Avoid These Five Mistakes When Training Your Puppy

Every competent puppy or dog trainer follows certain principles to make their training effective. However, a number of people do not succeed in training their puppy. I will now discuss the most common mistakes people make when training their puppy.

1. They don’t set themselves up as the alpha dog.

One successful approach to dog training is based on knowing the instinctual way dogs behave within a pack. A rule the dog pack adheres to is dominance. There is a heirachy within the pack. At the head of this are the pack leaders, a male and a female.

They are the first to eat, they lead the hunt and when they sleep, they take the higher ground.

To be successful in dog training, we need to position ourselves as the leader of the dog pack. We can do this by not allowing our puppy onto higher ground such as sofas and beds, making sure we eat a little token food before we give our puppy its own food: so that he sees us eat first clearly.

A calm and assertive manner is important for successful training. It is important not to be nervous or indecisive.

2. They don’t employ consistently the concept of positive reinforcement.

We must clearly comprehend that we must reward wanted behaviors in our dog by giving treats or attention the instant our dog does the behavior. We can associate a verbal command with the behavior as it occurs and give a treat immediately after it.

Negative reinforcement such as shouting at a dog or punishing him in some way is nevertheless giving the dog attention and since he wants attention, the attention can act as a positive reinforcement rather than a negative one. It has been found to be ineffective. What is effective is to give no attention at all to the dog when it engages in an unwanted behavior. We may need to physically intervene if we need to stop some destruction going on, but we should keep the same calm manner and not interact any more than we have to.

3. They make dog obedience training sessions too long.

Sessions are best kept short so that your puppy’s energy and attention are good. It is best for puppy to learn in short bouts. We should make the sessions only ten minutes for young puppies and up to twenty minutes for older ones.

4. They underestimate the amount of time and energy required to train a puppy.

Puppy training requires a commitment of time and energy in order to be successful. The owner will need to have great patience and to be persistent. He will also need to be very consistent.

5. They think that training only occurs during an organized training session.

Puppy training is happening all the time, not just in training sessions but whenever he is with you or anyone else. The owner needs to ensure that everyone who comes into contact with the puppy always behave in a consistent manner i.e. to reinforce positive behaviors and to ignore undesired behaviors.

Try to keep your puppy training sessions fun and enjoyable. They should never become a chore.

For more complete information about puppy and dog training, see my reviews of the best dog training guides.