Training doesn’t have to be regimental and structured but it sure needs to be fun.  Ever wondered why your dog runs over to other dogs or people?  Or chases rabbits, birds or squirrels?  Because it is fun, interactive and unpredictable. 

Standing in front of your dog telling them to sit luring with a treat does challenge their brain for a while but if you run a few steps and then tell them to sit you are more likely to get speedier results because it’s fun.

Do you remember the schoolteacher that made learning fun and different?  You always seem to listen to them and learn but the teacher that stands in front of a class droning on you mostly switched off.

Often, I see posts about taking food away from dogs’, ‘so they know who the boss is’ and ‘when I take food away from my dog it gets aggressive’, plus many more.  The answer is NO!

By doing this you are creating Resource guarding not stopping it.  There is no Alpha, there is no boss, there is no pack leader.  Dogs are family.  When they are taken away from their mum to be in a new household, you become their new mum.  They look to you now to teach them the ways of the world like their birth mother started.  When you have a child, you don’t start doing things like taking away their food to prove you are the leader of the pack, you nurture, teach, you lead by example.  You affectively become the one that they look up to.

Puppy school…………..Puppy socialisation

Yes, it is important to socialise your pup, however it is also important to manage the interactions to meet up with other pups and adult dogs. Why?
Puppies are like kids if we didn’t lay out the rules they would be feral. Dogs have no natural self control, so it is our job to teach them the house rules. The reason dogs have become so popular in our lives is because they are smart, they quickly learn commands and behaviours that we want either in our homes or for work purposes. Dogs are adaptable and dogs love to please, all they want is your love and kindness in return.
So we need to lay down those rules when meeting other dogs because if we don’t then they will get a lot of negative experiences which could lead to anxieties and aggression in adulthood.

Puppies are so cute, don't you just want to cuddle them all the time?  Those cute doeful eyes, the hug me body language, the puppy aroma but what is the reality?  Sleepless nights, bites, scratches, chewed furniture, cleaning up wee and poop constantly, not so cute at 3am when they are crying for a wee and your attention.

What you have to remember is this is short term, with the right advice and training you will have a super adult dog.