Along with training your puppy to sit, come, stay and a host of other commands, you must also teach him to listen to you. This is not done in a separate training session but during training for other skills. It is importatnt that your puppy always listens to your commands. You can begin training your puppy for listening and other skills anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks of age. Just remember that they don̵7;t have long attention spans at this age, so keep training sessions short.
Things You'll Need
- Leash
- Treats
- Quiet Area
Instructions
Put a loose leash on your puppy and take it to a quiet area without a lot of distractions. If there are too many distractions, your puppy won̵7;t pay attention to you or listen to your command.
Deliver your command in a calm, decisive tone. It should be clear and audible, but you should not shout the command. Shouting just trains the puppy to listen only when you are shouting. If you deliver your commands consistently in a normal speaking voice, this will train your puppy to listen carefully. Additionally, shouting during training will attach a negative feeling to the training, and your puppy will come to dread training time.
Say the command only once and reward or ignore your puppy depending on his reaction. Do not repeat the command over and over. That would teach your puppy that they don̵7;t have to listen to you the first time and can take their sweet time responding. You should always use the same word for the command every time in order not to confuse your puppy.
Praise in a happy voice so your puppy knows the difference between command and reward. This also helps him practice his listening skills. You can also give him treat while praising him. Do not use a treat every time, though, as your puppy should learn that verbal praises are just as good.
Stop the session after a few minutes. Puppies don̵7;t have long attention spans, and a long training session will only make them overly tired and nonresponsive. They̵7;ll start giving you substandard responses that, if you praise, will only encourage them to respond with substandard behavior later on.