Discipline For Puppies In Your Puppy Training
Is there really any good type of discipline for puppies? They are, after all, baby dogs. Young puppies don’t learn from being punished, and what you really need to be doing while your puppy training is be loving and support him exclusively, not working to punish him. Not to mention the fact that if you punish your puppy too much when he’s little, he won’t trust you very much in the long run.
Then what is the right way to discipline your puppy so that you can know you’re teaching him correct puppy training methods and you’re not actually punishing him?
Use The Tone Of Your Voice
When you’re working with a small child, you probably wouldn’t yell at it for doing something wrong unless you were frightened. This should be true of your puppy, as well. Disciplining your puppy shouldn’t be as much about being physical or shouting as it should be about firm, but kind correction. For instance, if your puppy is about to do his thing on your floor, you should go over to him and tell him “no – outside”. Pick him up and take him out without scaring him and once he does his thing outside, you can tell him how good he is.
It’s the same thing with chewing things. Puppies, like babies, have no idea what they should not be getting into, so your first job is to make sure that all the things you really care about are put away. Then you need to make sure to watch your puppy and encourage him to chew and play with his toys, not your things. When he grabs his toys, you tell him he is a good boy and be willing to play and if it happens to be your favorite pair of shoes he’s after, you should simply take the item away and tell him no.
Don’t yell at your puppy. This form of discipline simply scares the dog and ensures that he will be scared of you. Keep your voice firm, make sure your pooch looks at you and tell him “no”, then take the item away. This will help to foster a good relationship between you and your puppy and teach him not to be afraid of you.
Spanking, Swatting and Hitting as Discipline for Puppies – No!
Spanking, swatting and hitting does not belong anywhere in the world of good puppy discipline. Puppies do not understand why they are being punished, so if you choose to spank your pooch, you might be fostering a bad relationship with him later on. Don’t swat him on the snout either, as this will scare him and give him pain, but later could cause him to become snarly and mean if you touch his face.
When you’re working to discipline your puppy, you should always only keep a firm voice whilst puppy training and when you tell him something and make sure to get on his level so he really understands what’s going on. You should teach your dog to listen to you based off his trust of you and love for you, not because you spank him.
Disciplining puppies can sometimes be really tough. There will be times that you will be so frustrated you could scream at your pooch, but remember that you would probably try to avoid screaming at your child and you need to avoid screaming at your puppy. You will only scare him and this form of discipline won’t work for your puppy anyway.
Preschool Puppy Training and Little Treats and Praise
When you’re working on preschool puppy training, it’s important to have your puppy trained to expect a 10 minute walk daily and you should have taught him that treats and positive praise go together. As you take your walks, you should try to notice if he is paying attention to you or if he’s absorbed in his surroundings and not noticing what’s going on with you. If he’s distracted, you can work to get his attention by getting down on his level and saying your puppy’s name. After you say your puppy’s name, you should tell him to “come”.
If he looks like he is confused, gently pull him to you and give him his treat while offering him lots of “good boy’s”. Try about four treats and give it about 10 minutes. At nine weeks old, this is all the time you have before your puppy loses focus, so work with him in this time to train him well.
It may seem like four treats in ten minutes is an awful lot, but you are working to teach your puppy the basic command, so by giving him all these treats, you are reinforcing that listening to you is a good thing. At this point, you are showing your puppy how to learn and realizing that offering all the “good boy’s” and love alone aren’t going to get your little friend’s attention very well. So, this is why you are making sure to teach him the basics of learning to obey you.
By the time your puppy is nine weeks old, you will have taught him that he doesn’t get to play until he will let you make him sit. When he sees playing as a reward, it will become easier for you to train him and easier for him to learn what you are trying to teach him. As he learns that you will toss his toy for him when he listens to you, he will also know that by playing nicely with you he will get a treat when the game is over.
Don’t begrudge your puppy his treats for being a good boy and working to learn with you because otherwise, you will find that you don’t get the results you would if you used the treats. Much like children, puppies need a big reward for working to learn; it’s a lot like offering a small child ice cream if they finish all their homework or clean up their room, so make it worth it for your puppy and keep the treats on hand for him, but make sure he does what you want him to first. Keep the praise for after the treat, because as he gets older, praise will be enough, but for now, it’s just not.
