Basic puppy training

Training a puppy is important, however, informal training can start as early as 8 weeks. By constantly repeating a dog's name will imprint this information. Dog's easily remember two syllable names such as "Sparky" or in my case with my black lab, "Freedom".

As mentioned in previous blog articles, make sure to reward the dog for good behavior and say "NO" right away when it does something wrong. Saying no seconds later doesn't help, as a dog cannot remember later what he/she had done.

Sitting on command by placing the dog's bowl above the puppy and saying "sit" reward with bowl.

The "wait" command is especially important when walking outside. Training for this is suggested on leash for the owner to have more control. Stand in front of the dog and command "wait" until the puppy is settled. Then slowly walk backward and give the command "come".

Puppy and adult dogs, depending on breed love to jump on people in excitement. Some are positively receptive to it and others not so much, even if they like dogs. Training for social behavior especially earlier on helps calm the puppy as well as allows the dog to be enjoyed by others. When a dog jumps, gently push it down and say "No", then come down to his/her level.

These are just some basic dog training tips that can be done before enrolling dogs in proper disciple school. Also after the dog is trained, refreshing the dog's memory is also a good idea as the dog ages.

Freedom is 7, however, we do a training course for about 10 minutes a week just to make sure that manners are enforced and of course praised with pets and cuddles.