the first 6 months of its life than it does in the remaining years. To break it down even further, many of the dog obedience training basics are not taught by the owner or trainer, but by the puppy’s mother.

In a natural environment, a puppy learns about social structures such as pack leader, dominance, etc from its mother at a very young age. The puppy learns that there are appropriate places to go to the bathroom, appropriate ways to act around the pack leader, and more importantly, patience. If a puppy is separated from its mother too soon, many of these vital skills are not taught and can make the foundation for training much more difficult to establish. Furthermore, a puppy with separation anxiety, generally brought on by early separation from its mother, will exhibit more aggressive behavior, destructive behavior such as chewing or scratching, or nuisance barking or howling.

So how do you know when it is too soon to separate a puppy from its mother? The general rule of thumb is that a puppy should not be separated before eight weeks, but it could be longer if certain signs are prevalent. These signs include, but are not limited to, abnormal dependence on the mother or failure to conform to social norms within the pack. If these signs are evident, the puppy still needs more time with the mother before being made available for adoption. Once a puppy begins to exhibit independent behavior, it is a good indicator that he is ready for adoption and will have better success during the training process.

Even once the puppy is separated from its mother, it still needs just as much love and attention as it got when it was inside the family unit. Its mother used to respond to its every whine and whimper, and in order to keep the puppy’s self esteem high, it will require you to do the same until it feels comfortable with you. Once you have created this bond however, the dog will see you as the one in charge and will respond better to your voice commands, function better in your home, and be less likely to develop separation anxiety when you leave the home.

The post Puppy Training – How Early Separation Can Lead to Puppy Learning Disorders first appeared on Puppy Blog.

Make sure that your dog has been exercised before you leave the House.
It is unfair for you to expect your dog to hold his bladder all day so if necessary employ a dog baby sitter to let him out – they can be a little expensive though – so if you can get back home during the day to let them out even that is even better.

This is important

Try not to show any signs that you are leaving the House – put your coat on in a different room – don’t get dressed into your business suit or apply any make up in front of your dog as it will only get your dog anxious.
If you do show signs of going out – these may be the pre-conditioning signals that are causing your dog so much distress.
Get your dog nice and settled before you go out – tell him to “go to bed” and give him a treat so that he knows he is being good – You can also leave the radio on if you think this will help – make it soft music – not heavy metal!
It may help to find something that he can smell you on – like one of your sweat shirts or something – leave it with him on his bed.

Don’t make a big deal of it!

If you feel guilty that you are going out – don’t make a big deal of it.
Don’t give him the sad eyes or a sad voice just say ‘bye’ and go on your way.

If you follow these steps it should help to recognize and separation anxiety and any subsequent house training problems.

Puppy House training – Introducing the Leash

In the initial stages of House training it’s important to use a leash and collar as part of the puppy house training process when taking your puppy/dog outside to eliminate.

Step 1

– Attach yourself to your puppy so that he can’t run off. If you start by letting your puppy run around the garden chasing birds and flys and rolling in mess you are setting yourself up to fail. – Remember that a puppy finds it hard to stay focused so make sure that the area is quiet and fenced off. – If your dog isn’t attached to you, you are offering him the chance to become wayward and distracted – so make sure he is on a leash

Step 2

The benefits of toilet training on a leash.

– If your puppy/dog has been trained firstly on a leash he won’t get stressed out going to the toilet in front of you – believe it or not but it is quite common for a puppy/dog to get stressed out when you are right behind them when they eliminate

Step 3

– Use a leash that is about 4-6 ft long – but make sure the snap (if its metal) isn’t too heavy. – Don’t use retractable leashes in the initial stages of the training process as they can teach your dog to pull – which is a bad thing. By using a fixed length lead you’re puppy/dog is learning that there needs to be some slack on the leash – this teaches them not to pull. Only use a retractable leash when he has learned the basic toileting techniques and is not pulling on his fixed length leash.

What collar should you use.

– Use a plain collar with a flat buckle or a quick-snap collar. I personally don’t use choke chains or prong collars as they really aren’t necessary and if you are doing the training properly you shouldn’t need one. Just use a regular flat collar.

The post House Training a Puppy & Puppy Leash Training first appeared on Puppy Blog.