Getting a puppy is an exciting time for both the family and the puppy. When a puppy comes into a home, it will be exposed to a variety of new sights, sounds, and places to explore. This can be a very overwhelming and stressful time for the little critter. It is important for the owner to help the puppy adjust and become a well-behaved adult dog. This will involve teaching it to listen to your commands and desensitizing it to new stimuli.

Most puppy behavior experts say the critical learning period for a puppy is up to the age of sixteen weeks. The following are a few simple obedience techniques for training your puppy during this period:

1. Positive reinforcement is a key tool to obedience training. Punishing your puppy will only teach it to fear you and act aggressively to others. Using positive reinforcement as a reward is an essential part of teaching your puppy to be obedient. This can include a food reward, affectionate attention, and a toy as a reward. Praise will make a dog feel loved and more secure.

2. It is important that your puppy becomes desensitized to new environments. Take it for short walks through the streets to help him get use to the new sights, sounds, and people.

3. Reward positive behavior and ignore unwanted behavior during puppy training. Ignore such unwanted behavior as barking, pulling the leash when walking, and jumping on you. Just stand there until it stops and then continue on with the regular routine. When your puppy performs a wanted behavior such as walking next to you or sitting quietly, reward it with praise or a puppy treat. Clicker training is a type of positive reinforcement training that acknowledges that the dog has behaved properly. The “click” sound acknowledges the good behavior. The “click” sound is made as soon as the puppy performs the wanted behavior. As soon as you make the “click” sound, you can reward the puppy with a treat or praise.

4. In order to ensure your puppy does not grow to be an aggressive dog around children, you have to socialize it with children at an early age. When the puppy is around children, praise and reward calm behavior. Allow the puppy to be touched by one child at a time, and don?t force it to be touched as this will only instill fear.

5. A car drive can be a scary time for a puppy. They can vomit, drool, or urinate. Your car should be a comfortable and fun place with familiar items such as its favorite toys and blanket. Take it for a short drive at first and then gradually increase driving time.

6. To teach your puppy to sit, get him to stand in front of you. Show the puppy the treat and let it smell the treat. Move the treat from his front to his hind end. As he watches the treat move to the back end, you should put the treat closer to the floor. The puppy should automatically sit its hind end down. When it does, immediately reward it with the treat and praise.

When properly training your puppy, the reward will not only be a well behaved dog, but you will have a loving and loyal friend.

Training cats and dogs to use the litter box or to scratch at the door is simple if you start early. Usually the earlier the pet, the faster they will learn as long as they are weaned from their mother. The best performing dogs and cats have been started early and constantly praised for their efforts. Animals vary in personality so do not fear if the dog or cat doesn’t learn right away. Be patient and loving with your animal. If the pet does not learn after many weeks of training, something could be wrong. It might be a behavioral or medical problem. Check with your animal’s vet if you become concerned.

Kittens can be litter trained any time after 4 weeks. If the kitten is still around its mother, set up a smaller litter box next to the mother’s larger litter box. The cat will learn by watching and eventually start using it as well. If the cat does not have its mother to draw an example from, or it is still not learning to use the little box as it gets older, you have a little more work to do, but do not be alarmed. All animals vary on their learning abilities. Try putting the cat and its litter box in a small room such as a bathroom or laundry room, with food and water. Check every hour to see if the cat has used the box correctly. Do this one more time until the cat has used the litter box again correctly, then praise the cat, and remove its supplies back into the rest of the house. Place the litter box where you would like then show the cat where it is located. Always make sure the litter box is clean because cats have a tendency to not use a litter box if it is constantly dirty. Clean the box once a day in order to avoid this.

Anywhere from 5 to 8 weeks is acceptable to start potty training a puppy. As soon as a puppy can start going outside, do so. Take the dog out after eating, playing, and waking up and show it an area where it is acceptable to go. Also, pay attention to what the puppy does inside. If the puppy is sniffing around the house, take the dog to its spot outside. Pee-pads are also acceptable if you have a very young or small dog, but training a dog to do its business outside is always less messy.

Talk to the dog whenever you take it out. Phrases like “Let’s go outside” or “Let’s go potty” said excitedly will eventually be learned by the dog. When the dog finally does do its business outside, praise him or her immensely. Give the dog treats and a lot of attention. After the dog is potty trained, obedience training can begin via at home or dog training classes at your local humane society or local pet stores like Petsmart or PetCo.

Adopting a dog is not a decision that should be made lightly. When you bring an animal into your home through adoption, you create a bond that lasts for a lifetime. You want to be sure you, your home and your family are ready to take the step.

