Puppy Training Tips

Is your puppy guessing?


Dogs are very good at picking up predictable patterns of behavior, and once they do they tend to assume things rather than listen closely (don’t we all?). For example, we often see puppies automatically offer a "shake" when meeting someone in public, without waiting for the command to be given. They have learned that "shake" usually follows the "sit" when greeting a person, and feel that they no longer need to listen to you in that situation - they already know what you are going to say.

How can you tell if the puppy is a good listener or really just guessing? Try a few of these tests:
  • Go through a doorway with the puppy and tell the puppy "down" instead of "wait"
  • Open your car door and tell the puppy "shake" instead of "car"
  • When greeting someone, instead of having the puppy "sit" and "shake", ask the puppy to do a "back", "heel" or "side"
  • Place the puppy’s bed next to the crate, and alternate sending him to each one. How many tries does it take for the puppy to do the right behavior?