Train Your Puppy At Home
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Puppies need to undergo training as they grow up. That is so they would turn out to be adult dogs that their owners or masters could trust and control. There may be so many things involved when it comes to educating pups until they’re grown. But anyone can be a good or even great puppy trainer at home.
There are strategies that dog owners can use to become good trainers. Knowing them takes some reading, practice, and a whole lot of patience. That is because whelps still focus more on themselves and have a lot of learning to do.
Consider Yourself And Your Pet
Are you ready to start training your whelp? Do you think that it is ready to receive and follow instructions? These are some of what you may want to take into account. When your answer to both is yes then you can begin. Think about your readiness and know if your pet is also prepared to start.
To know if you are up to it:
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See if you have the patience to do some coaching. You shouldn’t attempt to do it if you know you are not going to be nice. Pups are like little kids that do what they please for the most part. They are vulnerable to so many things and need understanding.
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Can you fit it into your schedule? That is because training might take time. You ought to make time to educate your dog. But it’s understandable for a person to be busy. Coaching is best when there would be adequate time for it. It’s also because there will be adjustments between an owner and its pet.
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You have the right things that are important for educating a pup. A little dog might not respond to commands at all without things to get its attention. Also, you need to have those that you could use for positive reinforcement of desired actions. An example of what a trainer ought to have is dog treats.
Your puppy is likely ready for instruction once these are in place:
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It is at the right age for training. A dog may be able to be responsive to education in 7 to 8 weeks after its birth. This is the time when it is typical for dogs to socialize more. It is when they are more receptive to the things around them. They focus less on themselves then.
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There is a great environment for tutoring. When a pup is in an area where there are fewer or no distractions, you could teach it best. Such may allow you to make it focus on instructions well.
Start By Making A Puppy Relaxed
It is common for puppies to be hyper. That is because they often have a lot of energy to spare, especially when they are well-fed. So it does make sense to know how to make one relaxed. There are different strategies for this one.
Watch Those Triggers
Know the things that trigger your pup’s excitement and then try to do something about it. You can either remove it from the picture or teach your whelp to respond to it differently. In any case, you need to know how to teach a puppy to calm down by doing what works.
Don’t Encourage The Behavior
It is natural for little dogs to feel excited after seeing their owner. By responding neutrally, you do not encourage your pet to act with full energy. You also tell it that it doesn’t need to do so much to express its delight because of your presence.
This doesn’t mean that you ought to ignore your pup too. Show some care and concern by giving it gentle pats or stroking it for a bit. You can transfer it inside of a playpen. It’s that or you give yours something that could make it exert energy while being productive. In doing so a pup may have some training to use its excitement for good.
Help Him Understand Basic Commands
Your little buddy isn’t going to be little for long. After a few weeks, it will grow to be an adolescent canine. Later it will be a grown-up. While it is early, it would be ideal to know the basic commands to teach a puppy and then let a pup undergo training.
For this one, you will need some things.
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Treats or any pet food for reward. As much as possible, it ought to have a scent that is strong and desirable to your pup.
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Dog toys. These are for getting the attention of a puppy. They can also work in encouraging good behavior. Use the ones that your whelp responds to.
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Leash and collar or harness. There are those designed for puppies. Get them to make your pet ready to wear them while at a young age. Having these things early will help get a pet to adjust better to them too.
Once these are ready, you can start. Don’t expect your little buddy to understand and follow right away. Take some time to train and you may have to repeat drills several times. What is important is that you try to work on making your puppy get the basic commands.
These are the words that you may want your dog to understand:
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Stay
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Sit
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Come
Stay
It is very important to teach this because you can’t have your pup follow you everywhere. It needs to understand that you must sometimes separate. Besides, in knowing this word you can also stop your dog from pursuing something. Educating a dog to halt and remain somewhere may involve these things:
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Let a dog smell a treat that would be its reward for following your command. Then ask it to stay in its location. You can put your hand out to show that it needs to stop where it is at.
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Move a step back away from your pup and command it to stay. If it stays then show some affection to it and give it some treats.
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Continue to do this and reward only if the whelp follows your command. While you are at it, increase your distance from your pup.
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Do not hesitate in saying “stay” so that the dog will remember the word even when you are not near it.
Sit
This is different than telling your dog to stay. It is often considered one of the most basic obedience commands for puppies. Making your pup learn how to sit will allow you to make it calm and ready for anything. When your dog would know how to sit, it may also figure out when it is about to eat or if it needs to calm down. You might have to do all these things to train your whelp to do so:
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Bring your pet food or treat close to your dog’s nose.
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Once you see that the pup smells it, move it up with your hand. As you are doing this, try to press the backside of your dog down. But it is sometimes natural for a dog to sit even when you don’t push its back downward.
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You ought to only say sit when it is almost about to complete the sitting position. Once completed, hand over the treat or reward.
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Keep doing this until you see that your cute buddy gets what you want it to understand.
Come
This is one of the most important commands you could teach a puppy. That is because it can help you have more control over yours. With this, a puppy would learn to follow you wherever you go. These are what you could do for it to learn such:
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You can use a leash with a collar or a cute harness for this one.
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Once they are on, try to pull a bit while telling your dog to come. Crouch down to show your openness to accept your pup.
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When it does obey your command, be ready to reward it with food.
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Repeat this procedure until your whelp gets it. It would be ideal to do this while a pup doesn’t have a leash and collar or harness too. That is to be sure that it would obey with or without a leash on.
Fetch
You might need this command to play with your puppy or make it productive. It may involve getting your pet excited but it’s possible to train a pup to get something at an early age. When it would feel rewarded by getting something for its owner, it would keep fetching. Here are some tips to get a whelp to do so:
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Find something that appeals to your dog that you can throw for it to get.
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Throw it at a short distance first while saying the word “fetch”. Encourage your dog to go after it.
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When it does bring back the object, give an immediate reward.
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Keep doing this while saying the word with the same tone. Change the distance of your throwing too. Recognize the good deed that your dog has done by not only giving treats but showing affection to it.
Take it another step further.
Beginning your training at home is useful. And it might be enough for you and your fur friend. But if you want to try formal training, options are plentiful.
Ready to be your own puppy trainer?
Being a puppy trainer at home is possible as long as you learn and give it your best. You also need to be patient with yourself and with the pup, you’re training. The key is to maintain order, keep things simple, and do repetitions. It doesn’t have to be complicated to go ahead and try these things for yourself. Good luck!
