How to train a bullheaded puppy

How to train a bullheaded puppy

• Step 1:
  Consider your puppy's breed. Some breeds were developed to work very closely with humans. Most herding and hunting dogs are in this category. Other breeds were bred to work independently, away from humans, like terriers. Some dogs are extremely high energy and easily distracted by smells, like many terrier type breeds. Some dogs are just too plain smart for lots of boring repetition and need short, fun training sessions. Ask yourself, are you trying to get your dog to pay attention when she is simply too full of energy? If so, take her for a good romp first. Maybe she starts out obeying, then acts bullheaded. She might be getting bored, so make training sessions, short, fast and fun. If your dog keeps sniffing the ground and ignoring you, use better treats, or move to another area which doesn't smell as interesting to your puppy.
• Step 2:
  The first thing you need for obedience training a puppy is his attention. If you can't get his attention, he's not going to learn much! Don't get mad at him. Get smart, and figure out what motivates him the best. Some dogs are highly food motivated and respond best to treat rewards. Find a treat he really goes crazy for and ONLY use this for obedience training. Other dogs love to play and chase squeaky toys. If this is your pup, get a really special squeaky toy and only use it for training.<br />You have to figure out what really gets your pup's attention and use that to your advantage.
• Step 3:
  You must set your puppy up to succeed, not to fail. Here's an example. You are trying to teach your puppy to sit, but she only sits for three seconds before getting up again. Instead of getting frustrated because she only sits for three seconds, reward her for sitting for TWO seconds. This is setting her up to succeed, and it is by being rewarded for doing the right thing, rather than being corrected for failure, that she learns. Once she is good with two seconds, increase the time to three seconds. This can take patience, but you have her whole life to learn.
• Step 4:
  Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you tell your puppy SIT and he doesn't sit, do you repeat SIT eight times until he finally sits? By doing this you are teaching him it is OK to wait until you have repeated yourself multiple times. In other words, he is doing exactly what you are teaching him to do! Tell him SIT just once. Hold the treat over his head and gently push down on his rump until he sits. Then reward him. Always use the same word. Don't say SIT one time, and SIT DOWN the next time. This is confusing your puppy.
• Step 5:
  Use hand signals as well as voice commands. In general dogs pay more attention to our tone and body language than to the words we use. By pairing your command word to a hand signal (always use precisely the same signal) your puppy will have a better expectation of what you want her to do. Always be very clear and consistent.
• Step 6:
  Sometimes a puppy isn't bullheaded but just too full of energy to concentrate. Enjoy a walk or play time with him before training sessions to take the edge off. Remember to keep training sessions very short and intense to keep his attention. During TV commercials is a great time to do some quick practices. Don't let him get bored with lots of repetition and drilling. Short and intense works the best.
• Step 7:
  Puppies can get distracted very easily because they are just babies. When you do training sessions, choose a time and place away from other people, dogs, and interesting smells to begin with. After she understands the basics, you can let her practice with distractions around. Remember you want to set her up to succeed, not fail.