By Everyone wants their puppy to grow up with good behavior that will make it easy to pet them. Instead of asking when you should start training your puppy, I’m going to first off tell you to do it as soon as possible. If you just bought your puppy, you start training it from then. There are numerous methods of puppy training but there are a few that are tested and known to really work. You’ll get to know what each puppy training method entails and see what will fit yours.
Positive reinforcement
This is a popularly used puppy training method that entails taking and giving treats. When your dog does something good, you instantly give them a treat with a show of affection letting them know that you are happy about it. However, when they do something bad, you take something from them like a toy.
This method is great for training a puppy when they are little. It only works in an instant as the puppy won’t remember something good they did minutes ago. Training the puppy to sit, stand, come and other simple commands can be effective when you use this method. However, too many treats in form of food which are commonly used might lead to fattening of your pup. To control this, you can just show them affection when you like their behavior. If you do not live alone, tell your family about it so they can do the same thing. The method works well when you are consistent.
Relationship based training
This is solely based on meeting the needs of the puppy while you try to understand their bad behavior instead of punishing them. You will strive to know what your dog needs and then you’ll be giving it to them. If they love a certain treat, you’ll ensure that you give it to them. You’ll have to study what their body and behavior tells you.
Just like friendship, the dog will gradually love to please you as you do please them. They’ll be seeking your approval at times and if they do something great, you’ll pet them lovingly at that instant for them to understand what they should keep doing.
This method is like that for parent and kids where the favorite parent always gives the kid what they want but also restrains them from certain environments that could induce bad behavior. That doesn’t mean you can’t walk the dog in the park, no. It simply means that you’ll work on reinforcing good behavior by showering them love in such a way that they’ll bond with you before they start to explore the world.
When there’s a bond, you can tell the dog to do something and they’ll respect and obey. This method works fully especially with people who have time on their hands so the dog doesn’t feel ignored. However, it also works best when used with other less harsh methods. It’s all about building a bond that’ll ensure respect and love between you and your puppy henceforth.
Clicker training
This training involves a device that produces a click sound. This method also works the same way as positive reinforcement basically but just with a different approach. The training starts where you make your puppy identify with the click sound. When they do something good, you let out the sound and consequently offer a treat.
As time goes, your dog will associate with the method and will start behaving knowing that a click sound will instantly follow and a reward will be next. This is when you start including talking so that they can register certain conversations in relation to the click. This will go on until the puppy can understand what they need to do without the click.
Science based training
This training method has been proved to work on many dogs but also has changed a lot as people have developed advanced understanding regarding dog behavior. This is where a pet parent needs to study the psychological needs of the dog in depth and ensuring that they meet them.
As much as this is one of the top methods of training puppies due to its humane-nature and effectual outcome, research continues to change the results every day which makes it difficult to trust the past findings. However, because the methods worked in the past, one can decide to trust the findings of a certain time that suits their breed and environment and roll with it.
The science-based training needs patience as you grow to learn the behavior of your dog. You have to learn how to give the dog what they need and also know when to react to what. This method is great if you can trust a trainer to do it or just do it by yourself which will create a bond like in relationship-based training.
Bottom Line
Article was brought to you by the Vetpractice – http://www.thepetpractice.com.au . The Pet Practice is a Vet based in South Perth, Australia. Many tested and proven methods are almost one and the same thing. The application is what differs. You can get a trainer within your area to explain how you’ll integrate these methods to bring up a well-behaved dog. As you can see, these are mostly positive-oriented humane methods. The upside is that you won’t have to hurt your dog while giving them discipline while the downside is that you need time to make the puppy well behaved. Not that I am saying well behaved instead of well trained. Positive methods instill discipline permanently while training is merely giving commands without necessarily earning respect from your dog. Bonding takes time but your cute puppy is worth it.
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