The Importance of Puppy Training Classes
One of my favorite classes to teach is puppy training class! Attending puppy training classes is vital for so many reasons. Let me explain why.
Benefits of Puppy Training Classes
- Plain and simple: Puppy training classes provide your puppy valuable opportunities to experience new situations positively.
- During your puppy training classes, your puppy will experience new people, puppies, dogs, places, sounds, smells, car rides, leash and collar wearing, and body handling.
- Puppy training classes allow for plenty of opportunities to reward your puppy for polite behavior.
- You’ll get to work with a fabulous dog trainer to assist you in training your puppy.
When to Train a Puppy
Puppies learn fast. They’re sponges just like human children, constantly learning and exploring new things in their environment. From birth to 16 weeks of age, puppies are open learning funnels. For this reason, you should train your puppy within the first 16 weeks.
During this critical time, puppies are learning how to navigate and participate in life and their environments. You should make sure you’re introducing your puppy to new experiences in a positive way.
Puppy Socialization
Most puppies will walk right up to strangers and other dogs. Puppies generally chase or approach new objects (trashcans, butterflies, flowers, etc.) with curiosity. Allow your puppy to watch, sniff and meet different types of people when he chooses to do so.
Expose your puppy to:
- Men
- Women
- Children
- People wearing hats
- People wearing hoodies
- People wearing sunglasses
- People who are walking strangely
- People making loud noises
- People with beards
- People carrying and opening umbrellas
- People jogging behind you or in front of you
- People approaching you
- Babies crying
How to Socialize Your Puppy
Socializing a puppy “is the process by which puppies learn the skills needed to mature into normal adult dogs,” according to Wikipedia.
Always allow your puppy to take the lead he’s when meeting a new object. He should walk to the person, dog or object on his own and you should reward your dog for it profusely. If your puppy won’t approach the object, never force or pull him toward the object. Simply ask the person or dog to move away from your puppy, or you may move the object further away.
Personally, I’m still traumatized by Santa Claus at the mall. My momma (bless her lil’ heart) picked me up while I was screaming and crying, and placed me on Santa Claus’ lap. In the picture, I was crying uncontrollably—not a cute look! While I’m comfortable seeing Santa Claus at the mall from a distance now, he still creeps me out. Don’t force your puppy to do something that he’s uncomfortable with. This will only scar your puppy to continue feeling uncomfortable in similar situations later in his life.
If Your Puppy Got Scared
Oops, your puppy got scared! It’s OK. It’s our job as dog trainers and pet parents to let puppies know that the object is safe. If your puppy becomes startled, take a step back from the object. Next, click or treat your puppy when he looks back at the scary object. Clicking and treating your puppy is the reward that lets your pet know he did the right thing.
Repeat the approach and reward the process at least 10 times to reinforce the proper behavior. You will also want to click or treat your puppy each time he walks toward the object. Again, this helps your puppy learn a scary object is OK to approach. Eventually, your puppy will touch the scary object, which is the goal.
So run, don’t walk, and enroll in a puppy training class. Your puppy will thank you with polite behavior for a lifetime!
Tell us how puppy training classes have benefited you and your puppy in the comments below.
More on puppy training:
New Puppy
How to Potty Train a Puppy
Puppy Biting
Complete New Puppy Checklist