Ethical Puppy Training and Positive Reinforcement

So you got a new puppy and couldn't be happier with your new little bundle of joy when they chew your favorite shoes, piddle on your rug, and jump all over your visiting in-laws. Oh no! Just like baby humans, puppies love to cause trouble and make messes! Also like baby humans, new puppies need to be taught how to behave properly.

When adding a new puppy to your family, good training is vital to ensure a happy relationship with your pet. There are so many ways to train a puppy, but your cute and fuzzy new friend deserves ethical puppy training. 
Ethical puppy training means using positive reinforcement for desired behaviors and avoiding punishing bad behaviors. Your job as an ethical puppy trainer is to make the desired behavior as attractive as possible to the puppy and distract them from unwanted behaviors. For example, if your puppy loves to chew, provide plenty of chew toys and praise them when they chew the toy. When you catch your puppy chewing furniture, calmly redirect their attention to the toy. You will have to repeat this often before it sticks!

Your puppy needs you to work with it to learn how to behave properly. Starting as young as possible, practice walking on a leash without pulling. If your puppy likes to jump on guests, ask someone to help you practice by going through the visitor scenario over and over again, rewarding your puppy when they remain calm.
Reward-based training will not only improve the behavior of your pet, it will improve your relationship with your pet. You will enjoy your pet much more when they are well behaved, and your pet will trust you and see you as a source of treats and love. 

If you are busy, search for a pet trainer who specializes in ethical puppy training to assist you in giving your puppy the best possible start in life. If your once well-trained pet is suddenly exhibiting unwanted behaviors, get them to a vet for a checkup - a health problem may be causing the pet to act up.

How to Train Your New Puppy

When you get a new puppy, training can be very overwhelming. Sometimes the puppy is just so naughty and so mischievous that you might lose your temper. It is important to remember to keep your puppy training ethical. That means no hitting and trying not to raise your voice. A puppy does not understand what all of that is about. You have to train them in a way that they will be able to learn.

Start Young

You want to start training your puppy at about four weeks old if you have the puppy that early. The training at this point will just be to get them to respond to some sort of cue like a whistle, clap or snap. At six weeks you can start teaching them to walk on a leash and obedience training. It is also important to start crate training young.

Introduce Them to Stimuli

It is important to introduce young dogs to the outside world. You want them to be familiar with toys and floors of all different materials, used to getting touched all over and okay with loud noises of any variety. This will help them behave well even when in new conditions. Some children may approach your dog in the future and touch them on the head, and if your dog is not used to getting touched there it can end badly. It is important to get them used to loud noises for their own benefit. Otherwise they will spend every Fourth of July and thunderstorm cowering in the bathroom in complete terror.

Be Kind

You have to remember through all of your training to praise them when they do things right. You also have to remember that, if you get home and there is an accident, you cannot yell at them. They will not know why you are yelling and they may just get scared.

Difficulties

Training a puppy is not always easy, but you want to make sure that you are doing it ethically. You want to train a well-behaved, loved dog. You cannot do that by treating it improperly. If you need any guidance, there are puppy training courses that you can go to in order to learn tips and tricks to train your dog ethically.