Watch for good behaviors and reward them. All too often training consists of waiting until the puppy does something wrong and then punishing it.

You don't want to use the word "NO" all the time. It will become a common word and the puppies won't understand what they are doing wrong. Save it for something serious. Often you can find other words or sounds to teach them things.

SET YOUR PUPPY UP TO SUCCEED

Do not ask for more than your puppy can give. If you call a young puppy to come when he is barking at a squirrel you've asked him to do an almost Herculean task. It's even worse to call your puppy over and over again, because you have not only set him up to fail, but you have taught him to ignore your call.

BE CONSISTENT

It is only fair that the puppy knows what to expect in the way of rewards or reprimands in all similar situations.

MAINTAIN A REWARD / PUNISHMENT RATIO 5:1

For every time you scold your puppy, five correct behaviors must be rewarded. Relying mainly on punishments to shape behavior doesn't work any better with puppies than it does with people.

HOUSETRAINING

The whole approach to housetraining can be reduced to two main concerns. First, teach the puppy where to eliminate. Second, use close supervision or confinement to reduce the opportunity to eliminate inside. Then maintain the praise, confinement and supervision until the habit of only going outdoors is frimly established. To accomplish this, someone must go with the puppy every time he goes out. Take him to the same area each time and associate a command such as "go bathroorm' or "hurry up" with the act of eliminating; these words will eventually become a cue for the initiation of eliminating. Until the puppy has completed three to four consecutive weeks without eliminating in the house, it must either be under100 percent supervision or confined to a safe room or crate. Crate confinement should be limited to nighttime and to periods during the day of less than 4 hours. A leash can be a very useful tool for housetraining. Keeping the pup on a leash will help it learn how to tell the owner that it has to eliminate. After the puppy has been scolded for eliminating in your presence, it will try to sneak away from you in the house when it has to eliminate. If on a leash near you, the puppy will act anxious by whining or fidgeting. This should alert you to take the puppy outside where he will eliminate and then be praised.

CHEWING

No puppy should ever be struck with the hand. THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON EVERY PUPPY SHOULD LEARN IS THAT THE HAND IS A FRIEND!  He will have hands reaching for him/her thousands of times throughout his life. We do not want any aniexty associated with hand movement that might result in biting. The best way to show the puppy that a behavior is not acceptable is to give a loud, startling, verbal reprimand every time it occurs. The response should only be given during the undesired behavior and should stop as soon as the behavior stops.

Jumping up on people is the most common problem of unruliness exhibited by puppies. It can be a very easy problem to correct if all the family members are consistent in handling it. First, teach the puppy to greet people by sitting. A helpful exercise is to hold a piece of kibble at nose level and call the puppy. When he gets to the food, slowly raise it over his head and ask him to sit. Praise and reward a correct response. Back up several feet and repeat. This teaches the puppy to come when called, sit on command, and sit when he comes up to a person. The best correction for a jumper is a firm "OFF" followed by a loud noise (clap your hands or keep a can containing 6 to 8 nickels on hand as a "shake can". This will startle the puppy and will get the attention of even the most active puppy. Wait three to five second, then praise the puppy for having its paws firmly on the ground.