4 Tips & Techniques For Positive Puppy Training

1. Use rewards your pup will enjoy

You don’t need to have only one reward for your pup. Rewards can include play, fuss and attention, their favourite toys, their ball, food or highly valuable treats - essentially, anything puppy-safe that they will want to work for! It’s a great idea to have little puppy treats cut up in your hand or pocket to reward your pup whenever they perform as you want them to - such as keeping calm in the car or coming when called. Be sure to mix up food and non-food reward of course; it’s important to use a variety of positive reactions to avoid over-feeding and keep your pup at a healthy weight!

2. Use markers as a cue for good behaviour

Think about using a marker word or sound to show your pup that the exact behaviour that they just performed is good. This is a great way to help your pet understand why you are rewarding them! You could also consider using a clicker as a marker. Just make sure you say your marker word or use your clicker as soon as possible after your pup behaves, so they understand what the praise is for. Easy!

If you’re going to provide a reward too, make sure that you say your marker first and then provide the treat. Don’t provide the treat first as providing it afterwards has been proven to deter learning - your pup would be distracted by their delicious treat and ignore the marker!

3. Keep training fun and positive

Never punish your pooch - this can hinder training, cause fear and damage your friendship. Your dog will want to please you and learn what to do; giving your dog love, patience, and reward for positive behaviours will help them learn better than any form of punishment. If your dog finds training fun, it will help them learn faster too. You can use ADAPTIL Junior to help support your pup with learning.

4. Teach your pup to respond to their name and come when called

Once you’ve chosen your pup’s name, they’ll need to learn this. Simply say your pup’s name and, at first, give them the reward immediately. Then you can progress to saying their name and giving them a reward when they look at you, step towards you or come to collect their treat. Your pup will soon get used to their name and settle into their new family. Next, you can start training your pup to come when called - this is an essential part of puppy training to avoid potential dangers and keep dogs under control. Choose the word you’d like them to respond to such as ‘come’ or ‘here’ and reward them whenever they return to you!

5. Repeat training!

It’s important to be consistent with your pup to help them learn and there will be times when you are rewarding them multiple times a day. Their training may take a while to make an impact and will need to be repeated often to help your pup learn and grow into a well-behaved dog. Give them a reward every time they use the toilet outside, are quiet when they would usually be whining or barking, and every time they come when called.

Positive reinforcement is the best training technique to demonstrate to your pup how they need to behave. When attending a puppy school or seeing a behaviourist, walker or trainer, you should try and find a school or person who also believes and only follows positive training techniques. This will show that they are up to date with training research and methods and are aware that this is a quicker, stronger, and more efficient way to train the newest member of your family!