No! 4 Steps To Help Your Puppy Become A Well-Behaved Dog
If you have a new puppy, it's time for the hard work to begin. While puppies are a lot of fun, they do require a lot of work, especially during the training stage. Everything is brand new to your puppy, including the rules. If you want your puppy to grow into a well-behaved member of the family, you need to start with the training while it's young. Here are four tips that will help you train your puppy to become a well-behaved dog.
Choose the Toys Carefully
When you have a new puppy, it can be tempting to turn everything into a play toy, including shoes and clothes. Unfortunately, playing tug-o-war with your dog, using an old shoe, or other piece of clothing, will only teach your puppy that all clothing is a toy to chew on. To avoid coming home to a house full of chewed-up clothing and shoes, choose your puppies toys carefully. When it's playtime, choose only toys that have been specifically purchased for your pup to play with.
Get Its Attention
It's only natural for your puppy to try and bend the rules once in a while. Even with the biggest collection of puppy toys, it may try to chew on your couch, or your favorite chair. If it does, you need to get its attention – fast. The best way to do that is to get its attention. As soon as you catch your puppy doing something that it shouldn't, do something to bring its attention to you. One way to do that is with a loud noise. Don't yell though, or it will end up being afraid of you. Instead, blow a whistle, or ring a bell. Another way to get its attention is to give it a quick squirt from a spray bottle. The key is to get its attention quickly.
Be Consistent
When it comes to training your puppy, consistency is key to the process. If you correct it for a behavior once, and then ignore it the next time, you'll teach your puppy to continue with the behavior. To ensure that you don't instill acceptance of bad behavior, be sure to correct your puppy each time you see it doing something that it shouldn't. It's also important that you take care of the matter as soon as possible. If you wait until later, your puppy might not even remember what it did to get into trouble.
Speak to Your Vet
If your puppy continues to exhibit bad behaviors, despite your best efforts, it's time to speak to your veterinarian. They'll be able to help you develop a training plan that will get your puppy back on track.