It’s always fun and exciting to get a new puppy. They are adorable and fun to play with and it is often easy to forget that the cute little ball of fur will grow up to be an adult dog. But they will grow up and if you want them to be well behaved and decent as an adult dog you need to start their training when they are puppies.
Of course, the most important training is likely the housetraining. It can be the most frustrating if it is not completed but there is also leash training, and the training to come, sit, lie down and stay. If you dog is going to be a well-behaved adult dog these are also important.
There are some tried and true dog training rules that always work. All living things respond more to love and positive reinforcement than they do to criticism and negative reinforcement. Your dog will do anything to please you and make you happy but if you offer him negative feedback he may develop fear and he will be less likely to respond to you and what you want.
So the plan is to reinforce the good behaviors with treats, affection, verbal praise and more. Verbal praise should be your most often used reinforcement. Praise your dog often but be intermittent about giving him treats. If you provide treats every time, he will come to expect it and it can be bad for his health and weight, not to mention pricey for you.
Another thing is if you recall your high school science classes about classical conditioning and Pavlov’s dogs, intermittent reinforcement is more effective at confirming the behavior than consistent reinforcement. When Pavlov’s dogs got the treats every time they were less likely to exhibit the desired behavior consistently, yet when they believe they might get a treat the behavior was more consistent and reinforced deeper.
As you are giving your dog commands you should use hand signals along with the words. As he gets better at the task, use just one or the other. Pretty soon, he will respond to either and that can make things really nice in different situations.
The least you will want to teach your dog would be to sit, lie down, come, and stay along with leash training. You may also +want to include some behavior training if you have your dog out in public often or if he is especially rambunctious and hyperactive. Well-behaved dogs are a joy to own and in order to be a well-behaved adult he needs to be well-trained.
Training your dog can be a wonderful, bonding experience for both of you and the better trained he is the more pleasurable he will be to own as an adult dog.
