So you finally got the puppy you wanted for a long time. And you want to do everything right when it comes to your pet’s care and upbringing. If you are a first-time dog owner needing relevant advice on how to get to know and train your dog, you can always reach out to dog training Spokane experts to help you teach your dog obedience and encourage positive behaviors.
You can also keep reading to get some initial tips on dog training so you can develop a trustworthy, life-long bond with your dog.
Treat Your Dog Like Any Other Baby
This is the first step towards understanding your pet’s behavior and needs. Puppies are just like babies. All they want to do is feel safe and protected and loved. They aren’t aware of your expectations and will behave instinctively.
It’s your job to teach your dog desirable behavioral patterns always bearing in mind how young they are. This means you need to start with baby steps, adjust your expectations accordingly, and always reward positive changes.
Puppy-Proof Your House
You should always be carefully watching your new pet, limiting the chances for accidents and developing destructive behavior. Puppies, like babies, are extremely curious and prone to accidents. So if you want to teach your pet boundaries and create a safe place for them, you should get baby gates, pens, or crates.
Getting a bunch of chewable dog toys is also a great idea that will prevent your puppy from destroying your furniture or other household items. Don’t forget to dog-proof your yard too – GPS dog fences are great for an instant wireless fence.
Understand Dog’s Body Language
Communication is the key to every successful relationship. So if you want to know what your pet wants or feels at a specific time, try to learn to interpret their body language.
Here are the most common ways in which your dog can try to tell you something.
Tail Wagging
The common-placed opinion is that dog’s tail wagging means happiness and joy. But some experts believe that dogs are wagging their tails when they are extremely excited either positively or negatively.
They can be overjoyed to see you or anxious and in fear of something. To decipher what your dog feels, you need to pay attention to the speed of tail wagging and the surrounding circumstances.
Posture
Your dog can tell you volumes by the way they hold themselves. If they are hunched toward the ground, trying to appear smaller than they are- they are scared of something. You can tell the same when your dog is lying on their back exposing its bellies. While many would interpret this action as a call for cuddling, it may also mean that your dog is anxious and craves safety.
Dogs will usually sit up straight when they are observing something carefully, or they may drop their chin on the ground lifting their bottoms up when they’re ready to play. The more you try to read a dog’s body language, the better you’ll understand your pet.
Encourage and Reward Wanted Behaviors
If you want a well-behaved dog, you have to know what behavior to encourage. But many times people are responsible for dogs misbehaving. For example, you don’t like that your dog is jumping on the counter yet you tend to leave food there constantly. So you need to eliminate your bad habits to teach your dog some good ones.
Besides encouraging desirable behaviors, make sure to generously reward your pets for every little thing they learn to do right. They will return it tenfold.
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