There are myriads of skills that puppies must be taught so that they can enjoy a great dog life in this human-dominated world. With this in mind, it is the responsibility of the owner to instill these lessons in the puppy. Opinions regarding which skills are the most fundamental and how to teach puppies to differ from one school of thought to another. Also, there are numerous ways to get to achieve a similar goal, and it all boils down to what suits your lifestyle and your dog’s temperament.

Potty Training

For obvious reasons, potty training is one of the most crucial lessons that any dog-owner could ever teach his/her puppy from the age of 4 weeks. While it is possible to talk about this lesson for days without end, effective potty training boils down to three steps:

• Rewarding and celebrating your puppy whenever he/she “potties” in the     right location.

• In case your pup heads towards the wrong location and you observe this, you should calmly interrupt them and redirect them to the appropriate site. In case you don’t witness your puppy causing an “accident,” you should simply tidy it up and stay on the lookout, hoping to catch them in the process of going to “cause another accident.” It is vital for you to note that there is no level of scolding that will assist you in communicating about what you hated about their choice of toilet location.

• Always Supervise! The higher the frequency of accidents that your puppy causes without you see, the more they get to learn that it’s okay to poop in inappropriate locations such as in the house.

Mouthing

Puppies tend to explore the world using their mouths as their primary tool for making discoveries. This, in turn, means that their small but razor sharp teeth aren’t too far off. In case your puppy becomes forceful when nipping, you should communicate to them that it is inappropriate from the age of 6 months.

You can effectively do this by exclaiming “ouch” and then follow this up by removing the body part that they have chewed on. In case that doesn’t work, you should start again by saying, “ouch” and then separate yourself entirely from the puppy for around 30 seconds and observe if they will calm down.

Build Your Puppy`s Focus By Trying the Name Game

From the age of 4 weeks, it is easy for you to teach your dog how to focus better using his/her name. All you need is to:

• Call out your dog’s name with a happy voice tone.

• Immediately your puppy responds, you should say “Yes!” then follow this with        rewarding them.

• When you continue with this practice, you’ll find that your dog will both learn their name and also to focus because they will be aware that their attention is required.

Teaching How to Sit

You can teach your puppy to sit as early as when he/she gets to 4 months of age. What’s more is that it is easier than it sounds and below is a framework of the steps you can take:

• Start by holding out your hand with your palm facing upwards. At your fingertips, hold one of your puppy’s favorite treats and place it just above its nose.

• Slowly, you should proceed to raise your hand above the puppy’s head. This will result in your puppy attempting to follow the treat and in the process naturally lowering their body to sit.

• Immediately their butt touches the ground, you should shout “Yes!” and then let go of the treat. Do this for about five times and then try a similar procedure, but without any treatment within your hand (but ensure that you reward your puppy afterward).

Most dog owners often receive conflicting tips on some of the most fundamental aspects surrounding their dogs` development. From how to deal with their dogs` health problems to what they should be teaching their young pups and at what age they should teach these things, various professionals often advice differently. However, with the lessons that have been explored above, you should rest assure that you will have covered some of the necessary areas in your puppy’s growth process?

Try some of them out if not all, and let us know the results you’ll get with your puppy.

About the writer:

Rachel Burns is an animal lover and journalist based in Dallas. Writing about animals is a job of her dreams. When she’s not writing or spending time with her beloved dog, Charles, she enjoys road cycling.