Teach Your Puppy How to Play & When to Stay
Puppies are highly social, but they need to learn to communicate to get along with people and other dogs. It’s never too soon to start basic puppy training. Your puppy may be cute and a little hard to discipline (we can’t resist puppy breath either), but if he learns to sit, heel, and come right from the start, he’ll be easier to handle as an adult dog. So stay firm throughout the puppy training process, even though he may get tired and distracted easily or distract you easily. Follow these quick tips for puppy training and you’ll soon have a puppy you’ll be proud of.
3 Tips to Teach Your Puppy Basic Socialization Skills
Stopping Your Puppy from Biting
Puppies start to learn the strength of their bites from their mothers and littermates, who yelp when they bite too hard. Once you get your new puppy home, reinforce this message by "yelping" when your puppy bites you. This will teach him that he must use his mouth very gently or not at all.
Rewarding Your Puppy
Puppies learn best through positive results. If a puppy’s good behavior is rewarded, he’ll repeat the good behavior again and again. Reward him with toys, NUTRO® NATURAL CHOICE® dog treats and plenty of praise.
If your puppy demonstrates bad behavior, you should certainly discipline him, but remember that dogs can easily misinterpret body language and could confuse a negative reaction with a positive one.
As your puppy grows, continue to reward him for good behavior so he doesn’t forget what he’s learned.
When your puppy is 6 months old and weighs more than 5 pounds, he’s ready for his first GREENIES® Dental Chew, the #1 recommended dental chew by veterinarians that recommend dental chews for at-home oral care.
Puppy Socialization
You can’t start early enough with this key part of puppy training. In fact, the sooner you start, the less likely your puppy is to be scared and the more likely he is to get along well with others.
Host a puppy party shortly after adoption so you can introduce him to other puppies, adult dogs and people (friends and neighbors).
When your dog is old enough, socialize your dog at a local dog park.
Socialization and obedience training can be entertaining for both you and your puppy. Remember to start early and have lots of fun!