How to Get Rid of Your Dog's Bad Habits

In order to stop your dog from doing something you don’t like requires consistency, attentiveness, timing and praise. You have to catch your dog in the act of doing the bad thing, and correct the dog every time he does the bad thing. Every time he gets away with doing it, it’s two steps backward in the training because then he realizes that he can get away with it.

It is extremely important that you correct you dog while he’s committing the bad thing or immediately after he does it. If 5 to 10 seconds go by before the correction comes, your dog doesn’t know what he’s being corrected for. A dog doesn’t associate past actions to the present like a human does. Five to ten seconds after a dog has committed an act, whether it was a good one or a bad one, the act is forgotten. Any praise or punishment given more than five to ten seconds after the act has been committed is useless, because the dog does not associates the praise or the punishment with the commission of the act.

A correction can be a stern “NO!”, or it can be a sharp jerk on the lead. Whatever works, but be consistent. As soon as your dog stops doing the bad thing, you should praise him immensely. The praise is more important than the correction, so remember to do it.

As an example:

You catch your dog chewing on your table leg. You give him a stern NO! Your dog stops chewing on the table leg. You tell him what a good dog he is and pet him. Your dog associates the “NO!” with the act of chewing on the table leg. He stops chewing either because he knows what NO means or he’s startled. You praise him by telling him how good he is, and he associates the praise with not chewing on the table leg.

For some dogs it may take only one or two corrections. For others, it may take ten or more corrections. But if you’re consistent, attentive, and persistent, you will be successful in stopping any bad habit your dog has.

A trained dog is a happy dog and has a happy owner.

Socializing Your Puppy

When you have a new puppy it is important to socialize them not only with other dogs and people, but also with things in their environment that might seem intimidating at first.  You should do so in a way that is not frightening to the puppy, and ensure that it is enjoyable with the use of treats and praise.

Steps to socializing your puppy:

When you’re on walks with your puppy bring treats so that when strangers approach him they are able to reward him for being calm.  At the same time, you should also reward the puppy when they calmly react towards cars, bicycles, etc.

On your walks, try to vary the surface as often as possible.  Stairs, metal grates and gravel will definitely invoke a reaction from your puppy.  Reward positive behaviour, and ignore negative behaviour.  It is important not to pet your puppy or give him treats when he is scared in order to comfort him as it is only rewarding him for being scared.

Be sure to bring your puppy with you when you go to the pet store as it will allow you to bring him around people who are also dog lovers and will ensure positive reactions upon seeing him.

Make sure you reward positive behaviour such as staying calm when others approach, walking at your pace, or waiting patiently.

It is also a good idea to enroll your new puppy in obedience classes, as it allows them to socialize with the same dogs regularly and make friends.

Take a look at this cute video of a large older dog playing nicely with a small puppy.

Basic Commands to Teach your Puppy

It’s very important to teach your puppy some very basic commands. Here are 3 easy ones for you to try at home.

1.    Sit - A basic and easy command.

2.    Lay Down - An easy, but important command.

3.    Fetch/Retrieval - How to teach the activity of retrieval.

How to teach your dog to Sit

Stand beside your puppy and put your hand under the puppy’s neck, and the other on top of their bum. Push up with your hand under their neck, while pushing down with your other hand on their bum (directing them into the sitting position) as you say “Sit”. As they sit, praise them. Repeat this and your puppy will learn to sit by verbal command only.

How to teach your dog to lay down

Stand beside your puppy and say "Lay Down". Hold a small treat in your hand at nose level of the puppy, and as you say "Lay Down", bring it down to the ground. If they aren't completely lying down, help them with your other hand. Give them praise and the treat. Repeat.

How to teach your dog fetch

Most likely your puppy already likes balls so this process should be easy.

Throw a ball (not very far), and say "Fetch". Your dog will go get the ball. Now say "Come" or "Here" to get your puppy to return to you. When your puppy returns with the ball, ignore the ball and give your puppy praise. Do not take the ball away from the puppy. Now give the command to "Sit" and "Stay". The reason you don’t want to try to take the ball away is the puppy might get in the habit of dropping the ball before they even reach you.

Now teach your puppy to give you back the ball or "drop" it. Puppies enjoy chasing the ball might do this all on their own. Say "Drop it" as they drop the ball. When they drop the ball, give them praise. Throw the ball again while saying “Fetch” and repeat the process.

Take a look at some possibilities of what some amazing dogs can do!

Teaching your puppy tricks/ or new commands can be very time consuming and will take a lot of patience. Remember to practice and keep a positive attitude.

Potty Training

House training your puppy requires a lot of patience, attention and consistency on your part. You can house train your puppy to go only where you want.

Buy a Crate with a Divider - Puppies will always try their best to keep their den clean and will avoid peeing or pooping where they have to sleep. The crate is the puppy's den.  It's a safe and comfortable place to sleep and relax. The crate is NOT to be used as a punishment area for making a mistake.  Buy a crate large enough for when your puppy is full grown. Get a crate divider to make the area available to your puppy smaller when young, so there isn't enough room to pee on one side and sleep on the other. As the puppy grows, move the divider to provide more room. This way you don’t have to spend money on a larger crate later on.

Pick Your Spot – Choose a place where you want your puppy to go. I suggest choosing a spot in your backyard that is easy to access and clean. Some owners make a square area that is filled with gravel and take their puppy to that area until it knows to do so on it's own. Others are fine with the whole back yard or select an object to train the dog on like a Pee Post.

The Scent - Puppies like to pee where they or others have peed before. Use this to your advantage. Buy a pheromone product such as the Go Here Aid which contains those scents that dogs like to pee at, and use that on the spot that you have picked for your puppy.

When Your Puppy will Pee - Very early on, when the puppy goes will not be up to you. A puppy's bladder is tiny and until the age of 4-5 months it can't hold much for long. Up until 4-5 months of age, a puppy needs to go to the bathroom about every 2 hours on average. No amount of scolding or information provided here is going to change the size of your puppy's bladder.

To minimize accidents and speed the housetraining process, take your puppy out often and at regular times. Decide when you will feed your puppy each day, play with it, take it out and let it sleep in its crate. Do so at the same time each day so the puppy adapts to the schedule. As your puppy grows, it will be able to go for longer periods without peeing and you can adjust accordingly. Your goal is to condition your puppy to go when you want it to.

  

Attention and Consistency – Early on, watch your puppy every moment that it is out of its crate and provide as few opportunities to make mistakes as possible. If you see any hint that your puppy might need to go, even if it is not on the schedule, quickly take it outside to the spot. When it goes correctly, praise it him, but be sure not to turn potty time into play time.

If you do take your eyes off your puppy and he makes a mistake, DO NOT scold him. It was your mistake! Simply place your puppy in its crate and quietly clean up the mess.

For mistakes you absolutely have to get rid of the odour when cleaning so that your dog can't smell his old bathroom and do it again in that spot. Use Nok Out or vinegar to neutralize any urine or odour on flat surfaces.

Take a look at this video for some additional tips and tricks.

 

Follow these simple steps and I’m sure that you will have a well trained puppy!