Learning Good Manners
Bad manners occur when a puppy has not been taught how to behave in a way that is socially acceptable to others that it lives with or comes into contact with. Puppies that are allowed to please themselves often turn into adults that act on impulse without worrying about the consequences of their actions and can be extremely difficult to live with.
What can go wrong?
Prevention is better than a cure
If your puppy does not yet have bad habits, try very hard not to let them find out how rewarding it can be to behave badly. This means, for example, never allowing them the opportunity to jump up and raid kitchen surfaces or the table, preventing them from jumping up when visitors call at the house, and never allowing them to chase the cat or bark at birds in the garden.
Try to think ahead and predict what could go wrong, then make sure it doesn’t happen. Stopping your puppy from behaving badly and learning how good this feels for the first year of their life will mean that they don’t attempt these unacceptable behaviours at a later date. The bad habit simply won’t be there.
Stop bad habits
If your puppy already has a few bad habits, it is important to find ways to cease the unwanted behaviour immediately. You can do this by managing your puppy’s movement around the house and garden by means of training aids such as stair gates and house lines. Punishment isn’t necessary if you can prevent the bad behaviour from being practiced in the first place.
Ideally prevention of unwanted behaviours e.g. jumping up or leaping onto work surfaces or tables searching for food, involves stopping the behaviour either before or while your puppy is thinking about it, rather than after they have started trying to do it. This is the first step in removing the bad habit from their mind.
Show your puppy how to be good
At the same time, teach your puppy what you would prefer they do instead. Train them to sit and wait instead of barging you out of the way at the door, or to wait patiently for their dinner instead of knocking it out of your hand as they charge forward to get it.
Start with the small bad habits that you can manage easily and be insistent and persistent to make sure it is very clear to your puppy what you want. Then tackle more difficult issues later.
As soon as your puppy does what is required, reward them well with whatever it is they wanted, whether that is freedom to go outside, praise from you, a game or a tasty treat. Make sure the reward is as good or better than the reward they would have got if they had behaved badly. This will ensure that, over time, as you begin to change bad habits by not allowing them to occur, the new rewarding habits will quickly take hold.
Long term improvements
If you teach your puppy how to behave well in this way, they will gradually begin to behave more acceptably. You are likely to have setbacks along the way where they seem to have forgotten everything, but this is normal (especially when they reach their teenage stage). But gradually you will see big changes and because you have trained them positively so that they enjoy behaving well, those changes will be permanent.
Find the Perfect Puppy Class Near You
Discover small, friendly classes across the UK led by our expert, professional Puppy School Tutors. Get hands-on advice and support, to ensure your puppy gets the best start with positive, reward-based training.
Find a Puppy Class Today
Testimonials
What Clients say
about Puppy School
-
“Attending puppy school had allowed Ozzy to learn new skills. During the classes Sarah and Adam were very friendly and always on hand to offer good advice and tips. They were also very understanding of Ozzy's needs as he can be a nervous at times.”— Susan
-
“Very enjoyable course with Sally being extremely calm , friendly and informative. She explained and demonstrated each task very well, it’s purpose and what practice should be done and how often. She was also very reassuring and encouraging if the puppy (or owner!) didn’t quite do things correctly.”— Annie
-
“Excellent puppy classes. Claire was a brilliant tutor. My husband who has never attended puppy classes really learnt a lot. I built on my previous experience whilst also learning new techniques which I found invaluable.”— Jonathan
-
“Very informative, very friendly environment. Cat put me and Betty as ease right away and she was extremely approachable if I had any concerns or queries. ”— Ross
-
“Puppy School has been an all round excellent package from start to finish but the greatest asset to this training was Sally! Sally was calm, clear and responsive to us all so you feel you get the benefit from being in a group of handlers and puppies with all the benefits of that but also individual attention to support you and your puppies specific needs/issues. Banjo is a nervous puppy, Sally was very sensitive to this and managed situations so Banjo benefitted from all the training exercises and interaction in a very positive way. She also gave me lots of support in how to help him outside of class. It was also brilliant to have a booklet and online access at home to watch reminder supporting material videos of the things taught in each session. There were also a range of vouchers and free trial bags of different foods which has proven helpful in determining what works for Banjo. I have had several puppies over the years, and have been to several classes, this has been the best experience yet for both me and my puppy. Thanks especially to Sally! ”— Maria