SarahSo you just got a new puppy? What do you do now? You’re puppy is learning from the moment you bring him home. He is watching you and learning your rules, even the ones you don’t realize you have. Start teaching your puppy what you want him to know in short sessions of obedience and observe how your puppy reacts to things you do.
Dogs are the best creatures on earth in my opinion. They love unconditionally, and they can bring utter joy to your life. They also learn by discovering what is fun to them. By that I mean if your puppy grabs your shoe to start chewing on it, you go get the shoe from the puppy and replace it with a toy or chew that belongs to them. If the next time your puppy grabs your shoe and takes off running, and you chase the puppy, he’s going to think this is the funniest game ever and continue to do it. Now obviously you don’t want your shoe destroyed so it’s a natural reaction to get it back from the puppy as soon as possible. Try running away from the puppy to see if he will chase you. You might try playing with one of his toys that he loves, he might just come back to you and ditch the shoe for his favorite toy. Some of training a puppy (or a dog) is training yourself too. Perhaps you need to learn to put your shoes up high or make sure you close your closet door. I’ve learned these lessons over time from personal experience and people who shared insight with me. No judgement here, I’ve lost a few shoes over the years.
Do not assume that because your puppy is so small and young that she can’t learn yet. When you first bring them home, they are like little sponges. Our newest addition was 8 weeks old when we brought her home and she was sitting on command on the second day after just a few 5-minute sessions. Since dogs are reward driven, they will quickly adapt to get what they want. If sitting their butt on the ground gets them that toy or treat faster, then they pick that up really quickly. I personally believe training as many things as you want them to know as early as you can. They just absorb everything at a young age.
There are many tools you can use to help train your dog that I discuss in this post. I have used multiple methods with all of ours. Don’t believe anyone that tells you there’s only one way to get results or that clicker training is the only way to train. You have to see what works for you and works for your dog in different situations.
I recommend watching your puppy or dog to see what behaviors they offer that you may want to teach them to do on command. Colt, our Chesapeake Bay/Lab cross started smiling when we came home each time. It was so adorable and funny. I started to tell him to smile each time I could see he was about to do so. Now I can get him to smile on command whenever I want to see that cheesy grin. He still does it whenever he’s super happy too.
