Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps Quotes

“puppies have a tiny window during which their brains can make an association between a behavior they just did and a reward that follows. This window is only 1.3 to 1.5 seconds.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“handy little reminder of the three phases, you can remember LAB RETrieVeR. (Luring And Baiting. Reward Every Time. Variable Reward.)”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Avoid rawhide. Rawhide poses numerous health and safety risks to puppies and dogs and should always be avoided. Thankfully, there are some wonderful safe alternatives to rawhide on the market. You can also use a wide range of other natural chews such as trachea, bully sticks, pig ears, tendons, dried sweet potato wedges, and hard cheese chews. While naturally shed antlers are also a good option, for puppies stick to split”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Positive reinforcement simply means that when your dog exhibits the behavior you want, you reward them. Period. (No one said this was rocket science.) Countless scientific studies have established that positive rewards are the”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“All dogs have what’s called an oppositional reflex. What this means is that their bodies will reflexively move away from any applied pressure. You have this reflex, too. If someone grabs you by the lapels and pulls you, you will instinctively pull away. Dogs, including puppies, most commonly exhibit this reflex when walking on a leash.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Leave It is an anticipatory command, to prevent your puppy from putting something in their mouth. It’s different than Drop It, which we covered in Preventing Food Aggression”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“your puppy’s been having a hard time getting a certain behavior, but finally succeeds, don’t just reward it, jackpot it. Jackpots are also perfect for ending a session; wait for them to nail the behavior and then reward with a jackpot and call it a wrap.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Five minutes is a perfectly solid amount of time for a training session for a puppy. Don’t go longer. You can do 10 five-minute sessions per day. But keep each session brief.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Once your puppy starts to learn a new command, it is a good idea to wait a full 30 seconds before repeating it. Give their brain a chance to problem solve and figure it out on their own.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“A functional reward is one that is not food based. There are lots of functional rewards such as retrieving, tugging, physical affection, car rides, walks, chase games, and verbal praise in a high, excited voice. Not all puppies find all of those rewarding, but you’ll soon know what your puppy loves.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“You’ll move pretty quickly from one phase to the next. And as a handy little reminder of the three phases, you can remember LAB RETrieVeR. (Luring And Baiting. Reward Every Time. Variable Reward.)”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“In terms of drive, all puppies want to chew on everything and jump on everyone. But they don’t distinguish between positive and negative attention, praise versus scolding. That’s why we don’t teach puppies with punishment and no’s. We’re going to stick to positive rewards. The only attention they’ll know is approval, and it will come when they obey as you teach your puppy that nothing in life is free. They might come with their own rambunctious drive, but you’re going to teach them to, in effect, say please and thank you. You’ll teach them to deeply want to act polite in exciting situations, because they will have learned through basic training that they will get love, approval, attention, and treats when they behave. The cost of these goodies is good manners. And the joy they’ll get from your approval will greatly outweigh the chewing and jumping drive they were born with.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Why train a puppy? There are three main reasons: mental stimulation, manners, and safety.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“The period from eight to 16 weeks of age happens to also be the first fear phase in your puppy’s life. They may experience fear, perhaps at meeting strangers with facial hair. Although it’s scary today, it might not be scary in a couple of days or weeks as long as you don’t push it. A bad experience can truly last a lifetime. This is called imprinting.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Your puppy wants to trade up: If they don’t drop the toy in favor of the treat, that means either the toy was too high value or more likely the treat wasn’t motivating enough, or perhaps you forgot that training should be done on an empty stomach. Make sure the treat you offer is more rewarding than the toy, and that your puppy is sufficiently hungry to go for the trade. Yours is the hand that gives: With Drop It, your puppy learns that the only time you take something is when you’re also giving something of great value. And that you never take anything directly from their mouth.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“As soon as you finish, repeat Steps 1 to 3 a few times. In other words, after they eat the treat, give them back their toy. Let them enjoy it for a few moments, and now you’re back at Step 1. This also helps in trust building, since your puppy sees that although you sometimes take away the toy, you also are the one who gives it back.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Before this situation occurs organically, for training purposes let’s artificially create a scenario to teach them to release what’s in their mouth in favor of something better. Step 1: Give your puppy something other than food to have in their mouth. A chew toy or a tug is perfect. Step 2: Put a delicious treat in front of their nose and say Drop It. Don’t use a stern or angry tone of voice. Be very matter-of-fact with no sense of urgency. Step 3: When your puppy drops the toy, say Yes, and pick up the toy as you give them the treat.