Thursday, June 18, 2009

If He Ever Grows Into Those Paws!

“If he ever grows into those paws”, how many times have you heard this about your puppy, or said it to someone else about theirs? There is a lot of truth to the statement, you can tell a lot about a puppy adult size by the size of his paws. Do not wait until he is so large that he takes you for a walk instead of the other way around. It is necessary to establish control when they are small.

It is imperative to train a dog at least the basics before he gets too large, a dog can start his training as soon as he is weaned. If you cant control him at 2 months and 6 pounds, how can you expect to when he is nine months and 50 pounds, you may end up with your arm out of joint every time you try to walk him. These are the dogs that usually end up relegated to the back yard on a chain, and become aggressive and mean.

Start training your puppy by putting a collar on him, he will scratch and try everything he can to get it off. When he has become used to the collar, add the leash, allow him to drag it around for a few minutes at a time until he no longer objects to it.

When you begin walking him on a leash he will pull against it, this is to be expected. When you can get him to walk on the leash without pulling him along you can start his training. Leash training should never be longer than 15 minutes at a time, 3 or four times a day.

To begin his training approach on the right side and attach the leash, get his attention and begin to walk slowly, keep his right shoulder close to your left leg. If he pulls ahead, give a sharp tug on the lease with the command heel, bringing him back to the shoulder to knee position. When he obeys the command properly give him praise.

Do not get frustrated, if he does not learn the first time always end the training session with a command you know he will follow. Training your dog also involves training yourself, you need to be consistent with the method of training, changing in the middle will only confuse him

1 comment:

cube said...

It takes time & patience to train a puppy. In many ways its like a child, except they never ask to borrow the car ;-)