The Myth That Creates a Multitude of Puppy Training Problems

Make My Day!

What myth can cause a dog owner to CREATE puppy training problems? It's the same issue that perpetuates housetraining accidents.

Here's the myth - People believe they do not need to understand dog behavior. They don't see why they have to.

Then the puppy training problems emerge - housetraining isn't working, puppy aggression starts, and family members wonder why they got a dog in the first place.

Examples
Here's an example - dogs operate from habit. Breaks from their routine cause confusion. Something simple like feeding a dog in a different location throws my year old pup into a tailspin. He won't eat.

Another example - Food shopping is a weekly affair which takes place on Sunday. As soon as we walk into the house with food bags, the search for the dog treats begins. Both pups expect the treats when the food bags arrive. That's habit and routine.

Avoiding Problems
Avoiding puppy training problems is a simple concept. Build in routine. Take a puppy outside for elimination on a schedule. If you need to correct a behavior, do it consistently. If a pup is supposed to sit before he gets his meal, make sure it happens - every time.

The Dog Behavior Experts
Want to make puppy training easy? Predict how your dog will behave under a certain set of circumstances, almost like you had a fortuneteller's crystal ball. It sure cuts training time! Consult dog training experts any time you please with Secrets to Dog Training, the dog owner's "bible."

Problems Housetraining Your Puppy? Why Understanding Dog Behavior Helps to Solve Your Problems

What the heck does understanding dog behavior have to do with housetraining your puppy?

It will help to start solving problems if you see what can happen if you do NOT take dog behavior into consideration while housetraining your puppy:

• You punish a dog for peeing and pooping in the house. He may look like he did something wrong, but he cannot connect the act with the punishment. You punish him with no result other to make yourself feel better.
• You're so set against crate training that you won't even give it a try, even though it's a known fact that used correctly, a den is a dog's "safe" place. Use it to YOUR advantage.
• You scream and yell at the dog. This serves the same purpose as when you yell at a small child - it creates fear. And fear is a demotivator, NOT a motivator.

Okay, so NOW do you see why you need to understand dog behavior while housetraining your puppy?

Actually, you can discover the solutions to many dog-related issues, including excessive barking, biting, jumping, leash pulling, and non-obedience.

How? Secrets to Dog Training - the dog training solutions provider created by dog training experts for puppy and dog owners.

Are these puppies PLAYING or Fighting?

The Most Outrageous Lie About Housetraining Your Puppy - You Can Housebreak Your Pup in 7 Days

OK - so I've been housetraining two puppies for what seems like forever.

Given my experience, I do not believe for a second that you can housebreak a pup in 7 days.

Here's a short article explaining why it just will NOT work (full text):

Lies About Housetraining Your Puppy -
You Can Housebreak Your Pup in 7 Days

Google "house break your puppy in 7 days." You'll get a list of sites, books, articles, and blogs, all claiming that housetraining your puppy in 7 (or less) days is a real possibility.

Can You Hit This Target?
No and no. First, the statement hinges on the definition of a housetrained puppy. A puppy is housetrained when he hasn't had an accident indoors in months. So how can a puppy be housetrained in 7 days? You have no measurement criteria. The target goal is unattainable.

If you're reading this and thinking - that's just nitpicking. Okay, if you think so. But then consider this - a puppy is NOT physically ready to control his pee and poop until he's at least sixteen weeks of age. Yes, he might be able to go over night at 12 weeks, but that's because his body relaxes at night. Betcha when he wakes up he screams to be let out of his crate.

Housetraining your puppy in 7 days is near impossible, especially if he's less than sixteen weeks old. The best you can do is to minimize the number of accidents.

Housetraining Your Puppy by the Experts

Want to know about housetraining your puppy from the experts with years of experience, plenty of examples, and solid proven advice: Secrets to Dog Training.

Leash Training a Puppy Ain't Easy - Try These Tips to Prevent Losing Your Patience

Do You Think You Can Easily Leash Train This Bundle of Joy?

Trying to get a wriggling, energetic puppy to walk nicely on a leash can be a tiresome activity. The following article contains many tips to make leash training a puppy a bit more pleasurable.

Leash Training a Puppy Without Losing Your Patience

Read the headline again - Leash Training A Puppy Without Losing Your Patience - is it possible?

Stop The Pulling
It is probable that you can stop your pup from pulling and get him to walk along side of you.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk your puppy around the block without feeling like your arms are going to fall off?

Make Sure You Have The Time
A caution - leash training a puppy requires focused time, but it will be spread over several weeks. The payoff is worth the effort. If you cannot allocate time to train 10-15 minutes a day, don't even try it.

