The foundation of good training begins with positive reinforcement. Whenever your dog does something you like, reward him/her with a treat. Be sure to send clear signals to your dog and be consistent with rewards and treats. Your new puppy will be listening for signals that you are pleased with him/her. So the first part of training a new puppy is being aware of your own actions and behaviors.
For example, one common mistake new puppy owners make is petting a small puppy when it jumps up for attention. While this is the natural instinct, that is a form of reward. So as a new puppy owner, you’ll want to consider how the behavior you are rewarding is going to look in different circumstances. If the puppy grows up to be a large dog and you’ve trained him/her to jump on you for attention that behavior won’t translate as well when the dog is large or when ederly family members visit at Thanksgiving.
Rewards
Rewards can be anything that your dog or puppy likes. Small dog treats work really well. I like to use small pieces of fresh carrot. My dog goes nuts for those. Just be sure to follow dietary guidelines and not give your dog too many (dog gets fat) or in the case of carrots, gives the dog the poops because he/she gets too much fiber at once. Praise is the best go to reward. Good communication of praise and consistency of praise is the best way to communicate and train a new puppy.
Punishments
Puppies and dogs don’t in general respond as well to punishment. So use sparingly. Punishment works best only if you have very established behavior that your dog can control and he or she deviates from it out of defiance. Even then, it’s not the most effective tool. Generally speaking most dogs get confused by too much punishment and respond poorly.
Voice commands
The best method of dog training with a new puppy is to establish voice command and bond with your new dog. Getting the dog used to the idea that you are it’s new family and a source of love and food is the first part. Get the dog used to you naming things for him. For example, for the first part of the training it will look similar to teaching a baby language. You tell him/her toy when she picks up a toy.
When the dog sits naturally you might start saying ‘sit’. Start training your new puppy by teaching her vocabulary. The concept of ‘sit’ starts to sink in as an activity. The concept of ‘toy’ starts to sink in and the idea that things and actions have these ‘words’ associated with them.
Speaking directly to your dog and making eye contact is a great first way to bond to things. Now once you have a first bond you can move on to associating behavior with treats. It is a great one to do. When I first started training Apollo to sit I just pushed his little booty down. He was genuinely confused initially. But I repeated pushing his little booty down. I don’t think he initially caught on to what I was doing, but I waited until he got bored and sat down thinking, this lady is never going to give me a treat. But then when he sat, I gave him a treat.
Dogs naturally respond to that system of getting the things that are awesome. Just be careful this works in negatives as well. I’ve made a habit of letting Apollo lick my plate after I eat if it’s a dog friendly food meal. This accidental ‘training’ means now he has the obnoxious habit of traipsing after me when I am done eating and go to the kitchen. I have no one to blame but myself for this. If I want to change his behavior I need to change my own first.
When training a dog, instead of punishing her when she doesn’t do what you want, it works out better to just coax and patiently wait and reward. If the games don’t seem to be working, pausing and coming back to it is a good respite from trying to get him or her to do something. Often, it’s the same for dogs as it is for people. It might take a few times before they catch on and letting the dog have a break then repeating the behavior and trying again helps them learn.
Puppies, keep it brief and always end on a positive note. Paper training for peeing can be a good way to teach them to go outside. It develops the concept of peeing in an area. Often it’s best to have the time to watch the dog closely while it is new to be able to bring her outside whenever she starts to pee.
When you are away
For puppies that chew, be sure to have plenty of toys around when you are there. And be sure to have plenty for the dog to be entertained by when you are away. If possible don’t allow the dog to be alone for too long at a time when you first own him. And let the dog know the things are not to be chewed on. A time out is a great punishment technique. And a simple ‘no’ command when the dog messes up. For the first little bit of time with your dog it works out best to just learn what dogs love to chew on and keep that out of reach where possible. Watch him and if he goes for objects that are not toys simply remove those items, say no and move them away from the dog. Then give the dog a toy that he or she is allowed to have. And then praise the dog when they start to chew on the ‘right’ toy.
When you are away, you can sometimes use a spray or deterrent for your dog to not chew on things. But either way be sure to remove choking hazards from the dogs reach. Small things that are tempting for the dog to chew on (like yoga blocks) can also be things that he/she can chew off bits of. And if there are behavior patterns like excessive chewing it might be a sign that your dog or puppy is not getting enough play time and walking, exercise time. Keeping your dog entertained and well exercised is the best way to ensure good behavior.
Conclusion
Be sure when getting a new puppy to get a puppy breed that you have time and energy to handle. Not all dogs are created at the same energy levels and you have a much better relationship with your pet if you start out with an honest assessment of how much exercise a dog needs and what you can afford to give him/her with your time and energy.