Puppy Training & Socialisation Games to Play with Your Puppy

PUPPY PRE-SCHOOL IN MARRICKVILLE

4-week Marrickville Puppy School in Inner West Sydney only $195!  

Includes a training gift worth $20!

60 minute lessons. Maximum 10 dogs per class.

Wednesday nights at 6pm-7pm

Location: Maggies Rescue Hut 43, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville

Date: Check the Class Schedule Here.

Next Start Date 9th of October

Puppy Training & Socialisation Games PART 1/2

 

Puppy training is very important part of owning a dog. A puppy’s brain is like a sponge and every experience is stored away in their memory, affecting their personality.

Puppies learn all the time, not just when they are being trained, so all of their experiences are also learning opportunities. That’s why it’s very important that you know how to encourage desired behaviours and create good experiences for your puppy.

When it comes to raising a confident and balanced adult dog, the early weeks and months of your puppy’s life are essential. Puppies need to experience many different positive encounters early on to become confident adults.

As a puppy parent, it’s up to you to make sure they’re learning the right behaviours to become confident, social and friendly companions. Here are 10 easy puppy training and socialisation games to play with your puppy that will help set him on the right path for life.

1. Socialisation with People Training

The more different kinds of people your puppy meets in a positive way, the less likely he will be afraid of individuals he meets later on. Meet people of different ethnicities, genders and ages. Try finding people in uniform. Make sure to meet calm and friendly children. And ask them all to offer your puppy treats to ensure a positive experience for your puppy.

However, if your puppy shows any reluctance to meet someone or seems timid, do not force him to meet them. Never ever pick up your puppy and hand him to someone he’s afraid of. This will only make his fear worse. Have the person toss treats from a distance instead. Let your puppy approach at his own pace. If you are unsure how to deal with a timid dog, get a professional trainer to help you right away. The sooner you address any issues with your puppy, the quicker and easier they are to fix.

2. Run-Away Recall Practise

Good recall is essential skill for any dog that is let off the lead and it’s one of the most important aspects of puppy training. There are many ways to reinforce recall with a puppy and I like the ‘run-away game’ the best. It’s very simple. You simply start running away from your puppy while calling his name. When he runs after you, give him a very excited reward and tasty treats. Use something extra special he doesn’t get in any other situation, like cheese or chicken. This is very important. If you use plain dry dog food your puppy will learn to choose something more valuable when the training gets more difficult.

When the puppy has learnt to chase you, start adding a vocal cue ‘come’ when the puppy is running towards you. Remember to reward immediately when he gets to you. Don’t ask him to sit first, we aren’t practising sit at the moment.

When your puppy is running after you every time you start running, start making the practise more difficult by walking away instead of running. Then have a friend hold him while you walk away and call him from a distance. Vary the situations when you call him to see whether he has learnt that ‘come’ means running to you no matter what.

3. Sound Training 

Many puppies are startled by loud and unusual noises. That’s why sound puppy training can make your life a lot easier and your puppy a lot more confident. The idea is to desensitise them to different sounds in a positive way so that when they hear them it’s not a scary. Start sound training at home. Play the sounds in the background in low volume while you feed your dog treats or play or cuddle with them. Then gradually turn the volume up a bit. You can use traffic noise, planes, dog barking, loud kids sounds etc.