Start Training Your Puppy!

How does a puppy know that the carpet is not the right place for potty? How do you expect her to know that a pee pad is the right place to pee and not your bed? It is quite natural for a puppy to bark, whine and bite. These are normal puppy behaviors and barking is the only way she knows how to communicate. How do you expect her to understand that excessive barking and biting is unacceptable if she is to live with humans?

By spending time, energy and money for puppy training you can not only avoid the aforementioned problems but also establish a bond of love and companionship with your canine friend. Training is an inseparable component of your puppy's socialization. Training helps her to familiarize with you and your house and makes her understand the norms of living with humans and other animals.

Starting Basic Puppy Training

You can start training a puppy from about 4 to 6 months of age. It is possible to train older dogs, but it's a lot harder. Don't overdo these exercises, 10 minutes a day is adequate. You'll find that your puppy tires fairly quickly, and a tired pup won't learn anything. Be regular in your training sessions, taking him out at about the same time each day. Dress in the same shoes or jacket each training session, and the pup will soon associate those shoes or that jacket with training.

Training Your Puppy to "Sit"

Training your puppy to sit is the basic command of obedience training. The first step in instilling some discipline in your puppy is to make her sit on command. The command 'sit' is very simple to teach and under normal circumstances, your puppy can perfect this command within 4-6 weeks. Of course, much depends upon your persistence and patience.

Here are some simple steps to train your puppy to 'Sit':

Stand in front of your puppy, holding a treat above her nose but beyond her reach. The location of the treat is an important consideration because if you hold it too high, she will tend to jump to reach for it and if you hold it too low; you will find yourself without a treat!
Now, gradually move the treat from above her nose towards her head and continue to trace this path towards her tail. All this while, the puppy will try to maintain an eye contact with the treat and will sit down in the process. The moment you see her trying to sit, call your puppy's name followed by the word 'sit' in a clear and firm tone. For example, "Fido, sit!"

The sit command is very important to control your puppy and instill patience and discipline in her. Proper usage of the sit command can help you prevent bad habits in your puppy such as jumping and begging while you are eating. This will also help you in regulating her mealtime jumping and restlessness. By training your puppy to "sit" on command, you can also save her life in danger situations.

Kevin Lynch owns http://universitydog.com and offers you more information on training your puppy plus a free newsletter full of all kinds of puppy and dog info at Puppy Training