Puppy Training Needs to Start Immediately After the Puppy Comes Home

When an employee starts a new job, they are often provided with initial training to help set them up for success as they embark on their new career.  As part of this training, the new staff member will learn about, among other things, performance expectations plus behaviours that are acceptable or unacceptable within the workplace.  In somewhat less stylish terms, this could be described as helping a new employee ‘start on the right foot’.

In a parallel sense, providing a puppy with initial training when it first comes into its new home will establish the base of expectations and acceptable behaviours that help set the puppy up for success as it transitions into its new family.  It allows the puppy to ‘start on the right paw’ toward a long, happy, and mutually-rewarding relationship with its owner.  And it will also address the instinctive nature of a puppy/dog to be a member of a pack, or family, with the dog owner assuming the role of pack leader.

The first 16 weeks of a puppy’s life are vitally important to instituting the behaviours and expectations that will last over the course of its lifetime; if this period of time is allowed to pass without an adequate emphasis on training, a puppy will likely develop bad habits that will be difficult to correct at a later date.  Such undesirable traits can include but are not limited to:

• Aggression
• Submissiveness
• Destructiveness
• Separation Anxiety
• Dominance/Control

All too often, new puppy owners will spend a disproportionate amount of time fretting over their puppy’s general comfort and acclimatization to its new environment, rather than emphasizing such critical developmental phases as:

• Potty training (housebreaking)
• The institution of crate training
• Dog obedience school/programs

Furthermore, the actual length of time available to implement puppy training is lessened by the fact that puppies, customarily, are already eight weeks old before they join their new family.  Consequently, potty training/housebreaking, crate training, and obedience training must essentially start immediately after the puppy comes home.

Some of the positive behaviours/lasting benefits that can/will result from early-on puppy training include:

• Potty Training
  • Establishing a consistent routine/schedule on a daily basis
  • Recognizing where it is, and is not, permissible to eliminate
  • Associating acceptable behaviour with positive reinforcement
  • Relating ‘the outdoors’ to exercise and play-time opportunities
• Crate Training
  • Integrating the aspects of eating, sleeping, rest into daily routines
  • Providing a sanctuary for safety, security, comfort, and protection
  • Establishing boundaries in the home (what is allowable vs off-limits)
• Obedience Training
  • Recognizing/responding to basic commands; ignoring distractions
  • Socialization opportunities – with other dogs and with other people
  • Instilling desirable/accepted behaviours; averting unwanted habits

Initiating puppy training as soon as possible will certainly provide a vast array of benefits and help establish the basis for positive behaviours throughout both the puppy and adult stages of a dog’s life.  By enrolling a new puppy in a Puppy Preschool Program offered by the professional trainers from Alpha Paws in Newmarket, owners can provide all of these learning opportunities and more for their puppy during the most impressionable period of its growth and development.

Dog Obedience School Sets the Foundation for a Happy, Long-Term Relationship

The Alpha Paws Puppy Preschool Program is well-suited to helping a puppy ‘start on the right paw’ for a long, happy, and healthy relationship with its new owner-family.  While it is enrolled in this specific dog obedience school/program, the puppy, and its owner, will collaborate with a professional dog trainer to address such critical elements as:

• Potty training/housebreaking
• Correct crate training methods
• Appropriate nutrition and feeding
• Properly walking on a loose leash
• Exercise and positive puppy games
• Deterring jumping, chewing, play-biting,
• And more …

The dog training professionals at Alpha Paws can be valuable resources to owners of new puppies, providing insightful guidance and effective obedience training to help the puppy start on the right foot/paw.

If you are awaiting the arrival of a new puppy or have just welcomed a new puppy into your home, prepare the foundation for a happy, healthy, and long-standing relationship with an Alpha Paws Puppy Preschool Program.  Call the specialists from Alpha Paws today at 905-830-9500 or 1-877-868-PAWS (5248) to discuss enrollment options.