There is much more to owning a dog than you might think. Cute cuddly puppies can grow into out of control adult dogs if you don’t take the time to train and shape the behaviour of your dog.

Here’s a useful mini training guide to help you get started.

·         Getting to know your puppy

Keep your new dog as calm as possible when you take it home for the first time. It can be overwhelming for a new dog to come into a home with lots of people, noises, smells and sights. Introduce the dog to your family slowly. Most children love animals and can get overexcited. If your dog gets frightened, back off and leave it alone for a while. Let your dog get familiar with its new home before you take it into the great outdoors.

·         Where to sleep

Don’t be tempted to let your new dog sleep in your bed. You will be setting a precedent that will be hard to break when your dog gets older. Create a special sleeping place for your dog so that you can get a good night’s sleep and so it knows exactly where it belongs at nighttime. You can make it very comfortable with blankets or a basket. Your dog’s sleeping place will soon become familiar and be a happy place for your pet.

·         House training

If you are training your dog to have good toilet habits in your house, start by covering an area where you want it to go to the toilet with newspaper. Take your dog to this area several times a day so that it can learn that this is where it’s ok to do its business. It may take a while for the dog to get into a routine so be patient. Do not punish your dog for any mistakes it makes. Rather reward your dog when it does get it right.

·         Prevent biting and chewing

When puppies reach the teething stage, they will chew anything they can get their teeth into.  Puppies aren’t fussy when it comes to gnawing so keep anything you don’t want chewed out of reach like shoes, slippers and handbags. Chew toys are great for teething puppies. You can usually find a good selection at your local pet shop. Keep any dangerous items out of reach. Things like chemicals, cleaning agents, tablets or small objects that your dog could choke on. Some garden and house plants are toxic to dogs and can make your pet very sick if eaten. Plants like the Japanese lily or amaryllis are particularly toxic so put them in a place where your dog cannot reach.

·         Protect your pet

Pet insurance can provide peace of mind when your pet needs medical attention. For more information about the types of pet insurance available from Direct Line, visit http://www.directline.com/.  

Visit http://www.mygoodpet.co.uk for more tips and advice on how best to train your dog from Victoria Stilwell.