training fundamentals - Seven Tenets of Puppy Training

training fundamentals Seven Tenets of Puppy Training

Training is no different than teaching. And in order to teach successfully, excellent communication is needed. Communication is a two-way street; your puppy’s brain is going to be working overtime to understand this bizarre language you speak with lots of words and a total absence of butt sniffing. But you’ll need to put in the effort, too, to understand their native language and drives, and to create the perfect atmosphere for learning. Our Seven Tenets of Puppy Training are the cardinal concepts that lay the groundwork. Please note that these concepts all apply equally to adult dogs as well.

Seven Tenets of Puppy Training

1. POSITIVITY

 Positive reinforcement simply means that when your dog exhibits the behavior you want, you reward them. Period. (No one said this was rocket science.) Countless scientific studies have established that positive rewards are the single most effective method for dog training. As a bonus, it’s easy and fun and every member of your household can take part. In Socializing Your Puppy, we’ll explain the methods of training with positive rewards. Positivity also means a generosity of spirit and kindness. You’re going to keep things light and upbeat, always. If you try to dominate or act aggressively toward your puppy, they’ll develop mistrust, a lack of affection, and perhaps even aggression. See yourself the way you want them to see you: as their benevolent leader. Yes, you make the rules. But you do so with a gentle hand that offers treats and petting.

2. CONSISTENCY

 Consistency means repetition. That’s how all creatures learn: train, repeat, train, repeat. And your puppy will learn fast. You may have heard or experienced that dogs are creatures of habit. And you’re now in the business of shaping and developing good habits that work for you. An important part of consistency is teaching your puppy your schedule, rather than you learning theirs.

3. PATIENCE

 Let’s be realistic: You’re not going to be patient with your puppy simply because patience is a virtue. It has utility, too. Consider training your puppy with an absence of patience: Do this, and the training just won’t take. Your frustration will cause them to become frustrated, and can also lead to a lack of learning, bad behaviors, and aggression. To truly embody patience takes constantly reminding yourself that what you and your puppy are doing is nothing short of astonishing. You’re teaching a dog to understand another language.

Take a minute to marvel at this. Now, having marveled, temper your expectations. In dog training, it’s very often two steps forward and one step back. Remember: it’s usually us who are making things tough. We might use two different commands instead of one, or alter our tone of voice, or make other subtle changes in how we train, which can throw a puppy for a loop. Don’t demand too much from them. Remain patient. You will master all of this, and so will they. It just takes time. Expect the setbacks, remind yourself of the amazingness of what you’re accomplishing, and keep going.

4. TIMING 

Here’s an area where your puppy is extremely different than you. A dog’s brain is unique in that they have a tiny window (about 1.5 seconds) in which to associate an action with its consequence. If you left the toilet seat up last night, and this morning someone mentions to you that they didn’t appreciate it, you understand. You can learn. But a puppy can’t. Not unless it was less than 1.5 seconds ago. If your puppy peed on the floor 10 minutes ago and you show it to them and say, “Look what you did,” they have no idea what you’re talking about. Same goes for good behaviors. If your puppy sits, and you wait a few seconds before rewarding them and letting them know they did the right thing, the training has been lost on them. In The Six Key Commands, we’ll give you all the tools you need to work within this tight timing. Timing also means knowing when to train and when not to train. You need to be able to read the room. You’ll develop the ability to assess your puppy’s current level of activity and focus. Knowing whether they’re hungry is also important in choosing the right time to train. You will be able to evaluate the potential distractions in an environment. Sometimes you want to have a moderately distracting environment; other times, you won’t.

5. SOCIALIZATION 

There’s a reason why the chapter on socializing in this book comes before the one on basic training. Socializing your puppy isn’t merely important, it’s actually more important than training. Why? Consider this: Ask anyone what they’d like in a dog, and the answer you won’t hear is a dog who can sit, stay, and lie down. Instead, people will say they want a happy dog. A calm dog. A stable dog who they can take out in public without being worried that they will bark, nip, bolt, or create a nuisance. How do you get a happy, stable dog? It’s not through training commands. It’s via socialization, and plenty of it. You actually have a very short window—a mere eight weeks between the ages of eight weeks old and 16 weeks old—to make the biggest difference in the life of your future adult dog. In Socializing Your Puppy, we’ll give you lots more information about how to make the most of these eight weeks to set the stage for a very happy life together.

6. UNDERSTANDING 

Your puppy isn’t a baby human. They’re a different species with their own drives, body language, and repertoire of doggy speech and idiosyncrasies. In short: Get to know your puppy. Reading this book is an excellent first step, and we’ve included a Puppy Perspective in each of the training steps to help you understand these motivations. The better you can understand not simply what puppies do but why they do what they do, the better equipped you’ll be to become the benevolent leader of a gloriously well-adjusted pup.

7. SAFETY 

While it’s true your puppy is no delicate flower—and many puppy owners are far too sensitive and precious about the little bonks and mishaps that are quite natural and that your puppy can easily withstand—they do need looking after. Regular vet visits are important. If your puppy is sick or injured, taking them to the vet is of paramount importance. But most of what you can do for your puppy’s well-being is to anticipate the kinds of trouble they can get into due to their limitless curiosity and their drive to chew anything and jump on everything, and then take the necessary precautions. Puppy-Proof Your Home will pave the way for your puppy’s safety by helping you prep your home for their arrival.