by Candace Williams

Created on: April 29, 2010

Training a puppy involves two things positive reinforcement when the pup does the right thing and negative response when the puppy does the wrong thing. Most modern methods involve more stress on the positive reinforcement.

Start with the basics

Teach sit first. It is not too difficult to get a puppy to sit and then to reward with an excited voice and some petting. Some reward with a small piece of dog food or treat. A firm voice with the simple command of sit will teach this action.

Next is lie down for most dogs. Same thing goes with this simple action. It is not too difficult to get a pup to do this and then make a big deal of it. Pretty soon the pup knows these two commands and will do them knowing that you are pleased with this action when you say the command.

Now teach stay. Have the dog sit or lie down and then command stay and walk away. If the dog stays in the spot even briefly you again make a big deal of it and try to have the pup repeat this good action of staying where you tell him to stay for a little while. Then you increase the amount of time that the dog is expected to stay in one place. Gradually the dog learns to remain where you want him to remain.

Now that the pup has learned a few things you can add more

The pup has not only learned a few commands but has learned to listen to you and respond to your interest in him or her. This is the basis for teaching good habits. The dog has to want to please you. The dog also has to see that he or she can please you. She needs to know exactly what you expect.

Now you can teach any actions you want to teach because you have built the foundational relationship with the dog. It is not too hard to teach the good response we call training. You decide what you feel in important for the dog to do and work consistently at rewarding the correct behavior. If you want the dog to learn not to jump up on people then you reward his sitting when people reach out to pet or give attention. You may want to teach him to go lie down when somebody comes to the door so she doesn't jump up on the person. Another thing you might want to work on is proper walking with a leash by holding the leash close to your body and talking quietly to the dog you can teach him to walk with you not to walk you. Take her on short walks and increase the amount gradually. Soon you will have a well trained dog who is a pleasure to be with in many situations.

Remember to help the pup to remember

Consistently working at having the dog do the things you want him to and not allowing him to forget is the next step. Make time to go over the commands you have practiced with your pet. It keeps the dog in practice. That is what you need is a well mannered dog who is familiar with behaving the way you want your dog to behave. This will make you both happy.

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