Why You Should Train Your Dog

Did you know that dogs and puppies benefit from being trained? They do! The reason a dog or puppy loves to be trained is that they get to spend time with you and they also love to please their pet parents. Consider, too that a well-trained dog is a dog who will be happy with your family, won't chew your shoes and will likely be a welcome guest when you travel! 

Why you should train your dog

Whether you're adopting a dog or puppy to your home you can train each of them. Remember, even old dogs can learn new tricks! Puppies are as eager to learn as adult dogs, but you may need more patience with a puppy because he has a shorter attention span than an adult dog. 

Here are some of our favorite ways to train your dog so she is a perfect ideal companion for you and your family. 

• Practice positive reinforcement training. Ignore bad behaviors and reward good behaviors. A simple example is that if, when you walk through the door, your dog jumps on you, it's best to ignore him. If you talk to him or pet him or even say, "don't jump" you are reinforcing his "bad" behavior. You should ignore him and his jumping and barking and once he calms down, pet him and give him a treat. He will come to connect the reward with good behavior. 
• Buy some yummy training treats and reward your pup when she does something you've asked her to do. If you ask her to "sit" and she does, praise her and then reward her while saying "sit" so she connects the action with your reaction. 
• Find a quiet space to train, in the beginning. The fewer the distractions, the more quickly your pup will learn and he will be more likely to focus just on you. 
• Train in short bursts. Try to keep training sessions to fifteen minutes or less. You may only get your puppy to focus on you for five minutes at a time and if that's the case, that's all right. She will eventually be better able to contain herself and pay more attention. 
• Once your pup has mastered the basics: sit, stay, come, drop it and lie down, you may want to move training sessions into a room with more traffic and teach her when there are distractions. 
• Teaching your dog his name is one of the most important things. You never want there to be any hesitation of your dog coming to you when you call. 
• Teach your dog to walk on a leash and to walk calmly at your side. 
• Socialize your dog while you're training him because that will teach him how to behave when he's out in public. 
• Determine what you'd like your dog to learn, then teach him! Some pet parents want their dogs to do tricks, or shake paws or catch a flying disc. Those are fun to do once your pup has learned the basics. 

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