Congratulations, you new dog parent! Having a new dog at home is an exciting time, and you’re already envisioning the future – walks, cuddles, playtime, and the unconditional love that comes with having a pet.
Keep that excitement! It’s the emotion of hope and optimism that you’ll need to circle back to time and time again in the coming months as you work with your dog toward a healthy and harmonious relationship.
Every new pet owner quickly finds out what their dog knows – and doesn’t know – about living with you at home. So, I’m here to help you pave the way to a easier time getting acceptable behavior from your dog.
I hear you thinking, “Ok, I’m ready for dog training advice. Tell me what to do.”
I’m happy to do that! Most new dog parents think of “dog training” as a one-time thing to help your dog understand what’s expected – maybe a puppy class once a week for a month or sessions with a dog trainer that teach your dog how to obey, how to behave, and what to do.
Hold up! I’m here to tell you dog training is not a one-time thing.
Any good certified dog trainer or puppy coach will tell you their job is to teach YOU. Not to teach the dog FOR you.
The mindset I suggest you embrace right now, before you live another day with your pup, is to think of every day as a teaching day.
Every day you live with your dog is a day to work on something new or reinforce something they already know.
Your dog already observes your actions, absorbs your voice and body language as direction, and shapes their behavior accordingly, so I want you to shift to a conscious daily mindset of understanding how your actions and words teach your dog, and how you can USE that part of your relationship every day, to achieve good behavior.
How to teach acceptable behavior?
Your #1 job as a pet owner is to show up to be the teacher your dog needs. You can be formal about it for as little as 10-15 minutes a day, as long as you are consistent every day. And you’ll find you can use little reinforcing moments throughout each day at (mealtimes, play times, exercise times, and settle down times) to help teach your dog that you are consistent. You’ll find ways to show that by expecting behavior all the time, not just during the 10-15 minutes a day you’re formally teaching new things or practicing, you’ll get better and quicker results.
Your #2 job as a pet owner is to understand that your relationship with your dog is the training tool. Each day of your dog’s life, you’re showing, repeating, reinforcing, and creating the environment for learning — whether you mean to or not. Your actions, in your ongoing mundane everyday relationship with your dog, is how your dog gets trained in what your expectations are and what’s acceptable to you.
So, to pave the way to an easier time, there are three lists for you to make:
- What are the top 10 behaviors you want your dog to have?
- What are the top 10 unwanted behaviors you want to minimize or avoid completely?
- What situations or behaviors does your dog exhibit that they need help with?
When you have those lists, then that’s your personal outline for topics to work on each day with your dog.
Want to know more?
Get my guide in the series The Settled Puppy Method, “Essential Fundamentals of Good Behavior” to read more – including the 7-part recipe for good behavior, the ingredients you need, and the 8 components of practice.
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