Advice On How To Train Your Puppy

by pttgrrl

posted on 07/30/2009

So, you just got the cutest puppy ever...who jumps on people, nips at hands, and is chewing up your furniture. You can't have that! Luckily, you can actually train your dog very quickly in only a few minutes a day.

Jumping
When your puppy wants to jump on everybody, all the time, they obviously have a little energy to burn. A great way to distract the puppy from jumping up on somebody is to toss a favorite toy across the room in front of them. One of my personal favorites is a treat ball with a little peanut butter inside. This way, the movement catches the puppy's eye, the puppy is more likely to chase the toy if he smells a tasty treat, and the puppy gets a tasty reward for going after the ball instead of jumping on the person!

You should never hit you dog for jumping, though. The best thing for the person being jumped on to do is to quickly turn their back on the puppy, and ignore them until the puppy sits or behaves a little better. If you really have a bouncy dog, you can also try leashing your dog, and standing on the leash to prevent jumping. Your dogs head should NOT be pulled to the ground. The dog should be able to sit or stand comfortably - just not bounce into your visitor's face!

Puppy Nipping
This is one of the worst problems to have, especially with small children around. Most people interpret puppy nipping as aggression or true biting. That is not the case! First, puppies teeth, just like babies do. And dogs have and instinct to explore everything with their nose and mouth. Again, hitting your dog is not the answer. Many puppies actually think that when you swat at them, you are encouraging them to nip more!

There are a couple of solutions to prevent this. One is to keep some really great chew toys around the house. Kong toys, with treats inside, work really well and last a really long time. When puppy nips, yell "NO" as loud as you can to make them stop, then offer them the toy to chew on instead, and as a reward for stopping. (Rawhides work well too, but should only be offered when you are supervising your dog. ) If puppy still tries to nip at you, walk away and ignore them for a couple of minutes, then start over again.

But, what if, when you walk away, puppy nips at your pants leg or shoes? Try a deterrent, like Bitter Apple. Or, if you are really frugal, unscented spray deodorant works well too. Spray it on your pants leg, hands, or whatever else your puppy nips at. Make sure when puppy nips, that not only do the get a nasty mouthful of deodorant, make sure you tell them no again, too. Don't hit or kick your puppy for this. You can cause serious injury, and you will achieve better results simply by being consistent than anything else.

Chewing
Remember that Bitter Apple or deodorant you got for the nipping? It works well for this too! Just spray it on anything you do not want the puppy to chew on. And the great thing about these sprays is that they can be used on almost anything, from wooden furniture to electrical cords. This can prevent chewing even when you are not watching them.

And puppies do teeth,so make sure you have some really good chew toys around. These will help relieve the pain and itching of teething, and give your new puppy an alternative to chewing up your new boots or TV cord. Make sure you have lots of toys around; while most puppies will eventually have a favorite toy to play with, variety will help keep them from being bored and looking for alternatives.

Other Tips
Another thing you could consider doing with you puppy are to stash little treat jars around the house. That way, whenever you catch your dog doing something right, you can toss them a treat and tell them how wonderful they are! This helps reinforce any good behavior you dog may show.

If you are unable to stay home with your puppy all day, every day, you may want to consider confining your puppy while you are away. That way, you know for sure your puppy is not being electrocuted by a chewed up cord, or choking on a piece of your favorite chair while you are not there! You may want to consider crate training. If you don't like the idea of a crate, you could always look into other options, like "puppy play pens" or confining your puppy to a small area, such as a bathroom or laundry room.

Most Important
Be consistent! If you don't want your puppy to jump on everybody all the time, don't let them jump on anybody, ever. It only takes that one person who "doesn't mind" to confuse puppy. Just stick with the same "No Jumping" rule with everybody, all the time. Same thing with your shoes, and everything else. For instance, if you give your dog an old sneaker to chew on, you think you are being nice. What you are really doing is giving your dog permission to chew on shoes! Your puppy may be smart - but probably not quite smart enough to tell the difference between old and new. So, stick with the same rules all the time, reward your dog when he does something right, and you will find your puppy gets the hang of behaving pretty quickly. It's not instant, but your dog will learn.

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