I’ve been where you are – you’ve just adopted your new fur puppy. Everything is great, but his wild side kicks in now and then, and you want to learn how to discipline a puppy, without punishing your little fella. And the first moments in their new home are important to lay down some ground rules.
In this article, I’ll cover the most common challenges of raising a puppy and how to overcome them – using personal examples, recommendations from experts, and practical steps you can take to make positive changes right away, and master how to discipline a puppy.
My story on puppy training
He was cute – the kind that makes you audibly go “aww.” He was 6 weeks old, and when I went to get a Thanksgiving turkey one year, the farm had a litter from their working dogs. A border collie and an Australian shepherd mix.
The farm was just handing the puppies out, and I was lucky enough to find Ranger. My new pup and I immediately went home, turkey was the last thing on my mind. I went to the local pet store and grabbed some basics like a dog bowl, some food, and a toy to keep him busy.
I lived on the 4th floor of an old Tudor home at the time, and wasn’t allowed to have pets. I didn’t care, who could resist my cute merle puppy with one blue eye? In the course of my first 60 minutes home, I quickly realized how difficult it is to clean shag carpet.
That’s right, 6-week-old Ranger, the Border Aussie from the farm didn’t know the rules about where to go to the bathroom, and I was now frantically cleaning a mess out of my carpet.
I tucked Ranger into the bathroom on the tile for a bit and headed off to Google to do some research. After some serious digital digging, I found a great resource on how to specifically handle potty-training accidents.
It wasn’t through freaking out, yelling, or any sort of loud behavior.
The key was to quickly get him outside at the moment and give him the biggest puppy party every time he went to the bathroom outside.
In other words, rewarding good behavior, but to the nth degree.
He went to the bathroom in the house the same day once again, but I was able to catch him mid-pee – I lifted him up like Simba being raised over the pride, and rushed down four flights of stairs to a patch of grass.
He finished his business. And I started going wild in celebration – clapping, high-pitched voices, running and chasing. Treats. The whole ordeal. He loved it. And I swear on Ranger, that was the last time as a puppy he went to the bathroom in the house.
Not every discipline matter was this easy, but I’m so grateful that I stumbled on the foundation of rewarding good behavior and ignoring your dog when they exhibit bad behavior so early on. It made a world of difference.
Potty training was my cross to bear with Ranger as a puppy, but there are others as well.
The three most common challenges every puppy parent faces
1. Potty training your puppy
You’ve heard my story already, but this is a super common challenge that a puppy pet parent will face.
Puppies need to be taken outside frequently to relieve themselves, and if they aren’t trained, they may begin to relieve themselves inside the home.
This can be a huge challenge for new puppy owners, and it’s important to start potty training as soon as possible.
2. Biting and aggression in puppies
Puppies may bite or show aggression when they are excited or playing, but this can be a problem if it continues into adulthood.
It’s important to start training your puppy early, on how to control their biting and aggression.
3. Obedience issues with puppies
Finally, another common challenge is obedience. Puppies may not always listen to their owners, and this can be frustrating.
It’s important to start training your puppy early on how to obey commands. This will make it easier for them to learn as they get older.
We’ve all been there…
If you’re like most new puppy parents, you’re struggling with how to discipline your new puppy. It’s hard enough to potty train them, but when they start biting and showing aggression, it feels like things are spinning out of control.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You heard my tale, and I’m here to help talk you through it.
Let’s start with some basics shall we?
The difference between discipline and punishment?
The main difference is that if you are going to discipline a puppy you are focused on teaching, whereas punishing a puppy is focused on dishing out negative consequences in response to bad behavior.
In other words, if you are going to discipline a puppy, you’ll want to reinforce good behavior through reward. While punishment is about trying to stop bad behavior through negative consequences such as verbal scolding or even worse.
The importance of disciplining instead of punishing
One of the most important things to remember is that punishment will not help your puppy learn what is expected of them. It’s a bit of a selfish thing that people do.
It’s also an immature way to vent when losing your cool and shouting, but it doesn’t work and is a destructive habit. It can often have the opposite effect, making the puppy scared of you and confused about what it is they did wrong.
