Puppy Training

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So you finally got the puppy of your dreams only to find that it is chewing your best shoes, barking at everybody that walks past your mailbox, jumps all over your furniture, and pees all over the house!

Training a puppy to behave appropriately has many benefits for both the puppy and you and the earlier you start the better. Puppy training is critical to managing anti-social behavior like aggression, excessive barking, nipping and biting, jumping on people and furniture. Research has shown that a puppys brain is mature and ready for learning at a very early stage. A puppy can learn basic commands like "sit", "stay", "come" and "heel" by the time it is 12-16 weeks old.

Dogs are not humans and therefore do not treat them as such. Dogs are instinctively pack creatures and in the wild, each pack member learns their rank in the pack. In each pack there is a leader, the alpha dog, and the other dogs do not challenge the pack leader. They look to the alpha dog for leadership, food and protection. In the domestic situation, you are the pack leader and therefore it is crucial that you earn the respect of your puppy for any training to be effective. Set the scene by making sure that you give your puppy a clean environment. In the wild, dogs do not defecate where they sleep or eat so ensure you have separate feeding, sleeping and toileting areas for your puppy.

Before undertaking any puppy training program, consider the style of training that will best suit you and your puppy. All puppy training programs reinforce the relationship between you and your puppy. Some programs use rewards, others use collar/leash. The style of training that is the most effective varies among breeds and dogs within a breed and you are best placed to decide which is the most appropriate for your dog. Generally leash/collar training works best on larger, heavier dogs, particularly where the dogs are heavily relied on for a specific role, eg guarding property.

Share your tips on how you have dealt with specific puppy training issues or feedback on various products or strategies you have used. You will also find useful links to articles on dog training, including obedience training, and solving dog behavior problems. "