January 24, 2022Top 10 Proven Signs Your Dog Actually Loves You, According to Veterinarians

Whether you recently adopted a pup or have loved one for a while, you probably know that puppy training is essential for you before your dog.

In fact, everybody knows that training a puppy can bring some order back into the household and set you up for a great relationship with your new dog. Put simply, a well-trained puppy will make a well-trained dog.

Read through these training tips to learn how to teach your dog basic obedience cues: bathroom, leash, come, sit, stay, down, walk, crate, etc.

When is the Best Time of Day to Train Your New Puppy?

It typically needs about 12 to 14 hours a day for a dog to get a good sleep. Puppies sleep even more. So, with all of that sleeping, you must be wondering how do I know when is the best time of the day to train my dog. The simple answer to this is trying to incorporate your training sessions into just everyday situations where you're already interacting with your dog. Meaning, you could just as easily incorporate little training periods when you routinely feed your puppy, when he goes out to pee, eats, goes to sleep and/or plays, so that to reinforce desired behaviors.

One more thing, always pay attention to your dog’s patterns. You need to know that there are times when the puppy will give you hints as to when he is more naturally inclined to learn. Typically, this is when they show the “I want to play” clues. And, who doesn’t love playing (a.k.a. training) with their dog! These clues include:

1. Breakfast Energy

Well, dogs learn to wake up early just to get some food. So, this means it’s time for the learning magic to happen. Before you give your hungry dog breakfast, give him a little routine training. Simply, ask your puppy to sit, lie down or stay before granting his/her desires.

2. Witching Hours (“Crepuscular” Time)

Just like humans, a real energy upticks dogs between 4’o clock and 5’o clock in the afternoon. There is no better time to train your pup than when he/she is already geared for action. Essentially, you may want to consider taking your pooch for running and walking, play hide and seek and teach little hunting stuff around the yard or house.

3. Pre-Bedtime Training

A fun fact, dogs thrive on routines. The trick is for you to associate bedtime with a solid routine and use it as a training opportunity. Right before you go to bed, you can use treats, and give them in exchange for bowing head down, as if in a prayer, laying down in their bed/crate, as in imitating sleep, Rolling over, wrapping themselves in a little blanket.

When is the Best Age to Start Training Your New Puppy?

No matter what age you bring home your new pup, experts recommend that he needs to receive training right away. It's the vision that the faster they are trained the sooner they will be housebroken, obey commands, and be under control. In addition, you don't want your puppy to develop some poor training habit.

Actually, many studies have shown that some training can begin as soon as the puppy can open its eyes and walk. It’s common for young puppies to have short attention spans, so be sure training sessions are brief, yet occur daily. Well, capitalize on being brief and regular.

The key to success if you started training your canine friend at an early age is to use methods that rely on positive reinforcement and gentle teaching. For example, you can use a method called food-lure training to teach your puppies to “sit”, “down”, “stand”, and “stay”.

In a nutshell, training a dog, just about anything, can start at absolutely any age, but delaying training means missed opportunities for the dog to learn how you would like him to behave, the fact that he/she begins to solidify adult behavioral patterns and progresses through fear periods.

The bottom line is that your puppy is more likely to grow up to be an obedient dog and a much loved and valued member of the family if you begin puppy obedience training right from the start with firm but gentle methods.

The basic 10 Commands to teach your puppy to get your relationship started on the right paw

These 10 essential life skills will give your puppy a strong foundation for any future training.

1. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Use a Crate

Of course, it’s not easy to train puppies to love their crates. But, when used properly, crates can be a fantastic way to help with overall training; they will not only provide your dog a secure place to rest and save your property, but will also assist with accelerating house-training time and give you some freedom when you're distracted from puppy training. Likewise, a crate creates a safe way to transport your dog in the car.

The trick to teach a dog or puppy to love their crate is by making it a pleasurable experience; I recommend giving them treats every time they go in their crates and feed them from their crates, as well as putting a few safe toys in the crate. And as your dog comes to realize that the crate is his own cozy living and sleeping space, he will learn to anticipate bathroom breaks and bedtime, making your life a lot easier.

2. How to Easily Leash Train Your Dog

It's the vision that all people dream of having a dog walking like a model canine citizen. Training a puppy to walk calmly and respectfully on a leash will help you have more fun walks with your dog. Not to mention, you'll be able to take your dog into a crowded place, whether a vet office or a pet store, without having your legs wrapped up. Yet, getting your puppy used to walk with a leash can be stressful if you don't know where to begin.

Just as with any training, you should make leash training a pleasure. Always reward your pup with treats when he walks by your side. You may also want to tug a toy or toss a ball for him if your dog is not very interested in food treats. It may take time and work, but being patient and maintaining the consistency is your key to success.

3. How to Easily Potty Train Your Puppy

The last thing you want is to make yourself busy with picking up poop and removing dog urine stains from carpet, right? Well, potty training will save you a daily hassle. It will help facilitate future clean-up and decrease accidental step-in-poo incidents. Typically, crate training and leash training will go a long way in teaching your puppy to use the bathroom.

To make your potty training journey a little easier, you'll need patience, understanding, and an enormous amount of positive reinforcement. For example, you may want to use treats or your dog favorite food or just play with your dog after he has emptied.

4. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Come When Called

Of course, you don't want your dog running into harm’s way. So, learning to come when called, or recall to you, can be one of the most important skills you can teach your dog because it could end up saving their life some day in the future. Since dogs are not robots and there’s so much that could distract them, getting your dog as close to you when you recall can be challenging.

The secret to build a reliable recall is to to have a serious motivator. Simply put, you can teach your dog that being near you is the most fun thing they can do, not to mention the thing that brings them the most rewards.

Note: It's important to remember that to guarantee success, you'd best begin training a recall (come when called) in a quiet area and indoors.

5. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Socialize

Every pet owner wants their dog to be sociable and friendly with other people and dogs, right? Well, the best time to socialize your pup is when they are, in fact, a puppy, as they're at their most sensitive — and receptive — age. A general rule, a socialized pup is a happy comfortable confident dog.

Teaching your dog adequate socialization skills is important in order to make your life and your dog's life much more pleasant! That means, socializing your dog makes him friendlier toward strangers and other dogs, as well as help him learn to remain calm and respectful outside of your house.

The secret to naturally socialize your dog is to always set him/her up for success; for example, you may want to take your puppy to a variety of places like pet stores, parks, anywhere dogs are allowed.

6. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Sit

Whether you've adopted a new puppy or rescued an adult dog from your local shelter, it doesn't matter, you need to begin training your dog as soon as you bring him home. Training your dog to sit on command should be the first thing you'll want to teach your new friend. It's a nice easy command which puppies as young as eight weeks old can learn, and most pick it up quickly. When you teach your dog to sit, you are actually increasing your dog's confidence and providing a foundation on which to build more advanced skills and commands.

To better teach this classic dog behavior, always keep each training session very short, about 5 minutes, and keep your pet interested. With your dog standing right in front of you, hold a small tasty treat in your hand and guide it from your dog's nose level up over his head. And when your inquisitive dog rear end hits the ground, give him the treat and lavish him with praise.

Note: You should never physically put your puppy into the sitting position, as this can be confusing or upsetting to some dogs.

7. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Stay

A puppy who knows the “stay” cue will remain sitting until you ask him to get up, and yes; this behavior allows your pet to stay out of harms (traffic hazards, machines, bigger dogs, snakes, etc.). In other words, a dog who is staying, can't be jumping on you, running off the street, or chasing the cat. The "stay" command is considered as a life saving command that every dog must know, according to many dog experts.

However, staying still is one of the most difficult behavioral lessons that a pup learns in his/her life, because, as everybody knows, dogs are active creatures and do not like to stay. So when teaching a dog the stay on command, ensure making the event as non-threatening and pleasant as you can.

8. How to Easily Teach Your Dog Not to Chew the Furniture

Coming home to find a pillow torn up or your shoes chewed to pieces can be very annoying, yet it's natural part of a puppy's development. Much like teething in babies, a teething pup also tends to chew anything and everything to help with teething issues. So, expecting a puppy to not chew is not reasonable, but instead you should encourage “appropriate chewing” by letting your pup know which things they can and can’t chew.

A simple way to help your dog learn to chew not the furniture is to make it safe and enjoyable for both of you. If you notice the puppy chewing something that is not correct like shoes, remote controls, books, backpacks and briefcases don't punish them, simply substitute what you want them to chew on, then pat your pup’s head and praise them for chewing the right correct thing.

9. How to Easily Teach Your Dog Not to Bite

Trust me, puppy biting may be cute at the beginning, but can later pose a potential danger to your dog and everyone around him. Fortunately, it's something you can train away with a few simple steps. Learning how to stop a puppy from biting can be of utmost importance to ensure your friends and family feel comfortable around your canine friend. And most importantly, "Bite Inhibition" skill helps you ensure the behavior of biting doesn’t develop into anything more serious.

The easiest way to teach your dog how to moderate the force of a bite is by letting him know that biting will do him no good and will only cause him to lose the things he is fond of - you and your precious time and attention, with no exceptions. Needless to say, be sure to reward your dog with a treat and some verbal praise whenever they listen to you and stop to bite.

Just 5 minutes a day can intensify the bond between you and your dog not to mention spare you from a lot of problems and embarrassment along the way.

Note: Yelling or physical punishment when training your puppy "Bite Inhibition" skill can be interpreted as another form of attention, even if it’s negative. Therefore, you'll need a lot of consistency, patience, time and appropriate praise.

10. How to Easily Teach Your Dog to Be Home Alone

As social creatures, pup’s first time alone can be extremely stressful. But with the right guidance, your furry friend will learn that being left at home is fun! It's important to recognize that canine independence training will not only help prevent your dog from ever becoming anxious when by themselves, but also will aid immensely in house-training your pet. Accordingly, a crate or exercise pen can be a good start to teaching your dog how to be independent.

At that point, be sure to turn it into a happy, relaxing environment with toys and food to keep them preoccupied and satiated while you’re gone, and each time you return, give them a yummy treat or words of praise. Keep in mind that patience, practice, and positivity are all important aspects when working on dog reliable home-alone training.

Extra Training Tips:

It is important to remember that training sessions should be kept short and fun. And each session should be ended on a positive note.

Broadly speaking, just like you wouldn’t expect a 2-year-old child to know how to tie his shoes, don't expect dogs to know what they don’t know. So, teaching your new puppy how to behave calls for patience, commitment, and above all, consistency.

Further to this, dogs simply love to learn at all ages, and you should always continue teaching them new tricks and concepts to keep them mentally stimulated.