Perfect Puppy (part1)

New puppy ... clean sheet of paper ...

Having a new puppy, you get a great chance to start all over again. Your puppy gives you unlimited possibilities, not tainted by any negative baggage. Owner optimist believes that this time he will do everything correctly, this time the perfect puppy will be carefully nurtured, shaped, and from it get the perfect dog. New puppy - a chance to avoid the mistakes that were made with previous dogs. Over time, these great expectations become more realistic. The pup may show some features of nature that it was impossible to predict. Perhaps puppy accidentally run into something that will scare him, or the owner finds out that his usual methods of dog training simply does not work with this puppy.

While we all understand that it is absolutely perfect puppies and dogs do not exist, sometimes good to dream. Nevertheless, we can try to have the baby was the best start. Regardless of whether you see a puppy in his family pet and companion, the future champion of the breed, or plan to participate in competitions in training such as agility and obedience, attention should be given to training and the early formation of his experience. Your efforts will pay off later. In this lecture I will talk about how you can send a puppy on the right road.

These recommendations may work with a dog of any age and of benefit to young dogs, and even adults, taken from the shelter. However, puppies are more open to any influence, because they have no skills, who need to retrain or bad habits, from which they have to wean.

What should be remembered

For a start - a few general recommendations. I try to keep them in mind whenever I communicate with their dogs.

Prevent the problem rather than react to them

Take positive action to avoid problems before they occur. Leave everything to chance and hope for the best - not a good idea. It is reasonable to anticipate problems and try to avoid them. Key words in this case - planning and management.

For example, do not let the puppy in a dirty house. Encourage him to the cage from the very beginning, and always keep the puppy under the care when he walks around the house. Try to show him more often on the street. Rather than respond to a bad habit, which has already formed, you predict and avoid potential problems.

Reinforces the fact that you like

Always look for your desired actions and reinforce them. It's easy to ignore the good and pay attention to the poor, but it is a huge mistake. Always tell your puppy what he is doing everything correctly, and then the inappropriate behavior will be less likely.

For example, you may be a strong temptation to breathe a sigh of relief and behave very quiet, when the puppy finally settles on the team at your feet. Instead, you must follow the action in the future, the dog performed more often. Bend, and calmly stroke the puppy, tell him what he is good. Of course, he can jump up full of excitement, but do not pay any attention to him until he calms down again. He soon finds out that he was lying quietly gets the attention and approval.

Promote tiny steps

Be reasonable in their expectations. Physically and mentally, your puppy - still a child. To learn, he needs a lot of repetition and positive reinforcement. Be patient and do not expect too much too soon.

For example, in one of the lessons you can find out what your puppy very quickly sits down for a treat. You are delighted by how quickly he grasps. However, when you're trying to show it to his friend, a puppy just looks at you and go somewhere. This is absolutely normal. Go back to kindergarten and simplify the task, the puppy could succeed. Then gradually increase your expectations.

Engage fun

Your puppy needs to know that Training - a game. Serious and strict control of working out - the best way to kill the natural excitement and enthusiasm of a puppy that is associated with the Training and learning. Your puppy can learn a lot, but only if the lessons are interesting to him.

For example, while "on people, do not expect that the puppy will always execute the commands" sit "and" expect ", ignoring the distraction. Let him sniff and explore everything around, then ask him to sit down for two seconds and back up a task game. Or wait until he looks at you, before you allow him to communicate with other friendly dogs. So you lay the foundation for future obedience and attention, using the promotion in the wild.

Watch and learn

Learn your puppy, watching him. Find out what lessons he like best (to use them as a promotion). Observe how he solves simple problems, for example, gets a toy stuck under the sofa. Observe how he interacts with people and other animals. Maybe he's confident and brave, or, conversely, a few timid? Do not get carried away the role of teachers to such an extent that you forget about the need to learn from their own dogs.

For example, provoke a situation in which the puppy is exposed to new and unusual stimuli. Stroll to the local grocery store and walk near the entrance. Rumbling carts, rushes people and automatic doors, perhaps unfamiliar to your puppy. Stay at a distance that a puppy is not frightened and not alarmed, and just watch his behavior and reactions. When you think of that he feels comfortable, come closer, but do not overload your puppy's emotions. Keep track of all the information about how the puppy adjusts / reacts in this situation. Perhaps his reaction to other new situations will be similar.

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