A loving and consistent puppy training is the basis for a peaceful and stress-free coexistence between dog and human. If dogs learn their position in the family and their limits right from the start, this not only has a positive effect on the harmonious atmosphere in the house, but also on the healthy development of the dog.
Dogs are pack animals and need clear structures and rules for their mental well-being. A careless or insecure owner confuses young dogs and leads to undesirable or even dangerous behaviour. In addition, behaviour learned at an early age is difficult to unlearn in an adult dog.
What does a puppy have to learn?
There's no question about it, a rambunctious puppy can turn family life upside down and cause a lot of hullabaloo in the house. It is therefore all the more important to make it clear to the little whirlwind from the very beginning what it is allowed to do and what it is not allowed to do.
Your new flatmate with the loyal look and the clumsy paws will of course make it very difficult for you to always remain consistent. Who can resist a cute puppy when it begs for a piece of sausage at the table or cuddles up to you in bed? But how is a dog supposed to understand that it is suddenly no longer allowed to enjoy these privileges as an adult dog?
When raising a puppy, you should therefore be clear from the beginning about how you envisage living together with your dog. What behaviour is important to you and what behaviour do you absolutely not want to tolerate?
If you stick to this clear line from the beginning, your dog will soon learn where his "place" is and will hardly cause you any problems even as an adult dog.
No matter how cute your puppy looks at you: Always remain consistent in your training.
Clear commands and clear signals in puppy training
Clear commands, a calm but firm tone of voice and clear body language will give your dog a sense of security. Dogs are masters at reading facial expressions and often respond more quickly to simple hand movements than to complicated sentences. Think carefully about how you want to name commands such as "sit", "come", "heel" and what gesture you can show to go with them. Keep these simply structured commands by always using the same key words and hand movements.
To avoid misunderstandings, it is better to avoid long sentences such as "Bello, you have to wait in front of the supermarket because your master has to do some shopping". Short, clear instructions that are always linked to the same desired behaviour are essential for learning the necessary basic obedience.
Praise and treats in puppy training
How do you get the puppy to enjoy learning? Praise and treats play a big part in motivating young dogs. In this respect, they are not much different from most humans. They choose the path that promises the greatest success for them. Reprimands and punishments demotivate them and thus hinder successful puppy training.
Praise is especially important: give your puppy a treat when it does something right.
In order for dogs to learn which behaviour is the right one and which will bring in the longed-for praise, the reward should be direct.
You can reward your puppy with our Training Token Range (be careful - not too many!), happy words, gentle petting, praising gestures or a longed-for toy.
