Maltipoo Training
Maltipoos are super intelligent dogs that learn quickly and are eager to please. That doesn’t mean training is not going to take a lot of work. The key to training any good dog is positive reinforcement and repetition. On this page we will help you the best techniques to get started training on the right paw. If you want to take advantage of our complete Online Dog Obedience Training course, it will help you unlock your puppies fullest potential and guide you every step of the way through training a “Good Dog”!
The first week
You may want to jump right in and teach your puppy to sit, lay down, or take a nap. But the most important thing to start off with your dog is building a loving bond so he/she trusts you through training. You don’t want to overwhelm your puppy with too much as his whole life is in a major transition. While building this bond, you can start off immediately teaching a few house rules and introducing them appropriately to things like their crate, collar and leash.
Introducing a collar and leash
When you first place a collar and leash on your puppy, this will be a new feeling for them and they will be nervous what’s going on. Typically, a puppy will instinctively fight any tension or try to bite the leash or scratch the collar off. This is why it’s important to introduce them the right way. They’re not ready to be taken on walks yet and it’s important you don’t apply any tension for them to fight the leash. The best thing to do is distract the puppy from even thinking about the collar and leash. Any time his attention is turned toward the collar or leash, call their name and give them treats, squeak their favorite toy, or start petting them. Get them to focus on you or these other things and soon they will forget they even have a collar and leash on.
Once they feel totally comfortable with a collar and leash on, you’re ready to move onto trying to take them on walks.
Introduction to crates
A crate can be a safe haven for your puppy and they’ll soon learn to love their crate as their desired place to sleep at nights. Dogs are instinctively “den” animals. They love sleeping where there’s shelter and where they feel safe, but starting to introduce a young puppy to a crate, they can build a lot of anxiety if not introduced the right way. Before you teach your dog to sleep in a crate through the night, you must first build a positive association with going in the crate. You can do this by placing them in the crate and dropping a few healthy treats in there so she understands this crate is where the treats land. Make sure you don’t close the gate, allowing her to walk in and out and not feel confined while building this positive association.
Once your puppy happily walks in and out, you can advance to closing the door for a few seconds, then a few minutes, etc. Any time the puppy begins to whine, just pet them through the crate and drop in a few more treats or toys. Eventually you will want to give some distance between you and your puppy with the door shut, helping them understand you’re not going anywhere and it’s okay to be confined for short periods.
Setting a Potty Training Schedule
As a part of establishing house rules, you will want to give your new puppy a schedule that allows for frequent bathroom breaks. A young puppies bladder has not developed fully so they can’t be expected to hold it for more than an hour or two starting out. By setting a good schedule, your puppy will become familiar with the routine you expect of them and also help you learn when they need to go. To learn more about setting this schedule and house training your puppy, you can read this article.
We always encourage new puppy families to take a few weeks off work to spend time bonding and teaching these house rules. It really goes a long way into speeding up their understanding and willingness to please you during future training sessions. To learn more about training your Maltipoo, you can enroll in our online dog obedience training program or browse the articles below.
