training

Some basic rules about obedience training:
Training is not as hard as most people think. It is more like a fun game for both the master and the dog. The dog is willing to learn as long as he thinks of the entire process as a game. So violence is not the way to go. A friendly word, or a little snack can work wonders! All it takes is a little patience (remember that dogs are like little kids: it takes time for them to learn basic things), kindness, and a little bit of "dirty tricks" on the owners behalf!!

Teaching your dog to walk beside you (with a leash) :
Picture this : A man taking his dog for a walk in the park, walking slowly and calmly with the dog following his every footstep. Now picture this : A sweaty man, dashing through the park, hopelessly trying to control his frenzy dog! I don't think any of us would like to belong in the second category right?
The first step in "disciplining" your dog's walking habits is made at home. You should put the puppy on the leash and give it some time to get used to it. Then encourage the puppy to walk towards you. If it does so reward it with a snack or pat. If nescessary pull the puppy gently to help it understand what you want it to do. Of course this is the difficult part because the dog will instinctivly pull in the opposite direction! The trick is not to budge from where you're standing. Wait patiently until the dog decides to join you and encourage it every step of the way. You'll evelntually notice that every time you repeat the exercise, the puppy will accomplish it more quickly, so from 10 minutes you'll eventually drop to ten seconds!! Now you're ready to hit the road!

Teaching the puppy to use newspapers as "toilet ground" :
As you can all imagine, this part of a puppies' training is crucial! The puppy must stay at home for the first 30 days (until it gets all the proper shots) so you must teach it not to "heed nature's call" wherever it finds it convenient. You should restrict the puppy in a small space for the first couple of days (let's say a corner in the kitchen), with the floor covered in newspapers. When you let the puppy roam around the house (supervised of course), make sure that whenever it atempts to "poop", you carry it to the newspaper and praise it for using it. Remember two things:
1) The dog tends to use its "least favorite room" as toilet, so occasionally play with the puppy in every room of the house.
2) The dog never excretes near its bed, or food bowl, so make sure the newspapers aren't placed next to these.