Puppy
|
5 min
FREE UK DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £39.99
When bringing home your puppy, not only do you undertake the transformation into the ultimate puppy pawrent, but also puppy trainer extraordinaire!
As with everything else you must consider when becoming a puppy pawrent, knowing how to help them become an obedient and focused pup is no mean feat.
This is where we come in! Using our pooch expertise, we’ve provided the best possible starting point for your puppy’s training schedule, broken down by age and capability. With this (and a few tasty puppy treats along the way), you’ll be well on your way towards having a gold-star-pooch!
Puppy training can begin as soon as they’re home with you. Especially when it comes to toilet training and crate training.
This means training can begin from 8 weeks old!
There are many approaches to puppy training, and some require certain tools and accessories. It’s all about finding what works for you and your pup.
Depending on what kind of training you’re doing with your pup, you may need:
High rewards are key to any training, as they teach your pup that when they do something right, they get something fun out of it! One of the easiest rewards is to slip them a little puppy-friendly treat.
You should always be mindful of how many treats you feed your pup alongside their normal diet. To find out how many treats are too much, explore the puppy section of our Treat Feeding Guide.
Since you can begin puppy training from the get-go (and there’s a LOT to cover), this puppy training schedule should help guide you. With the below knowledge, you can strategically spread out your puppy’s training and tackle certain areas when they’re ready.
If you’re already ready to start, explore our expert puppy training videos with Trainer Platinum K9!
There are different areas of training you can focus on when cooking up a plan for your pup - each one as important as the last. These include:
‘Sit’, ‘Paw’, ‘Stay’, ‘Come’’ - you know the drill, and after some dedicated attention to obedience training, so will your pup!
Puppy obedience training refers to all the little tricks you can teach your pup, which can be anything from the classic ‘sit’, their new name, or ‘fetch my socks’.
Not only is obedience training good for getting your puppy’s focus AND mental enrichment, but it also comes in handy for other types of training. Whether that’s out on walks, meeting new people or teaching them food etiquette.
Obedience training takes a lot of repetitive action and positive reinforcement. This involves using a command, showing the action to your pup and then rewarding the correct response with a treat.
For example, when teaching ‘paw’ or ‘shake’, this might look like saying the command, picking up your puppy's paw, and giving them a treat and verbal praise straight after. After a couple of goes, your pup will be throwing their paw at you all by themselves!
For some extra help around puppy obedience training, our expert dog trainer Jon explores the importance of obedience training for puppies and their development, and how to prepare for success in our training video.
The key to successful obedience training is practice, patience, dedication and of course, high-value treats!
Here at Pooch & Mutt, we have just the thing to help your training go as smoothly as possible, and that’s our high reward Puppy Jerky Training Treat! Perfectly sized for tiny puppy mouths, our puppy training jerky is packed with nutritious, natural ingredients of beef and cranberry, and is suitable for pups aged 8 weeks and up.
For older pups aged 12 weeks up, you have the pick of our entire Meaty Treats range. Made up of Calming, Skin and Coat and Dental Probiotic Meaty Treats they’re as tasty as they are beneficial they can be to your pup’s health and wellbeing! Meat allergies? No problem, you can choose between our Health & Digestion Fishy Treats, or our Peanut Butter Probiotic Nutty Treats for a completely vegan option.
It’s a big, scary world out there for a puppy! And it’s down to you to slowly introduce them to the world so they know other humans, and dogs, are friends - not foes.
Socialisation training consists of putting some of your time aside to gradually introduce your pup to new people and animals, in a more controlled environment. This is so you can create positive experiences, help them build healthy relationships and help squash nerves and anxiety later down the line. And of course, lots of treats help here too!
Like socialisation training, exposure training is vital when introducing your puppy to the big wild world.
Where socialisation training focuses on new people and other pets, exposure training refers to other everyday things that at puppy’s first glance, may seem terrifying.
This could be anything from cars whizzing by, doorbells ringing, busy high streets or sounds in a pub/cafe. Exposure training helps your pup become accustomed to these strange new sights, sounds and smells in a more controlled manner, and can help avoid nervousness, stress and anxiety later down the line.
Like any other training, exposure training requires a slow, strategic, gradual approach. It involves heaps of praise and a few breaks for treats. This way, you can help your pup associate these once fear-inducing scenarios with something positive.
This might look like ringing the doorbell, or knocking on the door to allow your pup to become accustomed to visitors. Once the doorbell rings, allow your pup to have their initial reaction whilst you remain calm and collected. After a few goes, they should eventually get used to the sound, and realise that what follows is nothing to freak out over!
Once your pup begins to give the correct response, you can shower them with praise and treats. This approach can be applied to anything else they seem to be struggling with.
Sleep training - that old chestnut! Nothing can really prepare you for the sleepless nights that come with bringing home a puppy. Teaching your puppy to sleep in their own bed or even just during the night is training that can commence from day one, and sets the precedent for their new life with you.
Whether you’ve decided your puppy will sleep in a basket, pen or crate - it’s down to you to make sure they see it as nothing but a space of calm, relaxation and positivity.
Sleep training your pup is certainly one of the more challenging sides of training, but with lots of patience and dedication, you should see results in no time. And in this case, the result is a puppy sleeping soundly through the night.
To learn more about tackling sleep training and crate training, be sure to explore our expert article ‘How to crate train a puppy’.
Ah yes, another training staple when becoming a new puppy pawrent.
When your pup first comes home, their bladder’s parallel to their size - teeny tiny! This means, your pup’s going to need to relieve themselves quite often. The general rule of thumb is that puppies can hold their pee for one hour of however many months their age.
For example, one month = one hour, and so forth. When it comes to pooping, puppies tend to go not long after they’ve eaten.
With all this considered, little accidents around the house are common and sometimes just unavoidable. However, cracking down on toilet training from the get-go can help them quickly learn where their toilet is - and that your new rug isn’t it.
To learn more about how to toilet-train your puppy, be sure to explore our guide: ‘How to toilet train your puppy’.
Lead training isn’t a walk in the park for all dogs…
Depending on how your puppy receives the outside world, whether they’re more nervous or even overconfident - training them on the lead is super important for their safety and wellbeing, as well as your own.
Your puppy should only be outside on a lead after they’ve had all their necessary vaccinations - but this doesn’t mean the lead training can’t start. Walking on a lead or wearing a harness can feel very alien to a little pup, so you can begin practising in the house or around the garden.
When it comes to facing the big wide world, lead and walk training is crucial, especially when walking near roads, other people, and other dogs.
To perfect your puppy’s lead training, be sure to check out our expert video with Trainer Platinum K9: ‘How to teach your puppy to walk on a leash’.
Training is a big part of puppy ownership, and with the right approach, will help form your puppy into a well-rounded, obedient dog. If you’re looking to teach your pup some new tricks, don’t forget to check out our training videos. If you’re looking for some tasty puppy treats to really get their attention, all of our Probiotic Meaty Treats are suitable for puppies 12 weeks and older. For younger pups, be sure to check our Puppy Jerky - specially formulated for tiny tums.
Comments (0)
Leave a comment