Pets are cute animals but they start misbehaving if you do not train them in their childhood, and their bad habits become worse with time.

If you already have a puppy or thinking of adopting a new one, it is essential to train them so they can learn how to behave in your household. That's where puppy training tips come in. 

In this blog, we'll take you through important tips and tricks to train your puppy.

The Best Puppy Training Tips

If you want a well-behaved dog, it needs to go through training. So, here's some advice to help you teach your puppy:

1. Prepare to Train ahead of Time

While you might have made sure your home is puppy-proof and bought all the food it'll need for the week ― that's not enough. You should devise a list of rules you want your dog to respect so you can tailor your training to them. Also, you should consider the kind of behavior you want your puppy to have. Will they be a guard dog or more of a purse pet? Because the way you train them is not the same.

This preparation doesn't just stop when you bring your puppy home. Ahead of any training session, you should ensure you've practiced how you'll train your puppy. Therefore, you'll need to repeat the commands and act out the orders so your dog will know what you mean. Your commands should be clear and easy to follow so that you don't confuse your dog.

2. Start Training Early

You should teach your puppy how to behave from the very first day you bring them home. To do any less is to encourage bad behavior. And if you don't deal with these bad habits early, your puppy will grow up with them and it'll be much harder to get them to stop. 

For instance, a puppy jumping on you might seem inoffensive when they can't even reach your knee. But when that dog is big enough to stand on its hind legs and reach your chest, it'll be an issue. 

Therefore, you should bring your puppy to training classes as soon as possible. And if you can't, you should at least find a calm, open space free of distraction where you can instruct your pet. 

3. Use Markers and Positive Reinforcement 

When you're training a puppy, you should only use positive feedback. When your pet obeys, you'll use a word, gesture, or sound to show your approval. That's a marker. This feedback could be saying 'Good', doing a thumbs up, or using a clicker. 

After using a marker, you should provide positive reinforcement. These rewards should come in the form of a high-value treat. For instance, you could give your pet a piece of meat. Additionally, you should vary your rewards so your dog is always excited to obey and get a new treat. Together with markers, this will create an association between obeying orders and rewards.

4. Make the Crate A Safe Home

Part of your pet's lessons should make them more comfortable with the crate you'll use to keep them safe while you're away. It's important to do so to prevent them from soiling themselves or becoming anxious whenever they enter it. 

Just like with orders, you should create a positive image of the crate in your dog's mind. You can do so by feeding them in there. Once you've placed their food in the crate, wait for them to enter it and start eating. Then, you should keep it closed until they're done eating. Once they've finished their food release them. 

Over time, you should increase the period between them finishing their meal and opening the crate. This will allow them to acclimate to the idea of the crate slowly. Therefore, they're less likely to react negatively when you need them to enter it. 

5. Follow a Schedule

One of the most important things when you're teaching a puppy how to behave is that you must be consistent. You need to have a schedule and follow it. Then, your pet will learn what they need to do after each activity. 

In particular, regular feeding, potty, and playtime will allow your pet to get used to going to the 'bathroom' at appropriate times. 

6. Socialize Your Puppy from the Start

Ensuring your pet has a healthy reaction to unknown dogs and humans is integral to how to train puppies. It doesn't matter that your puppy doesn't bite if they only behave when they're with you. 

And so, you should allow your pet to get regular exposure to other dogs, humans, and outside smells. You can socialize your pet by walking them around your neighborhood, bringing them to a dog park, or taking them to training classes. 

7. Break your Puppy's Biting Habit 

Dogs naturally want to chew on things. However, you can train them out of this behavior when it comes to your precious objects – and body parts. A great way to get your puppy to stop biting your things is to give them something else to bite such as a chew toy. Over time, they'll learn to chew on their designated toys instead. 

Another puppy training advice to mitigate biting habits is to let them do it during playtime. In particular, that'll minimize the damage they do if they ever bite you. To teach them to only bite lightly you should let them bite you. 

However, you should stop the play time if they bite hard. You can even step out of the room to show your displeasure. Eventually, your puppy will learn that they can't bite with strength because playtime will end. 

Recap

With these puppy training tips, you better know now how you'll teach your pet to be a great addition to your home. These instructions start before your puppy even meets you. After all, you need to learn all about training your dog before they come home with you. Once you have them in your house, you should use a strict schedule to apply the advice above. Though raising your new family member may seem overwhelming, it's well worth the effort. So, train your pet with these tips, and don't forget to reward them with a word of praise and a treat.