This post is sponsored by WellPet but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

I have four dogs. F O U R. They can be quite a handful. I have found the best way to handle them is to give them some decent training to get them moving in the right direction! It’s not hard to train a dog as long as you know what you are doing. Here are my 5 ways to train your dog without losing your mind.

                                                                                                                                                                Meet Snickers 

5 Dog Training Tips for the new dog owner

1. 1. Be consistent. If you are training a dog you must always, and I mean always, have the same outcome each time. If you ask him to sit and he doesn’t sit he does not get the treat. I used the Old Mother Hubbard treats and reward my lab each time he does sit! He loves them and wants to sit for me!  I love what’s in them. It’s so important to be feeding your dog treats that are good for them. Treats that have all-natural ingredients help me when I’m training my four dogs. I want them to always do well so I know that when my friends come over my dogs are not running them back out the door because of their behavior. 

 

I grabbed these treats at Walmart when I was doing my regular grocery pick up. I love that they will gather my groceries and bring them out to me at no charge.  This is important for me during this pandemic. I want to know I can still get the groceries I need and that I am going to be safe doing so. These treats have made my dogs training so much easier! Click on the link to purchase Old Mother Hubbard dog treats in-store or using Online Grocery Pickup (OGP) at Walmart!

      2. Begin training early. Start them off right when they are a puppy by beginning the potty training and crate training as soon as you bring them home. You can bell train for the potty so that they know to ring the bell when they go out. You ring the bell. Make a big deal about do you need to go out to potty? Then take them out to potty. As soon as they go you make another big deal, lots of belly rubs, good boy, and treats, and then you bring them back in! Eventually they will associate going out with ringing the bell and getting treats too! 

      3. Get your dog used to a leash and a collar. Getting them trained for walks is such a great way for them to work off their energy. Start slowly with short walks. Whenever they get ahead stop walking and make them sit. You will not get very far the first couple of times you do this. But it has to be done to get them to understand that they must walk with you and not pull you. You will have to break out your mean voice I am sure a few times to get them to understand that when they walk ahead you stop them and they sit. But again this will be worth it in the end. Then make sure you walk them a few times a week so that they don’t forget. 

     4. Make sure they develop social skills with other dogs and children. Your breeder/rescue shouldn’t give you your puppy until they are at least 8 weeks old. This ensures that they have ample time to learn how to be in a group with other dogs. This is a great learning time for them. Once you get them home then it’s your job to make sure they stay socialized around other dogs and people. You know your dog if they’re not ready for people then slowly introduce them to one person at a time until they are. 

    5. Teach the simple commands first. Teach them sit, stay, down, etc. These are the ones you will be using a lot so make sure that they understand them. Sit is exactly that make sure that they can sit on command. Stay means they are not running up to someone. And last but not least down. You do not want your four legged friends jumping on other people so make sure they understand down means no jumping. It’s so important to teach the basics to a dog so that you have a great relationship with them and others can too. 

 

Having the right tools to train them is part of this. Make sure they have a leash, collar, crate, and treats. We used these Old Mother Hubbard and they were great for our dogs. A little about our Sponsor: OMH was founded in Gloucester, MA. Old Mother Hubbard’s dog treats are all-natural and never artificial, and have been around since 1926. Their home-style recipes are carefully crafted from wholesome ingredients that allow you to have that good feeling about giving your pup a reward that is healthy and heartfelt.  Since they have all the fun flavors there is a natural choice for every taste that dogs drool over. And while still based in Massachusetts, Old Mother Hubbard is now available at Walmart nationwide (I got mine using Grocery Pick up and my pups love them). These are trying days so it’s great that I can feel good about using the grocery pick up at Walmart and getting my dog their Old Mother Hubbard treats from there!