Dogs are a lot like children in a way. They need to know how to behave and keep their cool at all times. After all, we wouldn’t want them to do something we hope they won’t. It is best to teach them what is acceptable behavior from the very start, rather than waiting until they get into trouble.
How to Train a Dog
There are some essential commands that your dog needs to know to get along well with you and your family. You should start teaching him these commands as soon as possible. The longer you wait, and the older he is, the harder it will be to get him to understand what you want. So, you should start training him immediately.
That said, you can still teach him the basic commands, all you need to know are the words. Whenever you say something in a clear, firm voice, your dog will get a sense of security and confidence that he is doing something right.
So, how do you teach them? Here are some tips:
Establish a Training Crate
Teach your dog that he needs to go to his room every half hour or so. This is to help him relax and not get a chance to go to the bathroom while you are not home. How do you make him feel comfortable enough to use the bathroom?
Give Him Treats
Don’t think you have to resort to treats every time your dog goes potty, but it certainly speeds up the process. When he goes into his designated room, you can give him a treat or play with him for a while so that he knows that he did a good thing.
Let Him Sleep in His Crate
It is important that your dog learn to sleep in his crate at night too. Why? Because it will be difficult for him to swallow if he has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Make him understand that he has to hold it until you take him out.
Consistency is the Key
It is important to make sure that everyone involved in teaching or training the dog is using the same techniques or you will never get results. Your dog loves to please you, so when you praise him and give him treats for a job well done, he will definitely take notice.
However, it is important to correct your dog if he goes into the wrong room or doesn’t make you feel comfortable. Remember, you have to trust him to instinctively know what to do rather than rely on being punished every time.
Start Now
Some people think that it is too late to start training their puppy, but that is just not true. You should start training your dog from day one. The longer he is with you, the better drafts you will have to make sure the rules are being followed.
For example, everyone in the family has to be on the same page when it comes to your puppy going potty in the wrong places or not.
If you wait until he is older to start training him, you will spend a lot more time cleaning the mess he will leave and will dog him to do it again in the future. Everyone will be frustrated, and that will lead to a breakdown between you and him.
While everyone wants to put all kinds of limits on the young dog, it is best to start with just “potty here and there.” You don’t want him eating out of the trash and refusing to go potty until he is older. That kind of confuse him and make him realize that you do not want him to do it.
Just stick to “potty here and there.” It is okay to walk him outside every now and again to give him a break from using the rest of the lawn. It is okay to say “go potty” when you see him doing it.
Is everyone training the puppy to teach him quickly? No. The puppy will learn faster if everyone in the house helps out. If you just did this random act once a day, it will seem like it is not so hard to do, right? But it takes hard work to teach everyone to do the same thing.
Additionally, even if you teach him everything in the book, that’s not enough. Next, you have to teach him how to do it. Teach him first how to get off the couch, how to do “the spin”, how to do the “sit”, how to do the “down”, how to do all these things.
And then add in commands that make it easier for him to understand what is expected of him. Instead of just brushing his coat, you add jumping, sitting, or even rolling over. Instead of just putting his toy in the corner, you add, “fetch” and “where is it”?
It is much easier to just teach these little steps, but you will also find that much of what he learns comes from just you in general.