Disciplining a puppy, however, is about teaching them the right way to behave, so that they can grow into well-behaved dogs.
Start this training on day one if you can, they are still young and impressionable, and they will learn the correct behaviors from the beginning.
Understanding puppy behavior
Puppies get into mischief. It’s important to remember that they are still learning about the world and what is acceptable behavior.
For example, biting and mouthing are natural behaviors for puppies, as they use their mouths to explore their surroundings. This shouldn’t be treated as aggressive biting, but if consistent and other signs of aggression pop up, it’s something you’ll want to address.
Helping your puppy understand the rules
One example on how to handle puppies biting is to let your puppy play with your hands. They do have sharp puppy teeth so be smart here, but if they are playfully biting, keep having fun.
If at any moment they bite too hard or show aggression, remove your hand and act as though it hurts. Make winces and “ouch” noises. And discontinue that type of play for a while.
When you resume and they are at it again but playing gently this time, really engage and reward them for being gentle – a toy or treat here can go a long way. If they get aggressive again, run the fake hurting act again. Rinse and repeat.
This is a solid way to get through any sort of biting issues with puppies because it goes right back to rewarding the good behavior and dismissing the fun when bad behavior is introduced.
So, how do you discipline a puppy then?
You’ll need to prioritize teaching your puppy what behaviors are acceptable, and which ones are not. This is done through a combination of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.
Reference the hand example above.
What is puppy punishment?
Puppy punishment is any form of discipline that involves using negative consequences in response to bad behavior. This could be anything from scolding your puppy to hitting them (that’s a hard one to write…)
If I had started screaming at Ranger after he bit too hard while playing with my hand, that would be punishment
So, how do you discipline a puppy without punishing?
It’s all about reinforcement – and there are two types of reinforcement training for disciplining a puppy – one is positive and one is negative, but neither involves physical punishment or verbal scolding.
How to use reinforcement training with your puppy
Reinforcement dog training is the process of teaching a dog new behaviors through the use of positive or negative reinforcement. Master this and you will have the best-behaved pup on the block.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is positive reinforcement?
Simply put, positive reinforcement is when you reward your puppy for displaying the desired behavior. This could be in the form of treats, petting, or verbal praise. For example, if you are teaching your puppy to sit, you would give them a treat every time they sit on command.
When Ranger was a puppy, I carried a pouch on my belt that was filled with tiny treats. I know, I looked super cool I’m sure. When leash training, I would wear it, and every time he sat when we stopped walking he would get a treat.
He still does this today, just with no treats.
What is negative reinforcement?
At its core, negative reinforcement hinges on not acknowledging the presence of your puppy. For example, if your puppy is biting your blankets, you would quickly remove the blanket from its mouth and ignore them for a few moments.
Positive and negative reinforcement in action
Remember, the goal is to teach your puppy desired behaviors, not to punish them. With that in mind, it’s important to only use positive reinforcement when they are displaying the desired behavior and to only use negative reinforcement when they are engaging in negative behavior.
For positive behavior, you want to reward your puppy immediately after they display the desired behavior. For negative behavior, you want to remove the unpleasant stimulus (ignoring, leash) as quickly as possible.
Stopping bad puppy behaviors
Stop bad behaviors as quickly as you can – they can spiral and shift from nuisance to problematic. The following are some of the most common behaviors you’re going to run into as a new puppy parent.
How to stop your puppy from biting?
If your puppy is aggressively biting your hand, for instance, you want to quickly remove your hand from their mouth and ignore them for a few moments, just like in the example toward the top of this article. You can even make noises as you remove that show it hurts, even if it doesn’t.
This will teach them that biting leads to the removal of your hand, which is not something they want.
How to stop puppy aggression?
If your puppy is growling or showing aggression, you want to quickly remove yourself from the situation and ignore them for a few moments – or place in a time out scenario.
This will teach them that aggression leads to the removal of your attention, which is not something they want. Remember, puppies are primarily motivated by your attention.
Removing that is one of the worst things they could imagine.
How to potty train a puppy?
