Puppy Training Tips for New Pet Owners

Welcoming a new fur baby into your home is exciting. You get to shower this adorable furball with affection and nurturing. Although you might concentrate on giving your fur baby the utmost love and attention when they first join the family, setting some rules and training should also begin from the very beginning. Laying a solid foundation for good manners from their earliest days in your household will lead to a happy, well-mannered dog in the long-run. 

Here are some puppy training tips to help make the process of settling in easier:

Set Some Ground Rules

Before you bring your new addition home, it’s vital to decide what they can and can’t do. What part of the house is off-limits? This could include the bed, furniture, or certain rooms where you store valuables. Will they have a crate? Where will their sleeping space be? Should you designate a section for them to play? 

Establishing rules early helps avoid confusion for both you and your new puppy. Puppies love jumping around and expressing their excitement. It is difficult to resist your fur baby jumping up to deliver kisses and snuggles, but establishing a “no jumping” rule from the beginning will make things easier when they’re bigger. Instead of responding to your puppy’s jumps, ignore them until all four feet are on the ground. Jumping while they’re puppies might be cute and fun. But when they get bigger, they’ll get heavier and can be difficult to control around guests or in public places. 

Once they understand that they don’t receive any attention while jumping, the idea will be eliminated altogether. 

Reward Good Behavior

Just like for babies, positive reinforcement works great and is important for puppies as well. After your initial training sessions, and once your puppy follows any of your given rules, use toys, love, and lots of praise and rewards. This’ll help them register what they’re getting and recall the reward whenever they’re doing something they’re not supposed to. 

It’s important to stay put and never let any love or sympathy show when your puppy displays bad behavior. Although you might be tempted to pick them up and snuggle them with love, rewarding bad behavior will just confuse them and let all your previous training go to waste.

Give Them Some Alone Time

From the minute when a new little fur baby comes into the home, they’re smothered with love and affection from you, your family, your guests. 

During the initial stages, this attention might be expected, everyone wants to spend time with the adorable fur baby after all. But when you leave your dog alone at home to go to work or for a dinner party, they might get separation anxiety and not know how to spend their time alone at home, prompting destructive behavior and aggression. It’s crucial to give your puppy intervals of alone time during the day, so they understand that this practice is a part of their daily routine. 

Paw-some Dog Walking Experts in Chicago

Getting a new pet can be an overwhelming experience, there’s so much to do to ensure they grow up to be the well-mannered pet you want them to be. Although training can be done on your own, getting help from experts is ideal for making the process smoother and stress-free. If you're in Chicago and are looking for any kinds of dog services, our awesome experts at Bark Industries are always here for you and your pets!  We offer all types of pet care services in Chicago, including pet taxi, dog walking, and dog sitting. If you need help taking care of your dog, give us a call right away!