I'm not going to pretend that having a new puppy is easy - it's not!

For most people, puppy parenting is exhausting, stressful, frustrating and wonderful in equal measure.

To keep things simple and manageable, I wanted to share three golden rules which will make life a lot easier and help set you and your puppy up for success in the future.

1. Reward the behaviours you like

This is really easy once you start thinking this way. You could put a portion of your puppy's daily food allowance to one side or use some tiny treats to simply capture and reward any behaviours that you see that you like. Dogs will repeat behaviours that pay off so you end up getting more of what you like. Of course, you don't have to reward with food every time: if your puppy loves a chest rub or the opportunity to play with a toy, those count as rewards too. When deciding what to reward, think about what behaviours you would like your puppy to do as an adult, such as sitting patiently or coming towards you when you call them. Easy! Lots of people are pretty good at doing this but what most people forget to do is to reward absences of undesirable behaviour (i.e.. for once, your puppy didn't bite your slipper as you were putting it on) and calm emotional states (e.g. your puppy settles down in their bed for a nap or to watch the world go by). This might feel like you are rewarding 'nothing' (and is therefore harder for people to get their head around) but that is just as important if you have a very lively puppy but want to have a calm, relaxed adult dog. Don't be surprised if, to begin with, the reward then gets them excited (and you wish you hadn't bothered!) - they soon get the idea. This works with adult dogs too but is much easier if we start off this way with puppies.

2. Ignore the behaviours you don't like

Remember, dogs will repeat behaviours that 'pay off' so every time your puppy gets your attention for doing something you'd rather they didn't, you are probably inadvertently reinforcing this behaviour.... making it more likely that they will do it again and again. Ignoring unwanted behaviour (as long as it is safe to do so) is a useful strategy with young puppies. NB. If you have an older dog, with a long-standing habit, this may not be the best strategy as it can lead to frustration.

3. Manage (prevent) the behaviours that you can't (or shouldn't) ignore

Points 1 and 2 are important but, without management (point 3), then it will all come tumbling down. There are some behaviours that is is not safe to ignore (eg. your puppy has picked up a piece of broken glass or is chewing on an electric cable) . There are others that it would be unwise to ignore because they are self-reinforcing (this means that your dog will enjoy doing them, regardless of whether you give them attention for it or not). Such behaviours might include digging in the garden, running off to play with other dogs, jumping up at people, chewing on your skirting boards etc. You could ignore these behaviours all you like and your dog will still be having great fun, thereby making them more likely to do it again in the future. So, management is all about preventing your puppy from practising behaviours that you don't want them to do, whilst working on teaching them the behaviours that you do want. This is where things like puppy pens, leads, house lines and long lines come in. However, we must also think about giving the puppy an outlet for the behaviours that they need to perform and keep them busy and mentally stimulated with things like food puzzle toys, chews and kongs.

Your puppy is learning all the time so don't fall into the trap of thinking that the only important bits are when you're doing a 'training session'. You only get to do puppy-hood once with your dog - don't waste the opportunity to get it right. If you keep these three key ideas in mind, you won't go too far wrong (however exhausted you are!)

I hope this helps!

If you do want more advice from a professional dog trainer then get in touch below

Claire x