Hello and thanks for signing up for my mini-training course.
A frequent question I get is, "How early should I start training my dog?" Sometimes it's simply phrased, "Should my puppy be
taught obedience?"
It's a great question.
Puppies have memory and memory is the reason a dog can be trained at all.
The key to starting a puppy at first is what's called "shaping." With shaping you don't really expect the dog's behaviour to be exact. You're
really starting to train the memory and beginning to establish rules and boundaries your dog will use for his/her lifetime.
The main thing the puppy needs to learn, just like adult dogs, it its name.
Then, "here" and "sit" are easy things to teach your puppy as well.
In conjunction with these commands, you need to teach them "no" and "good" (good is the reinforcer command that tells your dog
he/she is showing the proper behavior).
And "no" is a command that is NOT to be treated as a reprimand (remember, as part of The Allison Method, you'll never need to
yell at your dog -- yelling increases your stress and your dog's.)
"No" is a command to let your dog know he/she is to stop what they are doing and look to you for redirection.
Additionally, tonality is very important. Again -- no yelling. Calm, low commands, using the collar and cat leash -- this
combination is the key to success with any dog -- especially puppies.
One other key to training a puppy is short sessions on a regular schedule.
Six months old is not too young to start obedience training.
A final note: I highly recommend socializing your dog from day one. I DO NOT recommend "puppy classes." Puppy classes are more
of a free-for-all with no control.
You need your puppy to know that whatever the situation, he/she needs to look to you, the leader, for direction.
For more information on the many satisfied customers of "The Allison Method," click here: http://allisonmethod.com/Testimonials.html
Best Regards,
Frank Allison
www.allisonmethod.com
| "We met with Frank Allison a couple of times after the purchase of our Labrador Retriever puppy. Frank has a
wonderful approach to dogs and kids! We have been to numerous other dog training classes with another dog of ours and Frank's
techniques, by far, have been the most helpful. In fact, when we attended a puppy socialization class in one of the Madison (WI)
dog training clubs, I felt we seriously digressed in training because we were not able to restrain or correct our pup in any way.
The dog knew she was being allowed to be in charge. Simply put, I would recommend Frank Allison to anyone who wants to learn how
to effectively train their dog, from puppy to adulthood." |
Kim Horton
Stoughton, WI |
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