Have you Done Your Homework? - Do you know what it takes to be a dog owner, and are you prepared to do it? Read up on topics such as housebreaking, dog training, training collars and the debate, inside and outside dogs, grooming and daily care. - Be sure that your schedule allows you the time to exercise and care for the dog daily. Especially puppies, but any dog needs the chance to move around outside every day. - See that any children in the house are invested in helping to care for the dog. Help them understand the kinds of responsibilities associated with pet care and help them determine if they are prepared for these things. - Consider the cost of pet owning a pet, and be sure your budget can handle it. Youll need to consider annual exams, medical costs, monthly medications such as flea and heartworm control

Which Dog is Right? - If you have long hours and a busy schedule, you may want to reconsider dog ownership. If you still are certain you want a dog, consider a smaller, less active breed. - If you dont have the time for training and housebreaking, then adopting a more mature dog will probably leave you happier than a puppy would. - Think about size. Too small a breed could get smashed by children, but too large a breed needs space. A small, active breed can seem to take up as much room as a large dog.

Things To Have - Dog ID tag Have the tag made and ready to put on the collar after you adopt. - Have a leash and collar. A buckle collar gives the best, most secure fit. - A crate provides security for the dog and assistance to you in training. Try to find the fold-up wire variety. - Water and food bowls as well as some kind of a bed.

Determine the Adoption Facility - Be sure the animal will have all its basic immunizations and is ready to enter your home. Find a shelter that provides spaying or neutering as part of the adoption process. - Collect all records for the dog, especially veterinarian records.

Choose Your Companion - Get to know lots of dogs before deciding on one. Spend some time with each dog youre considering and see how it interacts with the family. - Set limits on what you will bring home as far as breed, size, health, etc. and stick with those limits.

Visit the adoption center at different times of the day if possible. Get to know your dog in different circumstances so that you know it well before it comes into your home permanently.The Process When Adopting a Dog

Many people become frustrated with a dog that just won’t listen. They want to be to understand their dog and develop communication method that the dog will understand. Fortunately, there are number ‘friendly’ training methods that you can use to help you communicate with your dog, which will help eliminate behavior problems.

Most behavior problems like biting, jumping on strangers, urinating on the floor, and barking, result from a failure to communicate properly with your dog. Basically, the dog does not understand what you are trying teach him. ‘Dog-Friendly’ methods of training means you can communicate and dog training without inflicting pain or anger. They are positive reinforcement techniques that are fun for both you and your dog.

Using friendly training methods that include positive training techniques will help you develop a trusting life-long bond with your dog. To build a strong owner-dog relationship, based on trust and mutual respect, incorporating the following techniques will help:

Kindness and Patience is Essential: Yelling, hitting, using choke collars, or electric shock, is not only cruel, but will not train your dog. He will develop a fear of you and most likely develop other behavioral problems such as aggression, trust, love, and respect, are essential to understanding and communication with your dog. Of course, your dog should know its position in the family, and that you are the ‘top dog’ so to speak, but you do not have to do this using punishing and inhumane methods. It won’t work. Friendly training helps you work with your dog’s natural instincts

Training and Play: One thing that dogs love is play. Make your training fun. Motivate the dog with treats and praise when he accomplishes a task. For instance, if your dog is jumping on you, praise your dog every time he greets you by sitting. When you meet him, assist him with sitting and then praise him or give him a treat. Repeating the sitting technique, the dog will learn he is rewarded for sitting and not jumping on you. Make sure you are consistent with the training technique and reward. You do not want to confuse the dog.

Association and Repetition: Dogs do not have the ability to learn something once. You have to associate the word with the action you want it to perform. For instance, if you want it to lie down, you can use the correct signal and you can lay down with your dog. After it lies down, you can reward him with a treat or praise. Keep repeating the method and your dog will learn to associate the word and action. Connecting words with actions in a positive way .is essential to success

Arrange for Your Dog to Succeed: Throughout your training session, make sure you incorporate easy techniques so you can reward him. The reward for succeeding will stay with him. He will be a much happier dog. Ending the session with a successful training technique will leave him feeling happy. Keep Positive: Some dogs will take longer to learn than others. If you get angry or show frustration, your dog will pick up on your negative energy. The dog will be confused and react to your negative emotions by displaying negative behavior.

Clicker Reinforcement: Use a clicker device to make a ‘click’ sound when your dog does something right. They will begin to learn that the sound means they did something right.

Dogs are never entirely trained. As the owner, you must keep up with the positive reinforcement techniques. If you don’t, the dog may forget some learned behaviors. Communication is critical to creating a life long bond with your dog. It is important to observe how your dogs react to situations so you learn its body language. Talk to your dog in a kind and loving voice and you will soon find yourself with a loyal life friend.