So you finally found the pup you wanted. Congratulations! Let the fun begin. Training a pup is quite straight forward, consistency and repetition are the key words, if everyone that comes into contact with the pup acts and treats it the same it won’t take long for you to have a well trained dog.

Courtney and Jack produced these wee cracking Foxy pups

Before even picking the pup up it’s a good idea to work a few things out with everyone that will be involved, everyone needs to understand consistency is very important.
When pup is going to be walked on a lead what side will it be on?
Can everyone whistle? Are you going to clap your hands instead of a whistle. What whistles are going to be used to do what with a command?
Is there going to be hand signals used? What hand signals for what command?
If everyone knows the commands and uses them properly pup will not get confused so will learn much quicker.

If you are picking the pup up on the day of choosing or have picked it out earlier on the day of pickup make sure the breeder does NOT feed the pup if you have any distance to travel.
The reason for this is so simple, a belly full of food and a new pup possibly travelling for the first time very often leads to a car sick pup. If this happens it can put them off the vehicle so instilling an issue to begin with, water is fine but no food.
Make sure the pup has had a really good run when you pick it up so it gets a good chance to empty out, that and a tired pup will go to sleep quickly once the car is moving.

The reason for me starting these posts about dog training is fairly simple. I have a lot of dogs for work and breed replacements with extras being sold. That and the odd accident happens, namely sometimes I don’t notice a bitch has come on heat till it’s to late and some bastard dog has been into her already.

Have fun with that new pup.
Stephen