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Teaching Commands for Puppy Obedience
To train your puppy, pair the following command words with each specific action and use them consistently. Give positive reinforcement with treats and attention, and start early: The younger your puppy [more…]
Sample Housetraining Schedule for Puppies
This housetraining schedule is based on the needs of a healthy four-month-old puppy. Vary the schedule according to your schedule and the age needs of your pup. If you can’t take care of all your pup’s [more…]
Discouraging Your Puppy from Bad-Neighbor Behaviors
There's a lot to keep in mind when trying to be a good dog neighbor. While training your puppy, discourage him from bad behaviors that might upset your neighbors. This includes keeping him calm and quiet [more…]
Training with Your Puppy's Age in Mind
When training your puppy, you should consider directions and problem-solving techniques that are personality-, size-, and age-appropriate, designed to build your puppy’s confidence both in you and in the [more…]
How to Choose Toys, Bones, and Treats for Your Puppy
Today’s market is flooded with toys, bones, treats, and gadgets for dogs and puppies. You may be tempted, but don’t buy every toy and bone in the pet store. Puppies, like children, have specific likes [more…]
Starter Collars and Leashes for a New Puppy
For puppy’s homecoming, you'll want to choose a lightweight starter collar and leashes. Purchase a short, lightweight nylon leash (drag lead) for indoors and a long line for outdoor playtime in open areas [more…]
The Different Types of Dog Leashes
In the long history of people and dogs, the leash and leash walking are relatively new inventions designed for convenience and safety. Leash training methods are necessary for older puppies — though humans [more…]
How to Introduce Your Puppy to Other Family Pets
Though you and your family want your new puppy to be friends with your other family pets, you have to realize that your resident pets will not be wearing party hats when you walk through the door with [more…]
What to Expect in a Puppy's First Week
Well, you’ve made it home with your new puppy! What can you expect in the first week? For starters, you can simplify your puppy's first day by showing him his free-play zone, the room he’ll call home until [more…]
Meeting Your Puppy's Basic Needs
Your puppy has basic needs — eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, sleeping, and playing — and an instinct to satisfy them. When these basic needs are routinely satisfied by a loving caregiver, without [more…]
Key Points to Follow When Training Your Puppy
A lot goes into being a good trainer for a puppy, and most of it is mental. You must understand and encourage your puppy in ways that make sense to the dog. Your puppy has bestowed on you the highest honor [more…]
Teach Your Puppy to Understand You
Communicating to your puppy is like teaching English as a second language. Language is an odd medium for your puppy to understand; she’s naturally programmed to communicate through body postures. That [more…]
Tone of Voice for Instructing Your Puppy
Your puppy is more responsive to the tone of your voice than to what you’re saying. Excited message tones excite your puppy. Calming message tones have a relaxing effect, and directional tones convey a [more…]
How to Calm a Puppy in New Situations
Early in a puppy's development, everything is new and your puppy’s trust in you is innocent and faithful. As he faces new situations, however, he’s prone to question your opinion while still being unsure [more…]
Conditioning Your Puppy to Life's Surprise Events
Socializing your puppy to all of life’s surprise events is just as important as training him during the first year. Though your puppy may behave perfectly in your living room, if he falls to pieces when [more…]
How to Control a Puppy Who Digs
Digging is often a puppy’s favorite pastime, especially for puppies in the Terrier and Sporting groups. Digging is a great way to alleviate boredom, is a reaction to stress, and is a cry for company, especially [more…]
Discouraging a Puppy's Mounting
Some puppies mount kids (and even adults) when they’re overstimulated by unpredictable events, feel a hormonal surge, or need attention. You can discourage this action. Don’t be too embarrassed — it has [more…]
Dealing with Your Puppy's Separation Anxiety
Puppies hate separation. If they had their way, they’d follow you to the ends of the Earth. Puppies suffering from separation anxiety may chew destructively, claw at the door, soil the house, bark excessively [more…]
Managing a Two-Puppy Household
When you add two puppies to your household, managing them both is quite the balancing act. Resolving housebreaking, chewing, nipping, or jumping habits in two pups can be double the workload. You have [more…]
How to Teach Your Puppy Good Manners at Home
Your puppy’s first manners at home will be influenced by cause and effect. If he does something that feels good or gets your attention (negative or positive), he’ll do it again! For example, if he can’t [more…]
Doggie Day Care and Puppy Kindergarten
If you work all day away from your home, you may want to consider a doggie day care program for your puppy rather than leaving him home alone. There are good day care centers and there are poorly managed [more…]
Help Your Puppy Deal with Your Absence and Return
When you're coming and going and your puppy is left alone, she’s likely to suffer isolation anxiety. Your puppy will get over it as long as you remain calm and treat her consistently each time you leave [more…]
Training Your Puppy to Meet and Greet Others
A well-socialized puppy makes many friends. Meeting and greeting other dogs, puppies, and people tops her list of priorities. You’ll need to teach your puppy impulse control, or she may dart headlong into [more…]
Handling and Avoiding Puppy Accidents
You can cement your puppy’s understanding of housetraining by following some basic tips about accidents in the house. If you outline your ritual and highlight your plan to anyone involved in the process [more…]
Controlling Your Puppy's Chewing Frenzy
Chewing is a puppy thing. It’s nothing personal. Like kids, puppies are curious about the world around them, and they love to explore. Additionally, puppies between 3-1/2 and 11 months are teething. During [more…]
