C.U.P.P. of Advice
Consistency, Understanding, Patience, and Persistence. These are the four keys to successfully raise and train any puppy. If you follow these four guidelines you're almost guaranteed to have a well-behaved puppy. Your puppy will respect you for all the training and love you give them and you, in turn, will be rewarded with your own "cupp" of love! Consistency You must always be consistent for your puppy to understand what is expected of them at all times and in any situation. You must always praise good behavior and correct undesirable behavior (with a few exceptions). You can't say "he isn't hurting much chewing on that plant" or "I'm so tired he'll just have to wait to go out". You must correct or distract them every time they display unwanted behavior. This will help them understand that they must do as you wish and that they must do it at all times. If you're not consistent your puppy won't be consistent either (always go to the bathroom outside, sit when you tell them to, etc.). They will think they can do what they want when they want because you haven't taught them consistently. So be sure to stick with something once you've started. It will do no good to not allow them to do something one minute and then change your mind and allow them to do it the next minute. A good example is feeding from the table. If you feed your puppy one time from the table he's going to keep coming back for more! Wouldn't you?! Understanding Puppies will do what comes naturally to them. They don't know not to chew shoes, piddle on the floor, or mouth you. As the owner, teaching your puppy appropriate behavior is your job. Puppies don't "know better" because they haven't yet been taught what is, and isn't, acceptable behavior. Keep this in mind when your puppy starts doing something you don't like. Understand that he's just being a puppy and doing what puppies do! Patience Try to understand that eventually your puppy will learn, provided you teach him in a way he can understand and praise him when he does it correctly so he knows he's done a good job. Remember, he is only a puppy and most puppy behavior is soon outgrown or easily redirected into a positive behavior. Just have patience and you will soon reap the rewards! Persistence Don't give up and don't give in! If you work your puppy on a command enough times he will eventually learn it. You must be more persistent than your puppy. If you want him to learn a behavior don't give up until it's learned. You may have to change the way you're teaching him if he doesn't seem to catch on, though. Just be persistent! BACK Copyright 1999-2008 Christine Copper |
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