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“The most important thing to know about preventing food aggression is teaching your puppy that your hand never takes food away. Even if they have something in their mouth they shouldn’t (which your puppy will do; every puppy will at some time put something in their mouth that they shouldn’t), you never ever try to pull it out of their mouth unless it’s a true emergency. If you try to yank food, toys, shoes, or anything out of their mouth, they’re learning the opposite lesson: that you’re not to be trusted, that yours is the hand that takes food away. This lack of trust can cause your puppy to run from you when they have an object in their mouth or even to be afraid of your hands. Worse, this may foster aggression in your puppy. Instead of prying items out of their mouth, you will deal with these inevitable situations by using a barter system and the command Drop It.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Dine together: Since you are likely still crate training, you’ll do this while they’re in their crate with the door open and you seated nearby. You should do it a few times during the first few weeks you have them. If you have other members of your household (anyone other than a too-young child) all of you should take turns doing this a few times each. One kibble at a time: The process is simple. Your puppy is in their crate. Portion out their entire dinner into a bag that you hold in your hand. Feed them a single piece of kibble at a time, letting them take it from the palm of your hand. You can speak to them reassuringly while they dine. That’s it.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“With a new puppy, we have a wonderful opportunity to teach them that yours is the hand that gives and doesn’t take. This is accomplished by hand-feeding their entire meal to them, one piece of kibble at a time.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“If you catch your puppy in the act: Startle them with a nonresponse marker: say Ah ah and clap your hands. If they were caught peeing, they will likely stop midstream. Immediately pick them up and take them to their usual potty spot.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“In the middle of the night: Remember: initially your puppy’s crate is ideally going to be located in your bedroom. So, you’ll hear them when they whine. And you will hear whining, especially during the first few nights when they are lonely and missing their littermates. But they’ll also whine because they have to go to the bathroom and are stressed out about peeing inside the crate where they sleep. Admittedly, at first it’s very difficult to know the difference between lonely whining and potty whining. When you hear whining, wait. If the crate is next to your bed, you can put your hand down next to the crate, so your puppy knows they are not alone. But don’t talk to them. If they calm down, stop whining, and go back to bed, they were just lonely. But if they don’t calm down and continue to whine, or the whining increases, err on the side of caution. Assume they have to pee and take them out of the crate to their designated area. Keep it businesslike—no playful interactions. It should just take a couple of minutes, then they go back in their crate and you go back to bed. If it’s taking more than a couple of minutes, your puppy just wanted your attention, so head back inside and put your puppy in their crate and you in your bed.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“roughly two hours before your own bedtime, you should take away your puppy’s water.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Never punish: If you scold or otherwise punish your puppy for chewing on the wrong thing, this is bad for your relationship, and it will backfire. Punishment will simply encourage your puppy to chew when you are not around, as they will have learned that you are the source of punishment and will avoid this by not chewing in front of you. Instead of punishing, redirect your puppy’s chew drive to a toy and praise, praise, praise.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“•Leave the puppy alone when they are eating. •Don’t take away a toy the puppy is playing with. •Let sleeping puppies lie, including staying away from their crate when they’re inside napping. •Don’t try to ride or pick up the puppy. •Don’t put your face right up to the puppy’s face; this isn’t how puppies greet each other. •Gentle petting is wonderful, but no hugs; puppies may look like they want to be hugged, but they don’t. •Do not pull the puppy’s tail, stick your fingers in their mouth or ears, or touch their paws; all of these things are uncomfortable or unnerving for a puppy.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, and macadamia nuts all are toxic for your puppy. In recent years, the most common human food that causes illness in dogs is sugarless candy and gum containing xylitol. Your puppy can experience serious damage if they ingest xylitol, so don’t leave a purse containing sugarless gum in your home or car where they could root around and get into trouble.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, and macadamia nuts all are toxic for your puppy.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“Around four months of age, when your puppy starts losing their puppy teeth, they’ll need to stick to softer chews such as tendons and sweet potatoes. No split antler, bully sticks, or hard cheese chews.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“An important part of consistency is teaching your puppy your schedule, rather than you learning theirs.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog

“A dog’s brain is unique in that they have a tiny window (about 1.5 seconds) in which to associate an action with its consequence.”
― Zoom Room Dog Training, Puppy Training in 7 Easy Steps: Everything You Need to Know to Raise the Perfect Dog