How To Train A Puppy - 7 Common Mistakes To Avoid

The Web is full of tips on how to train a puppy, and no doubt they have found many contradictions between them. However, most dog trainers and behavioral researchers agree on several points, and these are the many mistakes you can make while training your puppy. All of the time you spend teaching your best friend to follow your orders can be stopped by mistake. Hopefully this list will help you to avoid frequent mistakes in learning to train a puppy.

1. Be inconsistent with the controls

No doubt he found many command words in his search for a puppy. There are the most common, such. Sitting, staying, looking, etc. However, the word you use is less important than the way you say it and what it is connected to. A common problem is that people do not continue to use the same word and tone for a command. If you teach your dog to sit down with the word "sit" and a low tone, it is not a good idea to make your puppy feel "sitting" a high pitched tone. This could confuse your dog and lead to unwanted results. When you teach your puppy to sit down, say: sit down, stick to the word and its pronunciation.

2. Use food as a reward every time you follow your order

Sometimes it's extremely hard to resist those big eyes that look at you when your puppy wants a treat. However, rewarding your dog for each subsequent correct order is a sure way to complicate your puppy's training. Some time ago, there was a study in which researchers trained monkeys in two groups to follow orders. The first group received a reward each time they followed a lead, and the second group received random rewards if they followed a lead. The researchers found that the first group became dependent on the reward and only placed an order when a reward was offered. However, the second group followed each instruction because they did not know if they would be treated or not. How is this related to the training of your puppy you ask for? The same applies to your dog. Instead of giving a price for each correct order, simply reward it with food several times. Of course that does not mean that you can not always congratulate them with accepting their order.

3. Do not ignore bad behavior

You may have found information that encourages you to ignore bad behavior and reward good behavior when learning how to train a puppy. This is a bad advice because your puppy needs to know what is wrong. If you never correct them, the bad behavior becomes an acceptable behavior for them. Of course, this does not mean that your dog was punished for inappropriate behavior or severely punished. Simply saying no to your dog and showing him the right behavior is an easy way to eliminate bad behavior. Things like the unnecessary chewing or barking of your favorite shoes can be a big problem if you do not correct them.

4. Beat your dog or make heavy corrections

In short, it's a quick way to lose confidence in your puppy. There is a big difference between your dog following your instructions out of respect and trust rather than fear. The old methods of learning by beating your nose or spanking your puppy are outdated. In fact, this is the cause of many dog ​​attacks as irresponsible owners have beaten their dogs as a teaching method. When another person tries to pet the dog, he becomes fearful and attacks the defense. So if you want your dog to know that he did something wrong, correct it orally and show him the right way to do things. If you do not know how to train a puppy without resorting to violence, it may be wise to hire a professional trainer.

5. Tap or congratulate your dog after correcting him for doing something wrong

A very common mistake made when people learn to train a puppy is to pet it after it has been corrected for doing something wrong. In fact, who can blame him for feeling bad when he corrects his dog when viewed with his beautiful puppy eyes. However, if you tap your dog right after correction, the message will be mixed. In fact, your dog may associate with doing something wrong by tapping after correction. Instead, it's best to correct your dog and then show him the right way to do things. If they are doing well, it is a good idea to congratulate them for associating the new behavior with the reward. This does not mean that your dog should be reprimanded for bad behavior and ignored for the rest of the day. Your puppy will know very quickly if he is mad at her. Just make sure you help them do the right thing and congratulate them.

6. Punish your dog for doing the right thing without knowing it

You can see this common mistake and think about what we are talking about all over the world. An example to use is when you take your dog leash and for some reason you have to come. You call your dog and his reward will be remembered. Of course, they will be reminded for a good reason, but your puppy will band together to call you to refuse. That's a problem. To fix this, use a solution that is similar to the above rewards. Obviously, if the flames take the lead each time, they will not come because they expect them to return to the foreground. Instead, call your dog for a walk, and when they come, congratulate them and beat them. Maybe you take some goodies and give them by accident. That way, your dog does not always think he's being used in calling. This also applies to many other things, so it is important to always think about how your dog would meet your orders.

7. Rub your dog's nose on his last toilet accident

Undoubtedly, this mistake would have been eliminated from the trainer's basic manual for training a puppy. Unfortunately, this method of old-school training still exists and is practiced in some places. Rubbing your puppy's nose in the mess he left hours ago will not irritate your dog. You would not want to pet your dog after his nose got into trouble. If you show your puppy the right place to go to the bathroom, you can train your dog the best. The tricky part is that the only way to show them is to grasp them while they do it, and to bring them to the right place. It's hard work, but it's worth it.

These are some of the most important things to learn how to train a puppy. If you want to train your dog successfully, you must always be patient and persistent.


References:
https://www.freedogtrainingclasses.com/puppy-training-problems-and-their-simple-solutions/
https://getfreedogtraining.com/dog-training-tips-tricks-not-training-dog/