The PetCot Company: Tips for Training Your New Puppy

From the first day you bring your pup home, you'll train them and teach them right from wrong. With so many important things to teach them, how are you supposed to know where to start? Many people wonder when the right time to start training their puppy is, and honestly, the answer is now. Start setting your puppy up for success today, and you'll be able to reinforce those habits for the rest of their life. Here are a few tips from trainers that will help you figure out what your puppy needs to learn, and how to teach it to them.

Start with Routines
It's important to start training your puppy on the routines that they'll be keeping in the coming weeks. Teach them where their food and water dishes are, and keep them in the same places, and feed them at the same times each day. Teach them where they'll be going to the bathroom, and always take them to the same place for continuity. Most importantly, continually train them about their bedtime. Keep their PetCot bed in the same place so they know where bedtime happens, and then be sure to reinforce what time they wake up and what time they go to sleep. These routines will be just as valuable for you as it is for them.

Teach Words
The next step is to start reinforcing words in their vocabulary. "No," means stop what you're doing right now. "Good," reinforces that what they're doing is exemplary. These two words are generally introduced around 2-3 months old, and should be used when necessary. There are many other words you will want to add to their vocabulary like sit, stay, down, off, come, don't touch, drop it, go lie down, etc. These words should only be taught after "no" and "good" have been learned well.

Treat Training
While using treats can be a great incentive for your pup, it's not the most effective way to reinforce good behavior, or stop the bad. Treat training, in essence, is based solely off your pup wanting to eat or not. Suppose he goes running out the door after a squirrel, and even though you're tempting him with a treat, he wants to chase the squirrel more than eat a treat. Not only does that reinforce bad habits of not listening to you, but you're showing that if he doesn't want a treat he doesn't have to listen. It would be much more efficient to implement a training based on respect over treats.

Keep in mind that training with treats is not a bad thing, but it shouldn't be your sole method of 'bribing' your pet to obey you. Treats are initially used to help reinforce good behavior, and direct the pet to what you're wanting them to do, but as your training goes on, you should be weaning them off the treats and guiding them to do what you've asked solely based on the command and authority.

Respect Training
If your dog hears your words, understands them, and still chooses not to obey, this could be a sign that they don't respect you. It's important to establish respect in the relationship, not because you HAVE to be in charge, but because you can protect your pet better when they obey. If they are running out into the road, but don't listen to you when you say "come," they are in danger of running into oncoming traffic.

PetCot Beds Help You Train Your Pup
There are many important commands you will establish with your new furry friend, and our beds can help you to reinforce some of those commands. Many trainers use our PetCots to instruct dogs of all ages in the "place" command. Our pet beds aren't just used for training, though, our beds are kept in households all over the country to give your pet a great place to sleep, relax, and stay put when need be. You can order yours today on our website, www.PetCot.com.

Taking Comfort and Care to a New Level for Pets!