Puppies can begin learning basic obedience techniques at the age of just eight weeks old, basically as soon as you bring them home. It’s important that your puppy views any type of training you do as a positive experience that they look forward to every time.
Positive reinforcement is the process of rewarding a puppy once they’ve performed a desired action with something their puppy values. For example, by offering them a toy or their favorite treat when they’ve successfully recognized what’s asked of them they will start to associate this behavior with a reward.
But other than teaching a puppy new abilities, why is obedience training important for your puppy to learn? We will explore this in more detail below.
In This Article
Why is Obedience Training Important?
Obedience Training Supplies Your Puppy Needs
Popular Training Methods
When Should I Start Training My Puppy
What Are The 7 Basic Puppy Commands
When You Should Take Your Puppy To Obedience Training Classes
Key Takeaways For Training A Puppy
WHY IS OBEDIENCE TRAINING IMPORTANT?
Obedience training is an essential part of any puppies‘ life. It provides both mental and physical stimulation which helps to keep your dog feeling happy and satisfied from a job well done. Not to mention will make both of your lives MUCH easier.
Reward-based training helps to improve and reinforce the relationship between both puppy and owner. The most attractive reason for training a puppy is because of the joy and ease it brings to a household. A well-trained puppy is much more enjoyable than a puppy that isn’t socialized or aware of inappropriate behavior. Teaching a puppy to listen to you and learn basic obedience skills allows you to introduce your puppy to more environments, travel more frequently and leave the house without having to worry about coming home to a destroyed living room.
Another desirable factor for training a puppy is an increased level of safety. Common behavioral skills that are vital for a puppy to learn early on include leash training, teaching a puppy to come when called and appropriate socialization skills that teach them how to interact with other people/dogs.
Once you have mastered these skills and start to introduce your puppy to new environments you will have a deeper understanding of them, how they act in certain situations and how to better support them in a given situation.
Obedience Training Supplies Your Puppy Needs
Before you get started on your puppy’s obedience training journey it’s important to be prepared. These five essential elements will help make your training sessions a much smoother experience, and a well-trained puppy in no time.
- Clicker
Clicker training is a positive reinforcement based method (open in new tab) that relies on marking desirable behavior using a ‘clicker’ and rewarding them afterwards. - Treats
Treats can be used as an easy Luring Method when teaching a puppy new behavior - Leash & Harness
Leash training is one of the most effective, and useful training techniques for puppies’ to learn and can be taught as soon as they’re brought home - Barriers
Puppy supplies like crates, pet doors and playpens help to create a more dog-friendly home that allows your puppy to roam freely in an area of your choice - Teething toys
Puppies love to bite, they will chew anything in reach. Having appropriate teething toys for your puppy will make all the difference when it comes to redirecting their chewing behavior.
Popular Puppy Training Methods
There are various methods for training your puppy with new skills, obedience and tricks – it can be difficult to know which one to go for.
Clicker Training
Clicker training is one of the simplest, most effective training methods for teaching a puppy. With clicker training, you simply click the clicker after your puppy successfully performs a given command or trick and reward them with positive reinforcement or treats. Eventually, your puppy will learn that the noise of the clicker is associated with rewards and following commands, which will help to reduce the risk of unwanted behavior later on.
Crate Training
Crate training is a helpful training method for puppies in various situations. A crate can be a safe haven for your puppy to withdraw to, a tool for teaching your puppy how to be house-trained, and a safe way to transport your puppy when you decide to hit the road.
Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is the key to teaching a puppy desirable behaviors by introducing a positive stimulus after your puppy performs how you want them to. Using this behavior reinforces the behavior that you want to see more of and will increase the probability of your puppy behaving appropriately in the future.
There are many ways to encourage your puppy and show them that they are done the right thing. We’ve listed a few:
favorite toys
Treats
Positive tone of voice
Plenty of pats!
Strengthens The Bond Between You & Your Puppy
As you spend more time with your puppy creating new experiences and teaching them new tricks, the bond between the two of you will grow faster. Puppy’s (all dogs really) love to please their owners and will strive to do their best if it means getting a positive reaction in return – which is why it’s so important to encourage your puppy when they behave correctly and avoid reprimanding them when they make a mistake. This will only make them fear you and take longer to achieve your desired behavior.
Leads To A More Sociable Puppy
An inexperienced puppy can often feel overwhelmed when they are first introduced to new environments, new people and especially new dogs! If your puppy has not learned to control their excitement, or has been taught to understand how to socialize around other dogs it may lead to your puppy being afraid of other dogs in the future, or perhaps getting too close to an unfriendly dog. Teaching your puppy the correct way to behave will educate them to interact with people and other animals correctly in the future.
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