Having a good dog is not something that occurs by accident, it must be carefully directed from an early age. Training a puppy is a task that requires continual attention and patience. While teaching your puppy, you may be tempted to show your puppy how to do tricks that will amuse family and friends, but is important to start with basics that will encourage your puppy to grow into a well-behaved dog.

Training Your New Puppy

When training a puppy, the first thing to remember is that teaching must be consistent. You cannot allow a puppy to do something one time and get away with it, yet punish him the next time. This will create confusion in his mind. To be effective, training must be repetitive and consistent. Regulate your voice when training a puppy. A harsh tone will frighten the puppy for a few moments and cause him to associate an action with a negative feeling. You do not need to yell at the puppy, only use a moderately loud and staunch tone. Conversely, use a sweet tone when your puppy does something right. Praising your puppy often is the best way to teach him, as dogs are natural people pleasers. When offering the praise of "good dog" in a kind tone, be sure to offer small treats. These should be given immediately after the puppy follows a command properly. Teaching your pet to respect human flesh is the first thing you want to stress when training your puppy. Puppies have sharp teeth and are prone to playfully grabbing at hands that hold them or try to pet them. This is called mouthing. Although mouthing will not cause severe damage, teaching your puppy to respect human flesh in a process called bite inhibition will help discourage an adult dog from harming a human. If an adult dog has learned bite inhibition as a puppy, it will be more likely to quickly release human flesh if it bites in a natural reaction to something, such as physical pain. To teach your puppy bite inhibition, every time the puppy grasps onto your flesh, exclaim a word such as "Off!" very loudly. This will deter the puppy from biting over time. Another time to teach your puppy not to bite is during feeding. Place a few pieces of dry puppy food into the palm of your hand. Show the puppy the food and tell the puppy to "take it" in a kind voice. Hand the puppy a single kibble. Close your hand. When the puppy tries to bite your hand to get to the food, say "Off!" loudly. The puppy will likely be frightened and will back off for a few seconds. After the puppy has not tried to gnaw your hand for about five seconds, open your palm. Say "take it" again in a kind tone and give him one kibble. Continue this method every time you feed the puppy. This process will teach him to respect human flesh, especially when food is concerned, which will help prevent him from becoming food-aggressive as an adult.

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k9web.com: Your New Puppy