So you've just got a puppy, now what?
You went online and saw a cute puppy on Facebook and just HAD to buy him or you spent months searching for a breeder And got put on a waiting list to have the puppy of your dreams dropped off at your house months later. Or maybe you went to a rescue and decided to adopt a dog that's a few years old. Either way now you have a wonderful dog to call your own. Everybody knows with a new dog you need the basics. You need food, toys, treats a kennel, leash, a poop bag or two. But how do I train him? Where will he sleep at night? How do I keep him from eating the cat or jumping on guests? These are all very important questions and the answer to most of these things can be found within two simple concepts (management and training). You're probably thinking what do these concepts mean in regards to my new puppy, well I'm so glad you asked!
Training: Training can be defined as any behavior that is intentionally taught to the dog (think sit, stay, come, go to your place, break, automatic focus, holding positions, loose leash walking ect.). Training a behavior can be broken down into three distinct steps (lure, mark, and reward).
-The first step (luring) involves showing the dog a behavior using leash guidance, food or a combination of both.
-The second step(marking the behavior) allows the dog to know that what he did was correct and the reward is being delivered as a result of the behavior he was just given the marker for. I like to use the word "yes" as my verbal marker.
- the third and final step is to reward your pup for a job well done with either food or praise.
Heres a practical example: Lets say I wanted to teach my dog to sit. I would start off by holding a treat or kibble in my dominant hand while my dog is standing in front of me. I would take the treat by his nose allowing him to smell it and lift slightly up ( lure). If I did my part correctly he should sit down, that's when I would say the word yes as soon as his hind end touches down ( mark) and then reward after my marker with the food that was in my hand.
Management: Management is how you live with the dog day to day, prevention measures you take, etc. This can include putting up baby gates in the house to prevent the dog from going into certain areas, kenneling the dog when you're not around, keeping things away from the edge of the counters so the dog cannot get to them. Using a verbal "no" marker when the dog does something dangerous or undesirable such as counter-surf or jump on guests. This will be an ongoing thing throughout the life of the dog.
If you found this information to be beneficial for you and your pup and are looking for personalized quality dog training from the comfort of your own home feel free to contact me VIA Facebook or check out Www.evcanine.com or shoot me a text at (760)216-9464.