HOUSE TRAINING A DOG
Raising a puppy is like raising your own son or daughter. The experience can be tiring and very exhausting. It can also be fun-filled and fulfilling. But above all, raising a puppy is indeed a challenge.
The act of training a dog should start the moment you bring your pup home. It is more advisable if you could raise the dog as puppy and not acquire it in old age. This is because the young months of the dog serves as his/her crucial formative stage. Among the most important things you should involve in house training your dog are proper toilet training, socialization, and house breaking rules.
Proper toilet training should be done with a keen sense of supervision on the puppy. Whenever you see the preliminary signs of elimination such as circling, squatting, sniffing, and sneaking off to the exit, act immediately and bring your dog to the toilet or the area where he is supposed to eliminate. Bring the puppy on the same spot. If your dog eliminates on the proper spot, give him/her dog-training treats. If the dog starts eliminating without you noticing it, you can still bring the dog to the toilet spot to finish what he/she is doing.
In the case of socialization, this involves teaching the dog of who his/her family members are. Quality bonding time with the dog is required here and each of the family members should be given a chance to form a dog-master bond with the pet. Never leave the dogs in isolation for quite a long period of time. Also, the dog should be taught how to act and interact in front of other people and pets. They should be exposed to others and they should be taught how to control their aggressive actions. In the early years of existence, the puppy should be granted with positive and happy experiences while they are young.
House breaking rules should be reinforced in the puppy's values the moment he/she enters the house. The common rules govern which places are off-limits and which things are the dogs not supposed to chew or play with. In general, they are generally nothing of value that the dog should chew so it is a must to give them 'chew toys'. In some houses, the usual areas that are off-limits include the sofa and the beds of the household members.
Remember that house training will be more effective if every household member cooperates with the training program. Also, house training should be done with the help of positive reinforcements. Positive reinforcements can help motivate the dog to keep up with the dog training activities. Punishments should be avoided because such may just establish fear between the dog and the master.
