You Must Train Your Dog From A Young Age

The best thing to do is to start training your new puppy as soon as you get him home. You need to teach your puppy your rules, and how you expect him to behave starting from a very early age.

Every member of your family needs to handle your new puppy often while he's still learning to wear his collar and leash, eat from his own food bowl, sleep in hid own bed, and come when you call him.

But only one person in your family should be the 'mother substitute', who is responsible for training your puppy. However, other family members can still participate in helping to train your puppy.

Here's A Few Things You Should Be Aware Of:

* You need to eat before your puppy does. In your puppy's eyes, whoever eats first in the 'pack' are the dominant members who are in control.

* You should always use rewards rather than discipline to teach the puppy which activities are right or wrong.

Remember this: Strive to reward the positive, not punish the negative.

* Dogs naturally want to rush through doors first. By teaching your puppy to wait and allow you to go first, you are showing him that you're in control. If your puppy doesn't understand that you're the dominant 'pack leader', you may find that training him is much harder.

* Train your puppy to enjoy being left in a crate with his toys, leaving him alone for short periods at first. The crate can be moved to your bedroom at night.

Puppies like to investigate their environment by tasting. They play by biting, but you should discipline your puppy if he nips by saying "No" firmly.

Amy Howells is the owner of a website dedicated to teaching you the short-cuts to dog training.

You can also sign up to a free e-course and discover the astonishing short-cut secrets to dog obedience training