Separating the myths from the facts! Learn about common puppy training myths that maybe even you have believed to be true! Our trainers are ready to debunk these misconceptions and help guide you in the right direction.
The internet is full of would-be “professionals” when it comes to many subjects, and puppy training is no exception! The amount of misinformed training advice out there is definitely staggering! Puppy training has really developed throughout the years and adopted new methods from some traditional techniques practiced in the past. At The Puppy Academy, we utilize positive reinforcement and reward-based training methods, matched with a high degree of dog psychology and understanding of dog behavior in order to help develop well-mannered pups! We’ve heard a lot of puppy training myths throughout the years and wanted to help new owners know the difference between myths and the facts!
@finley.and.franklin
Myth #1: Be the Alpha
This concept goes back to the 70’s drawing from studies on wolf pack dynamics and applying them to domestic dogs with the association of strong dominance. Although not all the concepts surrounding these studies ring as true today, what can be taken from them is the importance of being a good leader for your puppy.
Truthfully, puppies seek leadership and communication from their owner and strive for structure. They’ll look to you for guidance at figuring out their routine and place within the home, and when leadership is lacking, puppies become their own leader. Establishing structure early on by creating a puppy schedule, starting puppy training, and creating boundaries in your home will help develop your relationship with your puppy and build their sense of security knowing their needs are being met!
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Myth #2: Tug Games Develop Aggression
Tug games can lead to overconfidence in pups, which can sometimes be perceived as aggression, because of an increase in growling and nipping that can come along as a result of over-stimulation during play.
The fact is, games like this can actually help puppies exercise, burn off excess energy, and stimulate their brains. You can even incorporate puppy training as part of the game to teach your puppy important basic obedience commands such as Drop-it!
Additionally, you can also use the opportunity to work on bite inhibition by showing your puppy that biting the toy, not your hand, is the right way to play!
Myth #3: If Your Puppy Walks Ahead of You, They Are Asserting Dominance
Walking ahead, darting through a doorway first...heard these before?
There are a few reasons not to want our pups to lead first, but dominance isn’t necessarily the main issue. For one, it displaces leadership between you and your pup, where your pup now becomes the leader deciding which way they go, and you become the follower. Second, we want our pups to take their cues from you, their leader, which is why we encourage walking in the Heel position.
Lastly, a puppy that pulls or darts through doors is a safety issue to both your puppy and you, as they could run into a busy street or pull hard on their leash causing you to fall. By teaching your pup how to sit and wait in thresholds, they will learn to check in with you and wait for your cue before exiting calmly.
All it takes is a little patience and consistency, but you can teach your puppy to walk nicely beside you on a loose leash.
Myth #4: Rub Your Pup’s Nose in Their Potty Accident
The idea behind this myth is to teach your puppy that going potty in the house is bad! But in reality, when you do find their accident, chances are it’s been a while and your puppy has already forgotten and moved onto something else! Rubbing their nose in it will only tell them that you’re angry at them for something and they won’t make the connection. Your pup might even start to secretly go potty without you watching so this form of reprimanding inadvertently causes even more potty accidents in the house!
Instead, just clean it up! That’s all. No need to get upset or scold your puppy unnecessarily. Learn from that incident and focus on potty training your puppy to go outside! Creating a puppy schedule that has frequent potty breaks in between eating, nap time, and playtime throughout the day will help your puppy become more regular so you can start to predict when they need to go out. Remember, puppies bladders are still small and they haven’t quite learned how to hold it yet. So the more chances you give them to go potty outside, the fewer chances of potty accidents inside!
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Myth #5: Your Puppy Misbehaved to Spite You
Imagine you left your puppy alone only to come back home and find that all of your potted plants have been dug up and spread across the living room carpet! The puppy must have been angry at you for leaving them! Sounds silly, right? That’s because it is! Spite is a complex emotion that puppies are simply just not capable of.
Puppies don’t plan out complex revenge plots against you but they can exhibit “bad” behaviors for other rational reasons. A puppy that chews shoes or digs up the potted plants is either showing signs of boredom and found something more interesting to occupy their time or there could be other factors such as teething or separation anxiety!
