That adorable face… those tiny paws… that wagging tail.  A puppy can melt your heart in an instant – leaving you feeling like all you want to do is spoil him rotten.

However, that’s not fair to either of you.

If you want your little “fur baby” to grow up to be happy and healthy, you will need to learn how to train a puppy.  Basic puppy training tips can help you and your new addition live a happy life together – even if you just want him to obey simple commands.

Do You Know How to Train a Puppy?

It’s actually a little bit different from training an adult dog.  Training a puppy has to start with socialization.  Unlike adult dogs, which are already used to being around people, puppies have to start their training by understanding that it’s OK to be around people.

Luckily, puppies tend to learn very quickly; in many cases, they learn faster than adult dogs.  When you’re training a puppy, you can consider him to be like an energetic little “sponge” for knowledge.

Above all else, training a puppy needs to be a positive experience.  When done correctly, training can strengthen the bond between you and your puppy.  Never yell or use physical violence to train your puppy.  Humans don’t respond well to negative behaviors, and neither do puppies!

What Are the Best Puppy Training Techniques?

While you are going to hear all about leashes, crates, and clickers, learning how to train a puppy comes down to mastering these 4 basic things:

• Telling your puppy when he’s doing something he shouldn’t be – without yelling and screaming.
• Showing your puppy what you want him to do and associating the action with a specific word – like “sit” or “come”.
• Rewarding your puppy when he does what you want him to do.
• Getting your puppy to repeat the action.

However, you can’t master these puppy training techniques without taking advantage of some expert advice to help you get started.

Before you sit your puppy down for a training session for the first time, be sure that you totally understand these 5 puppy training tips:

Start With Housetraining

A puppy training tips go, this one is pretty basic!  After all, having a puppy that can sit, stay, and fetch doesn’t do you any good if he is using your house as his own personal toilet.  Before you work on anything else, you have to get your puppy’s potty issues under control.  Not doing so makes your home unsanitary and unhealthy for everyone who lives there.

Make Sure Your Puppy is in the Right Mood

Puppies can be fascinating little fireballs, but all of that fun puppy excitement doesn’t make for a good training session.  If your puppy is hyper, he won’t be able to sit still long enough to be trained.  Conversely, when puppies get tired, they aren’t in the mood to learn new things, either.

If you want to learn how to train a puppy the right way, you will have to learn how to decipher his moods.  Otherwise, you will just waste everyone’s time and create a lot of unnecessary frustration.

If your puppy seems alert and ready to be trained, take him for a walk before you start your training session.  That way, he’ll get rid of any excess energy there – instead of while you’re trying to make him focus.  Once you do get started, stick to short training sessions.  Less than 10 minutes is best.

Have Treats on Hand

Puppies learn best when they are rewarded for positive behavior – instead of punished for bad behavior.  So, when your puppy does what he’s supposed to during training – like sitting or fetching – give him a treat and lots of praise.  Since he wants to make you happy (and eat those yummy treats!), he’ll keep following your commands.

Don’t Forget to Focus on Prevention

This is one of the puppy training tips that most people overlook, but it’s an important one.  Your puppy is seeing everything for the first time.  However, his curiosity can get him into trouble.  If, for example, you don’t want to have to punish him for chewing on your Oriental rug, put up a baby gate that prevents him from going into the living room in the first place.

Don’t Start Too Soon

Most puppy owners are so eager to get started on their training that they don’t realize they’re actually starting too soon.  If your puppy is less than 8 weeks old, all of the puppy training tips in the world won’t help; he’s simply too young to follow commands.  If you try to train him too early, you’ll simply frustrate both of you – and that’s never a good thing!