A Few Words Of Wisdom
- The objective - get the puppy to focus on you, the trainer, and your movements.
- Reward positive behavior, ignore negative behavior.
- At first, the surroundings should have minimal distractions.
- The training works best when the puppy is hungry.
- In the beginning, train for short time periods. As the pup improves, increase the training time, but stop when the dog gets tired.

Tips For Leash Training A Puppy
1. Required items:
- A Puppy
- A leash, not retractable
- A collar, body harness, or Gentle Leader
- Treats
- A place to leash train

2. Get the pup to sit at your side.

3. Start walking, and as soon as the puppy pulls, STOP. When the dog looks at you, lure him back to your side, and start walking again. Reward positive behavior ONLY; for example, the puppy's walking by your side looking right at you.

Step 3 is the point requiring the most patience, especially with a young, wiggly, energetic puppy. You can be stuck in this step for days; not to worry, eventually the correct behavior will dominate.

Last Step
4. Once you get the pup to walk by your side in a straight line for more than 10 steps, you can change direction randomly. This will encourage the pup to pay attention to YOU.

More Leash Training Tips
Do you need a proven method to leash train a puppy?

Address These Common Puppy Training Problems NOW!
If your puppy displays any of these behaviors: biting, jumping up on people, food guarding, and/or is housebreaking-challenged, it's time to get professional help from expert dog trainers at Secrets to Dog Training.

Train your puppy correctly now. Don't let it turn into a bigger problem.

Got a puppy? Scrimp on Puppy Obedience Training and Suffer the Dire Consequences!

The following article was written based on my obedience training experiences with the boyz: Alvin and Simon.

You will find this information helpful when you obedience-train YOUR puppy.

Do it now! You do not need a Marley in your future!

Five Reasons Why Dog Owners Flunk Dog Obedience Training

Thousands of dogs end up in shelters every year. The reason is owner lack of commitment. Puppy owners will try dog obedience classes and not follow through with reinforcement training. The puppy quickly grows into an unmanageable dog.

If you have a puppy or recently got a dog, understand that consistent, continuous obedience training is necessary to co-exist peacefully with your dog. Without it, life with your dog may be chaotic. Do not ignore puppy training problems!

Consider dog obedience training a course you need to be enrolled in all the time. At first, you'll be going to classes continuously. The better you get at obedience training your dog, the fewer classes you need to attend. But you can never drop out of the dog obedience training course. Failure means puppy training problems - you may need to find your dog a new home. Can you put up with a dog like Marley from the movie "Marley & Me?"

Here are the reasons why YOU might fail dog obedience training:

Thinking You Can Train Your Dog Without Help
With the exception of professional dog trainers and expert dog owners, most people need help with obedience training. Puppy training problems happen often.

Questions arise all the time - how often do I need to train? How do I get the dog to stop pulling on the leash? How do I get my dog to come when called?

Find a few knowledgeable resources - the vet office staff, a friend with a dog, dog forums, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, a dog training DVD, a dog training book, Internet web sites for dog training tips - and get the answers to your questions.

Not Getting the Dog's Attention Before Issuing a Command
If your dog's attention is focused on the squirrel crossing the street as you say "Sit," don't expect it to happen. YOU have to get the dog's attention first. This is an issue with a puppy with an attention span of a microsecond, but think about it - puppies can focus - how long did he focus on the squirrel? You need to make yourself the center of his attention.

Lack of Patience
This is THE biggie, especially when you have a puppy. They whine, wiggle, jump, chew, bite, pull on the leash, and are generally puppylike. But even a young pup can learn to sit fairly easily. And you can move on from there, step by step. Dog and puppy obedience training REQUIRES patience.

Inconsistent Application of Commands
Training happens every day and is connected with everyday activities - it does not always need to be formal. Suppose you have been getting your dog to sit while you put on his leash or before you put down his food dish. Then you forget for a few days. Now the dog's confused - do I need to sit or not? This often happens when different family members attend to the dog's needs.

No "Connection" with Your Dog
So you come home from work, let the dog outside, feed him, and then forget he exists. Or you go to the super pet store to buy dog food and don't bring the dog. You have no idea where the nearest dog park is located.

Your dog's not a family member, just a part of the home landscape. Maybe that's the way you treat your other family members?

Parting Words
You can learn to train your dog. And you can both live together in peace. Think about the reverse of each of the reasons for failure described above.

You do love your dog, don't you?

Stop Puppy Training Problems Before They Happen!
Do you want a Marley-like dog? Probably NOT!
Prevent your pup from learning Marley behavior.