lifestyle

TIPS ON TRAINING YOUR POOCH

You've done the fun part of having a pup (making their own Insta account, cute selfies, paw tricks), but let's get down to the not-always-so fun: dog training!

Puppy training (let's not forget puppy toilet training) is super important when it comes to looking after your furry friend, so we've gathered all the best tips from certified trainers and Islanders to help them win “best in show” (or at least, “Miss Congeniality”).

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Meet Rex.

“When it came down to training a very excitable puppy, consistency was key. Rex was a lockdown puppy which meant we had all the time in the word, we would do 10 minutes three or four times a day.

Rex learnt visually and responded to the actions I created with my hand first: a fist for down, or a clap for up. Make sure you have their favourite treats and be sure to say the command in the same way, every single time, along with the same action

Meet Wicket and Niffler.

“Treats. Patience. Positivity and no distractions.

Training is a lifelong thing, so they pick up new tricks pretty quickly – it takes five to ten times before they learn a word. The hardest is trying to train them together - individually they're a lot more receptive.”

Meet Django.

“Toilet training a puppy takes a lot of patience; the more rugs you can remove while they're learning, the better.

You need surfaces you can completely clean the smell out of. If they can still smell it there, they'll go there again.”

Meet Sky.

“Tasty treats and positive reinforcement when it comes to training. People think they can train their dogs by telling them off when they do bad stuff, but they have no idea what they're being punished for. It's difficult, but they respond way better to being rewarded for doing it right than punished for doing it wrong."

Meet Mable.

“My best tip and biggest learning was that when my dog barks at people coming by her on the street, she's not trying to protect me, she's actually feeling insecure.

So, I make sure to stand in front of her so the person she looks scared of can't come near her, then reward her for not barking. She has really toned down the barking since.”

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