You have a new bundle of fur in the form of a lovely cuddly puppy dog. If you treat this small creature correctly and train it well you will have a loyal companion for life, and a loving obedient family pet.
The training should start from the moment you get the young puppy. The first thing you will do is to give your puppy a name and each time you call the puppy by name and he or she responds, your training has begun.
To teach the puppy the many other good habits which the pet is capable of learning and responding to, will take a little time and patience. Here are a few items which may help you in the training process.
1. It is far better that only one person is in control of training, and a routine of working with the puppy should be set aside each day, maybe a thirty minute period.
2. Do not shout at the puppy or express anger if the pet does not understand the command immediately. Repeat the exercise using the same command word over again and the dog will soon get the idea. Once learned the command will not be forgotten; always reward the dog for good understanding and obedience.
3. As the puppy learns the formal commands such as ‘fetch’ ‘sit’ and ‘come’, introduce these words into game situations. Play ball with the dog and teach it to ‘sit’ before fetching the ball, and ‘come’ when the ball has been retrieved.
4. Slowly introduce other family members into issuing commands to the dog. This will introduce the puppy into a social environment and make it obedient to other family members living in the same house.
5. The habits of house cleanliness are soon learned by a puppy. The first few times it wets or dirties in the house, then by rubbing its nose into the dirt and dragging it to the door, will soon teach the young puppy house cleanliness and to go to the door each time it wants to go outside.