How to Discipline Your Puppy

It is best to start disciplining your puppy straight away so he learns at an early age how to be an acceptable member of your family.

It is important to be patient when dealing with a puppy. You need to find the best method that suits your puppy’s character, all puppies personalities are different, just like people. So what works with one puppy might need to be adjusted a bit to suit another.

The important rule to remember is to discipline your puppy for naughty or inappropriate behaviour and to praise him for the times his behaviour is appropriate.

It is also important to have fun with your puppy and to realise that he will go through all the stages of development that children do, so keep this in mind with your expectations of him. He needs time to learn how to behave acceptably so don’t expect him to adhere to your command the first time.

As the puppys master, you will want your dog to respect you and that does not mean that he trembles every time you walk into the room, that is fear, not respect. When your dog respects you he will watch you and will eagerly await your next command, he will want to please you. Respect comes from a number of ways you treat your dog. Too much discipline without showing any affection will create a fearful and sometimes aggressive dog. However, too much unearned praise will spoil your puppy and make it think it is pack leader and this will also cause problems with it’s behaviour. It is important to try to achieve a balance between the two.

Disciplining your puppy should never involve hitting him. This will make him either cower away from you all the time or it will turn him into an aggressive, troublesome dog. You should find a method which the puppy clearly understands and then praise him when he does good.

You must make your commands clear, direct and they should be given as soon as the puppy misbehaves, this is important so the dog knows why he is being corrected.

Obedience training builds a strong bond between you and your puppy. The key to successfully disciplining your puppy is to persevere with the training methods and don’t give up, the rewards will be worth it when you have a well behaved happy dog.

By: Annemarie Daniels

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