Hopefully you discussed the long term future for having a puppy as they do tend to grow into adult dogs and buying a puppy on a snap decision is not a good idea as in most cases it leads to re-homing but as you have planned and thought carefully about your puppy this won't apply here.
Training Your Puppy
Putting a training regime in place as soon as possible is the best policy as even from a young age your puppy will begin to push the boundaries to see where he fits in within the pack, this is normal behaviour but without correct puppy training can lead to a unruly dog.Learning how to train your puppy will set you both in good stead for the future and put you on a path to a rewarding relationship for both parties.
Types of Training
If you are a novice or beginner it is advisable to learn the correct way to train your new puppy as there is certainly a right and wrong way to do this. There are thousands of books and videos on the subject of dog and puppy training but there are some problems with both of these. Many people favour live dog or puppy training sessions. Lastly the new option is online dog training with a experienced dog / puppy trainer. Lets take a look at the various options in more detail.
Training Books / Videos
Training books are good in the sense they are thorough and you can of course go back to them anytime you want, however it is very difficult to learn the pitch of voice commands and correct actions from static training material.Videos can be an answer to this problem but they can only repeat the same material so if there are any updates, new dog training techniques or your puppy or dog develops behavioural problems not shown on the video you will be at a loss.
Live Dog / Puppy Training Classes
Puppy training classes are a good way to train your new puppy not only can you see and hear the commands but usually it takes place with other dogs so your new puppy will get used to socialising with others. The downside is the sessions usually only last 1-2 hours and are once a week so you can find yourself trying to remember what you were shown from the previous week.Secondly attending puppy obedience training is not cheap and if you are on a budget or can not commit to at least 6 months of training classes this may not be for you.
Online Dog Trainer
In recent years this has become a popular way of training both dogs and puppies and the majority of people find great success with this method. A good online dog training site will show case studies of specific sessions such as potty training puppies, how to house train a puppy and crate training a puppy these will be actual case study videos with various examples of different problems. Secondly you have access to ask questions and some dog training sites hold webinares for Q &A sessions. You also have access to endless documentation and training videos. Lastly the cost is affordable enough to be a member for the spam of your dogs life helping to deal with future problems which may occur.Puppy Training Tips
The most important thing when training your puppy is patients and perseverance. Your new puppy needs to learn like a small child and it can get frustrating when you are trying to teach him even basic tasks like responding to his name or sitting on command. If it becomes too frustrating take a break for 15 minutes, you'll both come back refreshed ready to try again.Keep the training the same for example if you are trying to teach your puppy to sit in a certain way don't try a different way just because he is taking a while to understand, this will just confuse him and it will take even longer.
Never shout or yell at your puppy use calm clear commands and if he does overstep the mark speak in a firm voice but don't shout or scream. When he does something good give him lots of praise and a small treat.
I personally recommend taking a look at a particular online dog trainer who has years of experience in teaching people how to train a puppy, in fact I used his site when we first got our spaniels as pups.
The site is full of training videos and the puppy toilet training ones were particularly useful but the great thing is all the videos and training material is with case studies on real dogs and puppies so you get to see the real reactions of owners and dogs throughout the training.
Dan Moses the owner of the site has a real passion for dogs and his extensive training experience has brought him into contact with nearly every possible behavioural problem and he shows you in detail how to rectify them. He says " I have never met a dog I could not train" and as that runs into the thousands that is pretty impressive. Its well worth checking out his site and I do believe they have a $1 trial on at the moment as well. Visit Dan's site
