Basic Training
Teaching Your Puppy to Mind Their Manners
Puppy training should begin from the moment you bring your new pet home. Puppies and young dogs are
eager learners, making training quicker and easier. Early training can help in such important areas as communicating
with your pet, training your pet to respond to signals and commands, housetraining and manners, socializing, allowing
body handling, and preventing unruly behavior. A great way to get started is to enroll her in a puppy class, many of
which begin for dogs as young as eight weeks. (See our brochure “The Social Scene.”) Positive training methods are
important for successful training. Positive methods involve rewarding every desired behavior every time it happens
and ignoring or redirecting undesirable behaviors. Rewards can be praise, attention, treats, toys, and affection.
Punishment methods such as screaming, yelling, hitting, choking, shocking, pinching, or other forceful interactions
should not be used in training dogs. These methods can cause serious physical, mental, and behavioral damage to dogs
f any age, but especially to puppies. Positive reinforcement—praise, love, treats, attention, and toys—best facilitates
the training process.
Getting Started
The easiest reward to use is a combination of praise and tiny pieces of food the dog loves. Good food treats are
tiny, highly desirable, low in fat and calories, and they store well and safely. Remember that if dogs become full
with treats, there is no value to the reward. Working withhighly desirable treats for a dog who is just a bit hungry
ensures the dog is paying attention. No dog should be deprived of food for training, so keep sessions short and frequent.
Initially, the praise and food reward should be given immediately following every correct response. As your pup learns
he behavior, give the food reward only for increasingly more correct or better responses. Responses performed well
and quickly should be rewarded well and quickly. Once you reach your goal, continue to give praise for every
correct response but begin to provide the food reward on a more intermittent, less predictable basis. Intermittent
or “surprise” rewards maintain learned behaviors best. If you have been rewarding every “sit,” now ask your dog to move
and sit in two spots before rewarding her. Such changes keep training interesting and ensure the dog really understands the signal
“Come”
Lure-reward training is a quick and efficient way to teach your puppy different body positions. For this method, you will have your puppy follow a delicious treat held in your hand. The treat will be like a magnet for your puppy's nose to follow. Begin in a quiet environment with little distraction. Hold a piece of food between your thumb and forefinger, and call your pup's name in a happy voice, then extend the food toward the puppy. As she approaches you, use the food as a lure (or magnet) and draw your hand toward your chest as you say “come.” This gives your pet both a verbal and a visual cue. As soon as she reaches you, give her the food and praise her happily. As the puppy eats, take a few steps back and repeat the procedure. An alternate way to teach this signal is to toss the first piece of food six to eight feet away for the pup to chase. After the pup eats it, say “come” to call her back to you for another piece of food and session of happy praise. As your puppy becomes more skilled, gradually practice in slightly more distracting environments, and at greater distances from your puppy.
“Sit”
Start with your pup in the standing position. Here, you can usefood as a lure to get the puppy to cooperate naturally. Hold
a place of food between your thumb and forefinger, place itdirectly in front of her nose, and say her name, Slowly move the
food over her head so her nose points straight up and her rearend tips into the sitting position. Say “sit” and praise her when her rear end touches the ground. Then allow her to eat the treat. Be careful not to hold the food lure too high above her head or she will jump up for the food. After some practice, your puppy should automatically sit with an upward sweep of the hand or when you say the word “sit,” even without showing the food.
“Lie Down”
Teaching your dog to lie down upon request is easier if you begin from a sitting posture, but it can be done from
any position once the puppy Is more skilled. Ensure that the dog has good footing. Use a yoga mat if needed so
that the puppy does not begin to slip and become scared. Once your puppy is sitting, use a treat lure to encourage her
to turn her nose to one side. This will generally cause puppies to roll onto a hip. Once the puppy is comfortable with this weight shift, use the treat lure to move her nose down toward the ground. When her head gets close to the floor, move
the treat along the floor a few inches in front of the puppy. Most puppies will follow the treat and lie down. The first time this happens, tell your puppy how smart she is and feed her the treat while praising her. Once she is comfortable following the treat into the down position, begin saying “down” as you move the treat. The motion used while you move the treat can later become your hand signal for “down.” Once your puppy knows how to sit and lie down, you can encourage the pup to change positions by sweeping your hand upward for sit, and downward for down, teaching your dog “Puppy Push-Ups."
