Puppy Training: 5 Top Tips

How to Train a Puppy

A little border collie heeler mix puppy dog lies down on the stairs of a home ready to go to puppy training class.

How many puppy toys should my furry friend have?

1. Only have three toys, one rubber ball, one tug toy and one soothing chew toy. Make sure the ball is large enough that the puppy cannot swallow it. Tug of war is a fun game to play with your puppy. a tug toy could be an old T-shirt, old towel or a piece of rope. Stay away from tennis balls because of the abrasive felt which destroys dog’s teeth.

How to stop a puppy from chewing on everything

2. When you catch your puppy chewing items such as shoes, furniture, wall molding, table legs etc. remove the item and say, “No, bad dog!” and give the dog the proper appropriate toy to chew, and name the toy so they learn to distinguish what they are supposed to chew. This is also a good time to put the pup on leash and keep the puppy in sight, so the pup doesn’t sneak away and begin chewing parts of the house.

How to crate train a puppy

3. Crate train your puppy during the day when you are home, for short periods of time. Start with five to ten minutes and build up the duration of time. This way, the crate isn’t a foreign place during the night at nighttime. To make crate training easier at nighttime, and fun, keep your puppy active between dinner and bedtime. Don’t let them snooze off during this time period, interact with the puppy by play and going outside for adventures. A big no-no when using the crate is not to use the crate for time out or as punishment for bad behaviour. Cotton fabric is the go-to fabric for any type of bedding inside the crate, puppies can get very warm easily and often wake up from being too warm during the night. Stay away from fleece blankets for this reason.

4. Keep the puppy off all furniture. Puppy’s often break their legs or damage their spine jumping off and falling off beds, couches and chairs. You can play and snuggle with the puppy on the ground. This will teach the puppy furniture is off-limits. A common complaint from owners of adult dogs is they don’t want the adult dog on the new furniture. This behaviour then needs correcting which entails additional training to correct later in life. Boundaries taught early on during the puppy stage make a big difference especially during the imprinting stage, teach your puppy from an early age will prevent problems in the future.

5. Do not use food training your puppy ever. Treat training creates many issues as the dog gets older, such as begging for food, stealing food from the table or counter, excessive drooling, counter surfing, snatching food from a small child. Many dog bites happen because a dog is taking food from somebody. Dogs that have been trained with treats are more inclined to steal food from a hot BBQ, hot stove or a campfire when cooking hotdogs or marshmallows and this will mean an emergency veterinarian visit for burns. Instead of a food to praise the dog, use affection, touches, pats or massage. Do not praise them with food. Animals are physical and enjoyed being praised on the side of the body or the chest.

I hope you enjoyed these important puppy training tips. Sign up today for group puppy classes Vancouver at Hustle Up Dog Training Perfect Puppy Training Classes here. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.

Written by Brad Pattison, Dog Behaviourist & Vancouver Dog Trainer, Vancouver Puppy Trainer, Vancouver Puppy Training, Puppy Training Vancouver

Follow us on socials, IG: @hustleupdogs & Facebook: Hustle Up Dog Training

Email us anytime with questions & comments at info@hustleupdogtraining.ca

For further information call CA +1 (250) 317-0274