Whether you’re a first-time pet owner or seasoned dog lover, there are several things to take into consideration before bringing your new furry friend home.īefore you settle on the idea to get a new dog or puppy, make sure you know the answer to the following questions: Congratulations! If you’re envisioning a spontaneous adoption purely due to love at first sight, you may want to think again. It may take some time and patience, but your dog will eventually come to you every time they are called.So you’ve made the decision to adopt a fur baby. At first, start just a few feet apart and gradually increase the distance as your puppy improves.When they’re consistently responding to ‘come’, practice in a quiet public place like a park (make sure this is secure, too!). Keep practicing this somewhere quiet and secure.Reward them when they come to you and give them lots of praise.Always use a positive tone so they know coming to you when called will be a good thing. Try to make their treat obvious at this point! Walk away from your dog, then say their name and say ‘come’.Make sure your dog knows you have their favourite reward but isn’t hanging around you for it! You should practice recall training somewhere quiet your dog won’t get distracted at first, so they get used to the command. Make sure you have your dog’s favourite reward for this.Recall training is super important for dog owners, especially if you want to let your dog off-lead anywhere:

You can start to phase treats out once your dog is consistently responding to the command ‘off’.

If they don’t respond the first few times go back a step.

Eventually you can start to just use the command ‘off’ when your pup jumps up on something they’re not supposed to.

Remember to only give them their reward once all four paws are on the ground.

Once you’ve done this a few times, start to add the command ‘off’ when you are luring them down with their reward.Once all four paws are safely back on the ground, give them lots of praise and their reward.When they jump up on something you don’t want them to, use a treat or toy to get their attention.Don’t shout at them for jumping up as they could see any attention as praise.Firstly, if your dog is jumping up because there’s something they want on a table or counter, remove the item so they aren’t tempted.Whether you want to stop your pup going on the sofa, or they keep trying to put their paws on the table, ‘off’ is a useful command for your dog to learn: Remember to keep training sessions fairly short so they don’t get bored and don’t forget the treats and rewards! Our vets have put together a plan of the best way to teach your puppy some basic commands to get your puppy started on their training. So, it’s best to praise the good behaviour and don’t mention the bad!Ĭonsistency is key with puppies! It’s best for everyone in the family to use the same command words so your puppy doesn’t get confused. Sometimes when they are told off for bad behaviour, puppies can get confused and think you’re praising them. It’s better to train them that good behaviour gets a reward rather than punishing the ‘bad’ behaviour. If you tell them off after they’ve already chewed holes in your shoes, they really won’t understand what you’re telling them off for. This is because we often find out our dog has done something they aren’t meant to when it’s already too late. It’s also worth noting that telling your dog off rarely helps with training. Dogs respond far better to positive training and are more likely to pick up what you are trying to teach them faster. They’re nice and simple and your pup will love to learn them!įirstly, when you’re training your dog or puppy to do anything, you should always use positive, reward-based training. Most owners dream of their puppy growing into a well-behaved adult dog, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start! There are a few basic commands that ideally all owners should teach their dogs.

Pre puppy checklist