Congratulations, you’ve got a new puppy (or a maybe even new adult dog)! Your first training priority will be to teach is “the basics”, right? Sit, come, lie down, stay in front of the food bowl? Not so fast! Yes, these are all valuable skills for your new puppy or dog, but they are probably NOT at the top of the list.
I don’t care if your 10-week-old puppy can sit. I care if your puppy likes people! If your pup is friendly and at ease, it isn’t important whether if they can sit on cue.
Cues like sit, down and stay are all obedience skills. When you give a specific cue or signal, your dog responds by moving to the correct position. This can be Responding to cues is important, but what is more important is your dogs general behavior.
Most of your interactions with your dog do not involve giving cues. It just involves being together. What your dog does when not being cued is its general behavior, and that is where you should start.
So here are the top four things I think you should be working on with your new pup or newly adopted older dog.
House Training
The No. 1 reason dogs are given up is going to the bathroom in the house. This is definitely a priority that everyone can agree on.
Socialization
Remember, socialization is not the ability to play with the neighbor dog or being friendly to Uncle Ted. Socialization is the ability to easily adapt to new circumstances. The only way to do this is to follow a socialization protocol and get your puppy out.
Relationship
Play with your dog! Spend a few weeks playing, learning what your new dog likes and doesn’t like. Teach them that you are super awesome and relevant to them. In dog training, relationship is everything.
Play and Exercise
Figure out how much exercise your dog really needs and devise some fun ways to meet those needs. Walks are great for socialization but generally do not meet any dog’s exercise needs.
Once you have these four things figured out, then you will have a strong foundation to dive into structured training.
Originally published on ArlNow.com, January 2015
