Bringing home your new puppy is a rollercoaster of emotions. Whether you rescue a pup or work with a reputable breeder, young dogs can be exceptionally challenging. In fact, many puppy parents spend a lot of time talking about how having puppies is an odd mix of having an infant and a toddler. Between the love your feel for your puppy and the constant struggles to deal with potty training and other training conundrums, it’s not surprising that many new puppy parents make common training mistakes with their new family member. Here at Pupaholic, we’re the place to go for all types of puppy apparel and accessory needs. We’re also here to help you adjust to your new addition and provide you with the information you need in order to not just have a fuzzy family member, but a well-mannered one. Don’t make these common training mistakes!

Lack of Consistency

When you bring a puppy into your home, it may seem easy to agree upon basic commands and how you intend to raise your puppy. However, putting your intentions into practice can be a struggle when there is more than one person training a puppy. Families can easily lack consistency for a puppy in training. If you’re not consistent in how you train your puppy and regularly training time with your puppy, then it’s going to be hard to get good manners whenever you ask. Stay consistent with your puppy’s training and your approach to training. Even set a calendar alert if you have to, and you will be much happier with the end result.

Not Asking for the Right Behavior

It’s quite unfortunate that puppies can’t speak our language, however, domesticated dogs have evolved to work with humans well. But keep in mind that as you’re training your puppy, they can’t read your mind. They have to learn how to interpret what you’re asking and what is expected of them. This can only happen if you ask for the right behaviors in the right way. If you want your puppy to sit, you need to use the same word and hand motion each time. For example, if you want your dogs off the furniture, use “off” instead of “down” because that typically means something completely different to your pup.

Lack of Reward

Many dogs are exceptionally motivated by food, and this can be a good thing, as well as a bad thing. When a puppy does what you ask, reward them with a small treat quickly. Just like you have to be consistent with training, you also need to be consistent with your rewards. Regularly reward your pup and slowly wean them away from treat rewards as the behavior becomes more familiar to them. You don’t want to stop providing treats out of nowhere or else you may get some ignoring behaviors along the way due to the lack of an expected reward.

Your new puppy is an important part of your family and working on their training is exceptionally important. Try and keep these mistakes in mind so that you can avoid them while you train your own pup. And when you’re looking for the cutest puppy apparel, always turn to Pupaholic.