“Stay”
Young puppies don’t like to sit still for very long and love to follow people around. Train when your puppy is calm, possibly after a long walk or play session. Have her sit by using a hand and a verbal signal, but do not give a food reward. As soon as the puppy is sitting, lean toward her, look her in the eye, and extend the palm of your hand toward her. In a calm, clear voice say “stay,” but do not go anywhere. Wait only one second, then lean down, calmly praise her, and give the food reward while she is still sitting, then say “okay” to release her. Repeat the exercise. Gradually request that the pup stay for longer periods. If your puppy's eyes wander from yours, calmly repeat her name and say “stay” in a calm, attentive voice. Increase the distance you move from the puppy one step at a time, and slowly repeat that distance until the dog Is absolutely reliable. Once she complies with “stay” at short distances, move on—gradually—to longer distances. No puppy can learn to stay readily if you leave her sight unless she has gradually been taught that she can happily stay for smaller distances.
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to make great progress during basic training. Patience, consistency, and repetition are key!
eager learners, making training quicker and easier. Early training can help in such important areas as communicating
with your pet, training your pet to respond to signals and commands, housetraining and manners, socializing, allowing
body handling, and preventing unruly behavior. A great way to get started is to enroll her in a puppy class, many of
which begin for dogs as young as eight weeks. (See our brochure “The Social Scene.”) Positive training methods are
important for successful training. Positive methods involve rewarding every desired behavior every time it happens
and ignoring or redirecting undesirable behaviors. Rewards can be praise, attention, treats, toys, and affection.
Punishment methods such as screaming, yelling, hitting, choking, shocking, pinching, or other forceful interactions
should not be used in training dogs. These methods can cause serious physical, mental, and behavioral damage to dogs
f any age, but especially to puppies. Positive reinforcement—praise, love, treats, attention, and toys—best facilitates
the training process.
Getting Started
The easiest reward to use is a combination of praise and tiny pieces of food the dog loves. Good food treats are
tiny, highly desirable, low in fat and calories, and they store well and safely. Remember that if dogs become full
with treats, there is no value to the reward. Working withhighly desirable treats for a dog who is just a bit hungry
ensures the dog is paying attention. No dog should be deprived of food for training, so keep sessions short and frequent.
Initially, the praise and food reward should be given immediately following every correct response. As your pup learns
he behavior, give the food reward only for increasingly more correct or better responses. Responses performed well
and quickly should be rewarded well and quickly. Once you reach your goal, continue to give praise for every
correct response but begin to provide the food reward on a more intermittent, less predictable basis. Intermittent
or “surprise” rewards maintain learned behaviors best. If you have been rewarding every “sit,” now ask your dog to move
and sit in two spots before rewarding her. Such changes keep training interesting and ensure the dog really understands the signal
“Come”
Lure-reward training is a quick and efficient way to teach your puppy different body positions. For this method, you will have your puppy follow a delicious treat held in your hand. The treat will be like a magnet for your puppy's nose to follow. Begin in a quiet environment with little distraction. Hold a piece of food between your thumb and forefinger, and call your pup's name in a happy voice, then extend the food toward the puppy. As she approaches you, use the food as a lure (or magnet) and draw your hand toward your chest as you say “come.” This gives your pet both a verbal and a visual cue. As soon as she reaches you, give her the food and praise her happily. As the puppy eats, take a few steps back and repeat the procedure. An alternate way to teach this signal is to toss the first piece of food six to eight feet away for the pup to chase. After the pup eats it, say “come” to call her back to you for another piece of food and session of happy praise. As your puppy becomes more skilled, gradually practice in slightly more distracting environments, and at greater distances from your puppy.
