Proper training and socialisation are among some of your dog's basic needs. It's important to start training your dog as soon as possible. Young puppies have short attention spans but you can expect them to begin to learn simple obedience commands such as “sit,” “down,” and “stay,” as young as 7 to 8 weeks of age.
What are the benefits of training my dog?
Training your dog can come with endless benefits being an owner. Teaching your dog basic obedience like sit, wait and perfecting their recall can ultimately give them the freedom to do all the things they like to do. This can be both at home and when out on walks in public, such as running around at their favourite park or beach and going to play with their other furry friends, whilst being under control and safe.
Dogs are known to be very intelligent animals and most love to learn, so training can be a fun way to prevent them getting bored!
Many people, pet owners and non-pet owners alike, would agree that training plays a critical role in a dog’s development and ability to safely interact with their environment
The fast facts:
Will teach your dog basic good manners
It’s important to get your dog accustomed to other dogs, people, sounds and noises.
Through training, you and your dog learn how best to communicate and how to work together, whilst creating long-lasting relationship between you and your dog.
Dogs can be unpredictable, especially when left unsupervised with children. Teach your dog to ‘sit’, ‘stay’, ‘come’, ‘heel’ and walk comfortably on a lead. To learn how to do this head over to our video channel to see our ‘how-to’ demonstration videos.
Ensuring your pet listens to your commands can prevent it from experiencing potentially deadly conflict with other dogs or wild animals, running into a busy road or generally harming itself in hazardous situations.
How do I teach my dog?
When training your dog, you need to remember that rewarding positive behaviour is key and not to lose your temper when training your dog. Giving your dog something, they really like such as food, toys or praise when they show the desired behaviour asked from them, means that they are more likely to do it again. Remember to be consistent and constructive with training whilst rewarding the desired behaviour.
Basic tricks and commands we recommend you teach your dog (go to our training channel to view our ‘how-to’ demonstrations of each command and training techniques):
Sit
Paw/high five
Down
Wait
Greeting people calmly
Come/ their name
Our top training tips and tricks!
When you are training your dog new tricks and commands, make sure you are in a quiet room in your house with minimal to no distractions to help them focus better on you.
Make sure training sessions with your dog are kept short to ease them into it without them feeling bored or overwhelmed.
Be patient! Just like us, dogs all learn at different paces so don't worry if your dog doesn't pick things up straight away compared to what google might say it should take or a friend.
Use positive reinforcement – Reward good behaviour!
Make training is fun as you learn together!
Remember to choose your dog’s name wisely
Part of the fun of bringing home a new puppy or dog is finding the perfect name for them. Some names are considered better for training. For example, short names ending with a strong consonant that they can always hear clearly are names to consider the most when choosing your dog’s name. A strong ending, like in the names “Grace,” “Noah” and “Scout,” perks up puppy ears and keeps them interested!
Say no to biting and mouthing right away
Having a puppy comes with biting and mouthing in most cases. Instead of shouting at them, which can potentially scare them and lead to other issues, try to discourage the biting by pretending you’re in a lot of pain when they bite or nip you- a sharp, loud yell should work. Most dog’s recognise this noise or are surprised by it and understand they need to stop
Discourage jumping right away!
Puppies love to jump up in greeting, and some older dogs have learned bad habits meaning they do too. When your puppy or dog jumps on a person, don’t encourage this behaviour. Just turn your back on them, ignore the behaviour and wait until they settle down before going back to greet them. Never encourage jumping behaviour by patting or praising your dog when they’re in a “jumping up” position as otherwise they will think they are allowed to do this.
End on a positive note!
Your puppy or dog has worked hard to please you throughout their training time with you so leave them with lots of praise, a treat, some petting or five minutes of play. (Whichever is their favourite!). This almost guarantees that when you do more training with them they’ll be there with their tail wagging, ready to work!
If you need any help with training your new puppy or dog, click here to go to our training channel and sign up to get exclusive 'how-to' videos to help you train your pup!