Potty training is all about establishing a regular schedule. You want to take your puppy out to potty at the same times every day, and reward them for doing their business outside.
Eventually they will learn that this is the desired behavior.
I’m not a huge fan of the “pee pads” for most circumstances. Many people use them as a crutch, and it most often undermines potty training. But there are exceptions, like being away from your puppy for an extended period of time.
Be consistent with your rewards and ignoring behaviors when reinforcement training.
Here are some amazing resources on reinforcing the right behaviors from your puppy:
- The AKC’s “Teach Your Puppy These 5 Basic Cues”
- Reader’s Digest “How to Train a Puppy: The First 8 Things You Need to Do”
- I Heart Dogs “The First 10 Lessons To Teach Your New Puppy”
What if your puppy isn’t listening?
One of the most important aspects of puppy training is making sure your puppy listens to you. If they don’t, it can be difficult to get them to stop bad behaviors or learn new tricks.
There are endless ways to improve your puppy’s listening skills, but I find these 5 the most effective.
1. Start with basic commands
Before you shift into complicated dog training, start with basic commands like sit, stay, come, and down.
Sure I’d have liked Ranger to have gone and grabbed me a drink from the fridge at 3 months old, but it’s just unrealistic. Build up to the super cool stuff.
Because, the basic commands like sitting and staying, are actually important in scary scenarios. For instance, if your pup gets off-leash on a walk near a busy road.
I’d rather have him listen to sit far more than the fridge trick in that case – wouldn’t you?
Once your puppy masters these basics, you’ll have a better foundation to work with for more difficult tricks. This will teach him that doing simple things yields rewards.
2. Get all puppy energy out beforehand
A tired puppy is a good puppy. If you try to train your puppy when they’re bouncing off the walls, it’s likely not going to go well. So make sure you’ve given them plenty of chances to run around and burn off energy before settling down for a training session.
A good game of fetch or tug-of-war is a great way to tire them out. This will help them focus and be more receptive to training.
3. Keep training sessions short
Puppies have short attention spans, so it’s important to keep your training sessions short and sweet.
Around 5-10 minutes is usually a good amount of time. If you try to do too much at once, your puppy is likely to get overwhelmed and tune you out.
This is another reason it’s important to start with basic commands – they’re quick and easy to learn. Once you’ve got their attention, you can move on to more difficult tricks.
4. Be consistent
f you are constantly changing what you’re asking of your puppy, they will get confused and won’t know what is expected of them. I’ve made some serious mistakes here.
If you have a new partner or someone in your house that hasn’t been there since day one of training with your dog, make sure you educate them on commands your dog knows.
Also, don’t constantly repeat a command – say it one time, and if your pup doesn’t listen, go into negative reward. Consistency on this is crucial.
5. Seek professionals
If you’re struggling to get your puppy to listen, it may be helpful to find a qualified dog trainer.
There’s no shame in this game. They will be able to give you specific advice for your situation and help you troubleshoot any problems you’re having. I did this when Ranger was young because I wanted him to be well-trained, to the point where we could walk off-leash. It was the best money I have ever spent.
Getting your puppy to listen is 90% about you knowing how to communicate properly (again this is where consistency is key).
A good professional dog trainer can coach you through this.
And that’s how to discipline a puppy…
Disciplining a puppy doesn’t have to involve punishment in the traditional sense – that is, verbal or physical. Reinforcement training is the most effective way to get your puppy to learn the right behaviors.
This includes making sure they are well-exercised before training sessions, keeping sessions short and consistent, and seeking professional help if necessary.
Following these tips will set your puppy up for success and help you avoid any future behavioral problems.
FAQ
Q: What should I do if my puppy won’t listen?
A: Make sure you are being consistent with your commands and rewards. If you are constantly changing what you’re asking of your puppy, they will get confused and won’t know what is expected of them.
It may also be helpful to seek professional help from a qualified dog trainer.
Q: How to potty train a puppy?
A: There are a number of different methods you can use to potty train your puppy. The most important thing is to be consistent with whatever method you choose.
Some people opt for crate training, others use a designated potty area outside, and some use a combination of both. Whichever method you choose, the key is to be patient and consistent.