We all know what puppies are like — they are so adorably cute you can’t wait to bring them home! And then they bark, they chew, they bark, they piddle, they bite their leash, and they bark. They don’t come to us knowing the rules! They need our patient training to learn how to fit in with their new family.
Don’t you wish they came with a puppy training manual? Not happening! But you can easily create your own Dog & Puppy Training Plan. It’s a roadmap: “If ‘A’ happens, I can respond with ‘B’ to distract, redirect and train my puppy.” And when you know what to do, you’re not going to lose your cool, as your puppy commits puppy crimes.
As I often say, the secret to building the puppy and dog of your dreams is hidden within this simple question: “What do I want the puppy to be doing instead?” Dog training involves changing how the dog feels AND teaching him what to do instead. Remember taking baby steps is essential…too much too fast will lead to failure.
So get out a piece of paper and fill in the blanks of this Dog & Puppy Training Plan…
Description of dog or puppy behavioral problem: (startle barking, watchdog barking, attention seeking barking, bored chewing, etc)
Triggers: (UPS truck, visitors, other dogs, being on leash, etc)
Preventions: (distract with treats, close blinds, disconnect doorbell, etc)
Trainings: (U-Turn, Find it, Sit & Wait, etc)
Setups: (You dress up in costumes and ring doorbell, practice with therapy dogs, ask a friend to drive over)
Reinforcers: (food, toys, praise, etc)
To give you some ideas, I’ve included some screenshots of a few Puppy Training Plan samples I used in a recent webinar called Bark, Bark, Barking – Part 2. (Did you know I’m doing free webinar training on Zoom? Yep! If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll get your special invite to them. Pssst…plus you’ll get access to all of the past ones, as soon as you sign up!)
If you’d like some 1:1 training, I’m offering dog training from the comfort of your own home — and mine — via ZOOM. Just give me a call or contact me via my website.