Train yourself first, then your dog!

This is Rixy!

It all begins with attitude.

Whether you think you can, or think you can’t — you’re right! —- Henry Ford

Training your puppy into a well behaved dog starts with teaching yourself how to convey the proper messages to your dog. If you roll around on the floor with your puppy and let him chew on your hair and pin you to the ground, he will think he is the leader of the pack and is the dominant one. At the start of raising a puppy it is best to get them comfortable being in the submissive position, calmly laying on their back.

Dogs respect strong leaders. It’s ok to give your dog plenty of love and affection, but don’t let them walk all over you with bad behavior, especially as a puppy.

I’ve heard it said that you have about 7 seconds from the time a dog does an act (good or bad) for the dog to associate your response to his action. That means if he chews up your couch while you are gone, it will likely not do much good to scold him later on an action he did hours ago. If he continues to chew while you are home, that would be your window of opportunity to correct and present a better option (a chew toy, rawhide bone, etc.) with praise. Also be smart, don’t leave a puppy in a position where he can do damage unsupervised.