Bringing a new puppy into your home is an exciting and heartwarming experience. However, raising a well-behaved dog requires patience, consistency, and early intervention when it comes to certain behaviours. To ensure your puppy grows into a good dog, it’s essential to address these five common puppy behaviours early on.
House Training
House training is the first behaviour new owners must tackle. Puppies have small bladders and limited control over them, so accidents are bound to happen. To sort out house training early take your puppy outside at regular intervals, such as after eating, drinking, or waking up from a nap. This helps them associate outdoor time with bathroom breaks. When your puppy successfully does their business outside, offer praise and treats immediately to reinforce the positive behaviour.
Biting
Puppies explore their world through their mouths, which can result in nipping and biting. While it’s a natural behaviour, it’s crucial to teach them not to bite early on. Whenever your puppy bites too hard during play, let out a yelp or say ouch loudly to startle them. This teaches your puppy to be more gentle as they learn the consequences of biting.
Chewing Furniture
Chewing is another normal behavior in puppies, but when they target your furniture or belongings, it can become a problem. To prevent destructive chewing puppy-proof your home, remove or secure items that could be tempting for your puppy to chew on. You could also offer a variety of chew toys to keep your puppy engaged and satisfied, visit one of our previous blogs to get an idea of the type of toy that would be ideal for your puppy.
Excessive Barking
Puppies may bark for various reasons, including attention, boredom, or anxiety. Addressing excessive barking early on is essential. Determine what causes your puppy to bark excessively and address the underlying issue. You should also expose your puppy to different people, animals, and environments to reduce anxiety-related barking.
Jumping
Many puppies like to greet people by jumping up, but this can be problematic, especially as they grow. To curb this behavior ignore the jumping and turn away from your puppy and avoid eye contact or verbal interaction until they stop jumping. When your puppy keeps all four paws on the ground, reward them with attention and praise to show them that staying calm is the best reaction.
Raising a well-behaved puppy requires early intervention and consistent training. By addressing behaviours such as house training, biting, chewing, excessive barking, and jumping, you’ll set a solid foundation for your puppy’s future behaviour and create a loving, well-adjusted companion. Remember, patience, positive reinforcement, and consistency are the keys to success in training your furry friend. Puppy training classes such as Take My Lead are a super useful tool for puppy owners as professional experience and guidance can lead to an extremely well-behaved dog.