Episode 9: 10 Puppy Truths

Episode 9: 10 Puppy Truths

Training a puppy can be difficult and time consuming. As a way to help, Meg shares her 10 puppy truths. Step one is to treat your puppy how you want your adult dog to be. If you don’t want to carry your adult dog up the stairs or have them sleeping in your bed, then don’t do those things with your puppy. Set the expectations with your puppy now. Step two involves crate training. You have to teach your puppy to be okay on their own, and the crate provides a great opportunity to do so. This brings us to step 3 which is, a calm puppy gets affection. Teaching your puppy how to be calm can be hard, so use the crate as a designated area for the puppy to learn that skill. Step 4 says that if you don’t have eyes on your puppy, assume they are doing something bad. Make sure that your puppy is always supervised so they don’t get in the habit of having bad behavior while you’re not around. Socialization is a big thing for dogs, so step 5 consists of teaching your dog how to be neutral in different environments.  Step 6 is to stay away from big box training classes. These classes teach obedience commands before they teach confidence and everyday skills which can be confusing for your puppy. Step 7 says to practice doing nothing together. Learning to be okay while doing nothing is a skill that can benefit both you and your dog. Step 8 is to teach your puppy to look towards you for all things. When your puppy looks towards you for guidance you know that you have their trust and respect. Step 9 shows that the more structure they have now, the more freedom they will have later. It’s good to adopt a no nonsense approach while training your puppy. Step 9 goes hand in hand with step 10 which says, don’t take away structure too soon. Make sure you are building consistency for your puppy from the day you bring them home till they are confident. Overall, training a puppy is not the easiest thing. However, these 10 steps are a great guide to help you get started.