“Sit”
Start with your pup in the standing position. Here, you can usefood as a lure to get the puppy to cooperate naturally. Hold
a place of food between your thumb and forefinger, place itdirectly in front of her nose, and say her name, Slowly move the
food over her head so her nose points straight up and her rearend tips into the sitting position. Say “sit” and praise her when her rear end touches the ground. Then allow her to eat the treat. Be careful not to hold the food lure too high above her head or she will jump up for the food. After some practice, your puppy should automatically sit with an upward sweep of the hand or when you say the word “sit,” even without showing the food.
“Lie Down”
Teaching your dog to lie down upon request is easier if you begin from a sitting posture, but it can be done from
any position once the puppy Is more skilled. Ensure that the dog has good footing. Use a yoga mat if needed so
that the puppy does not begin to slip and become scared. Once your puppy is sitting, use a treat lure to encourage her
to turn her nose to one side. This will generally cause puppies to roll onto a hip. Once the puppy is comfortable with this weight shift, use the treat lure to move her nose down toward the ground. When her head gets close to the floor, move
the treat along the floor a few inches in front of the puppy. Most puppies will follow the treat and lie down. The first time this happens, tell your puppy how smart she is and feed her the treat while praising her. Once she is comfortable following the treat into the down position, begin saying “down” as you move the treat. The motion used while you move the treat can later become your hand signal for “down.” Once your puppy knows how to sit and lie down, you can encourage the pup to change positions by sweeping your hand upward for sit, and downward for down, teaching your dog “Puppy Push-Ups."
“Stay”
Young puppies don’t like to sit still for very long and love to follow people around. Train when your puppy is calm, possibly after a long walk or play session. Have her sit by using a hand and a verbal signal, but do not give a food reward. As soon as the puppy is sitting, lean toward her, look her in the eye, and extend the palm of your hand toward her. In a calm, clear voice say “stay,” but do not go anywhere. Wait only one second, then lean down, calmly praise her, and give the food reward while she is still sitting, then say “okay” to release her. Repeat the exercise. Gradually request that the pup stay for longer periods. If your puppy's eyes wander from yours, calmly repeat her name and say “stay” in a calm, attentive voice. Increase the distance you move from the puppy one step at a time, and slowly repeat that distance until the dog Is absolutely reliable. Once she complies with “stay” at short distances, move on—gradually—to longer distances. No puppy can learn to stay readily if you leave her sight unless she has gradually been taught that she can happily stay for smaller distances.
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips to make great progress during basic training. Patience, consistency, and repetition are key!
- Start training in a quiet area. When the puppy's responses to your commands become dependable, move the training to environments with more distractions.
- Be sure your puppy knows one signal before proceeding to the next. Tone of voice is important. When teaching “come,” “sit,” and “down,” use a calm, positive, and consistent tone of voice to get the dog's attention and a short, high-pitched signal to mark a well- performed task. Deeper, slower words have been shown to help dogs stay still, so “stay” should be a request delivered in deeper, drawn-out tones.
- Avoid repeating commands if your dog is not paying attention. If she doesn't respond, go back to the last signal in training that she did well and repeat that. If the puppy Is not paying attention to you, consider that she may need a bathroom or attention break. If you return to a short session, you should be able to make progress by going slowly and repeating the steps noted.
- Praise your puppy and say “good dog” whenever you give a food reward. This will reinforce desired behavior and help maintain a strong response, even as the food reward is gradually withdrawn.
- Some dogs do best with verbal signals; others benefit from hand signals. Hand signals can be learned with verbal signals if praise acts as a marker for the signal (“good sit"). If the dog starts to follow your hands but does not listen to the signal, return to verbal signals and instantaneous rewards to ensure your puppy understands the concept.
- Enroll in a puppy class so you can get guidance from the instructors and your puppy can learn in the presence of other dogs. Be sure to choose one that uses positive methods.
- When your puppy seems fidgety and has a shorter attention span, keep the training session short and stop before she begins ignoring your signals. Consider that the dog may need a bathroom break or time to just be a puppy.
- If you have difficulty getting your puppy to be calm and focused, a lead and a head halter or front-attachment harness may help you to get the desired response. Distractable puppies should be able to work well on their own before other puppies are added to the mix.
