Welcoming a rescue dog or new puppy into your home can be quite exciting! You can’t help but think about all of the delightful moments that you will share with your new canine partner, where you’ll go, and how to begin training. Well, I have news for you: The moment you brought your dog home, you started unconsciously training them. The way you give them treats, when you give them treats, how you play with them, etc…these all teach your dog how to behave in your house. By establishing structure now, this will help your dog adjust to their new environment.

One of the most-asked questions here at Dogology is “how can I make sure that my dog listens in the house?” It doesn’t matter if the dog is 8 weeks old or 8 years old – rules need to be set in place, and the dog needs to know where they stand in the family pack. Without rules, there will be chaos and disorder, and the dog will act out. Dogs are pack animals, and always look to a leader to make decisions for the pack. Rules can include no excessive barking, no jumping, no digging, no begging at the table, etc.

For example, if you don’t want the dog begging at the table, make sure that they are not being fed table scraps, and are not in a position to reward themselves. By “reward themselves,” we mean “don’t allow the dog the opportunity to get table food. Either put the dog in their crate while you are eating, block off the room to the dinner table, or put them in a place. This ritual needs to be in effect during all meals – even when guests come over for dinner. If you don’t want the behavior to continue, you must not allow any slip-ups.

This same concept applies to other aspects of training your dog. In order to establish a great relationship, and to help them learn better and faster, you must ensure that each family member uses the same techniques and commands when training the dog. For example, if you use “down” to get the dog to lie down, while your partner uses “lay,” this is unfair to the dog, and will only result in them being confused, and frustrating you.

Setting rules and consistency will help you and your dog go a long way in your training. If you’d like to learn more, or if you’d like to schedule an evaluation session to see how we can help your dog, contact us at info@dogologyuniversity.com or call 833-236-4498. We look forward to helping you and your pup!