With any new puppy, it's important to give them safe boundaries within the home and the right supervision! Giving your puppy chew toys, keeping them in a confined area such as a playpen or crate, and watching them or having someone like a pet sitter come and watch them when they are younger, are all steps you can take to avoid puppy destruction at home!
Myth #6: They’ll Grow Out of It
Through maturity, some pups can get past certain issues. However, it’s not something you should rely on! As puppies grow, they develop habits and need to be shown what is right and wrong. It’s important to work with your puppy from a young age to ensure those issues you’re experiencing do not persist through adolescence. If they do, they most often become worse.
So that puppy who is allowed to mouth, can grow up into a mouthy adult dog. The puppy who is allowed to chew on anything, can grow up to chew on anything they choose to. And the small puppy that is allowed to jump up on people, learns it’s still ok to jump on guests as a larger, heavier adult dog.
Puppy training will help you mitigate those bad behaviors. Through the use of basic obedience commands, you will be able to effectively communicate with your puppy, and start to teach your puppy good manners they will carry with them throughout their life.
Myth #7: Spending Too Much Time With Your Puppy Creates Separation Anxiety
Puppies are very social and love to spend time with their families! This myth comes down to HOW you are spending all that time with your puppy rather than how MUCH time you’re spending together.
We’re all at home a bit more these days and getting to spend extra quality time with your pup, especially if you just brought them home, is great for building a trusting bond! And while spending time with your puppy doesn’t create separation anxiety, it’s not preparing them for the time when you do need to leave them alone, which might create the problem.
It’s super important that puppies learn how to be alone. Creating their own space like their crate or playpen where they feel safe and secure away from you can help with this, and also help in developing their independence and confidence.
Puppies that exhibit separation anxiety will bark, whine, or even chew to help them cope with suddenly being left alone. If your puppy is with you 24/7, put them in their crate or playpen for short periods of time throughout the day and leave them alone by going to a different room in your home. Do this a few times each day until your puppy starts to feel comfortable being left alone and doesn’t react to you leaving. Eventually, you can start to extend the period of time you leave your puppy alone!
Myth #8: You Can’t Train Certain Breeds
Some breeds are just too stubborn to learn. Puppy training isn’t for every pup!
This could not be farther from the truth! Regardless of breed or background, every puppy can learn and benefit from puppy training. Many new owners don’t give their puppy enough time or try to understand how else they could motivate their puppy and then simply give up. It’s true, some breeds do take longer to train and aren’t driven by the same types of rewards but all that means is that you need to refocus and try something different!
Food or play driven, a professional puppy trainer will be able to identify what motivates your puppy to learn. Once you figure that part out, you’ll be able to use their individual drive to your advantage and use it as a reward for learning new basic commands! It comes down to taking the time to understand your puppy’s individual breed needs and patience when teaching your puppy something new!
DO YOU THINK YOUR PUPPY IS UNTRAINABLE? JUMPING, BITING, CHEWING, AND MORE? LET US HELP!
Myth #9: Comforting Your Puppy Reinforces Fear
Imagine being a small puppy and hearing roaring thunder outside or fireworks for the first time, only to be left alone in a big new house! That whole scenario is pretty scary and it’s no wonder puppies seek out the warmth and security of their people. But many suggest otherwise and that ignoring their fear can help them overcome it.
This isn’t so much a myth as it is a misunderstanding of the difference between comforting and coddling. Coddling your puppy can promote fear, whereas working your puppy in a comforting way through situations can help create understanding.
For example, picking up your puppy every single time they are nervous and trying to soothe them by lots of petting and cooing at them, can reinforce their reaction to the “scary” scenario and create the association for them to react in the same way when they encounter the same or similar thing in the future.
But, by taking on a coaching mentality where you are more firm and encouraging with your pup (think of a track coach!) your energy is more confident and assertive. And by giving them just your presence and some reassuring pats instead of continuous pets (think “good job pal!” instead of “oh my poor baby”), your pup can feed off your confidence and feel more reassured through the scary situation, than more scared of it if they were to come across it again.
Have you heard of more puppy training myths? Or do you have a question about training your puppy? Drop us a comment below! Our goal is to help new puppy owners navigate the challenges of puppyhood so we’re ready to help debunk some misconceptions around puppy training and share our tips!
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