You can start this training as soon as you bring your new puppy home.\u00a0 The following are free training videos that help you learn how to teach your puppy the skills he or she needs to be a well mannered pet, without the need for force, punishment or painful equipment.\u00a0 Teaching these behaviors to your young pup NOW will prevent many unwanted behaviors later when your dog is older, larger, stronger and more independent.<\/p>\n
The following videos on this page are based on clicker training. This short clip explains how to get your puppy to understand that the click has meaning. It also covers how to use a word instead of the clicker and a toy instead of food.\u00a0 Note: If your dog is deaf, you can use a hand signal like a quick thumbs up or the flash of a flash light in place of the auditory marker.<\/p>\n
No matter what method of dog training you choose, it still takes some skill on your part.\u00a0 Part of the skills you need, include proper mechanics.\u00a0 If you learn these now, you won\u2019t have bad habits of your own to fix later.<\/p>\n
This video<\/a> has a game you can play to improve your skills so your puppy will learn even faster.<\/p>\n Why mechanics are important <\/a>and how to muffle the sound of a loud clicker<\/p>\n This video explains how to select the best treat and what size treat to use.\u00a0 Puppies will work for very tiny treats.\u00a0 Use your dog\u2019s level of desire to gauge the \u201cvalue\u201d of that particular treat for your puppy. For many of the behaviors on this page, you can use meal time as training time and instead of putting your dog\u2019s food in a bowl, use it as training treats.<\/p>\n How to get your puppy to stop doing unwanted things. Rather than yelling at your pup, using his name in a harsh tone, or physically stopping\/correcting the pup, train a \u201cpositive interrupter\u201d.\u00a0 This will be a sound that gets the dog\u2019s attention away from whatever he was doing that you don\u2019t like and it works like a charm! This also helps prevent your puppy from waiting till you aren\u2019t around to do the fun stuff he wants to do (like chewing, barking and urinating in the house).<\/p>\n How to teach your puppy a word that will get him to quickly drop anything he might pick up in his mouth or release anything he might grab with his mouth. This can help prevent your puppy from eating dangerous items, chewing things he shouldn’t, guarding objects, running away with forbidden items, grabbing you or your clothes and can come in handy if you want to play tug with your dog.<\/p>\n Is your puppy so food motivated that he just wants to bite, jump at and paw at your hand with the treat?\u00a0 You need to watch this video! It is also great for teaching your puppy the foundation of \u201cimpulse control\u201d which is a critical skill for all dogs to have!<\/p>\n If your puppy likes to bite your hands, legs and anything that moves, you\u2019ll want to watch these videos.\u00a0 This also covers how to get the puppy to accept your touch, and arousing contact with the puppy. Being able to pet, examine and hold your puppy is a critical skill all dogs need.<\/p>\n There are many dogs that develop anxiety about the owner leaving them, even for brief separations.\u00a0 This can cause many unwanted issues that it\u2019s better to do your best to prevent right from the start.\u00a0 Being able to leave your dog by himself is a critical skill for a well adjusted adult dog.\u00a0 It will also help lower their stress level if you have to leave them at a boarding kennel or with a dog sitter or at the vet.<\/p>\n Related skills- teaching your pup to love his crate:<\/p>\n Another critical skill is teaching your puppy where it may and may not relieve himself.\u00a0 Using punishment can create a puppy or dog that will not \u201cgo\u201d in your presence.\u00a0 This can cause issues later on if you travel or go for long walks and need to dog to empty himself while on leash. It can also create a dog that hides in the house to potty and that is really hard to stop.<\/p>\n Having a dog that comes when you call, no matter what the dog might be doing when you call, is amazing!\u00a0 It gives your dog freedom and gives you piece of mind that you can call your dog to you any time you need to do so.\u00a0 It may even save the dog\u2019s life if the dog is about to get into something dangerous!<\/p>\n Being able to go for a walk without your dog choking or trying to pull your arm off is much more pleasant and will make it more likely that your dog gets to leave the house\/yard more often and go with you to more places.\u00a0 Because of this, it is deemed a critical skill.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need painful equipment to teach your dog leash manners.<\/p>\n And\/Or<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n And\/Or<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A dog that is always looking for the slightest opening of a door to dash outside to play, sniff, run and have fun can be frustrating and it\u2019s a very dangerous behavior for your dog.\u00a0 This training also teaches impulse control and allows you to make sure the other side of the door is safe for your dog (no loose dogs, no people afraid of dogs, etc.)\u00a0 This type of training can be used for ANY door (crates, cars, new buildings, etc.) This is more impulse control work.<\/p>\n If you rarely hear or think this about your puppy, you might want to watch this video. It covers how to teach your dog that when you are not interacting with them, they should lie down and relax.\u00a0 This comes in handy in SO many places!!\u00a0 It also helps the dog with impulse control.<\/p>\n One additional critical skill you\u2019ll want to be sure to teach your puppy is to accept handling of all their body parts (head, ears, paws, tail, checking in their mouth, checking their belly, etc.)\u00a0 Start when the dog is relaxed after a good physical workout like a play session or walk.\u00a0 Briefly touch the puppy and if the puppy is calm, click and treat while you make contact.\u00a0 Repeat this with all body parts till you can carefully examine and handle all over your puppy.\u00a0 This will make the puppy much easier to handle for nail trimming, ear and teeth cleaning, grooming and vet exams.\u00a0 You\u2019ll also want to teach the puppy to be comfortable on his side and on his back while you examine paws and belly and do some massage.\u00a0 You can give the puppy a safe chew treat like a bully stick to work on while you are doing the handling and grooming.<\/p>\n This video is a case study by Canines In Action (C.I.A.) of a puppy that did not like nail trims and how this was changed:<\/p>\n\n
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What treats do I use?<\/a><\/h5>\n
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\u201cStop it!\u201d<\/a><\/h5>\n
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“Drop it!”<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Don\u2019t mug me!<\/h5>\n
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Don\u2019t bite me!<\/h5>\n
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I can be alone and relaxed <\/a><\/h5>\n
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House training<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Puppy come!<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Walk nicely on a leash<\/h5>\n
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Don\u2019t dash out the door!<\/a><\/h5>\n
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What a calm relaxed puppy!<\/a><\/h5>\n
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Handling<\/a><\/h5>\n