Back to
school… for dogs

Children are going back to school, but dogs can learn too. Either by going to puppy classes or training at home, we have advice to make education fun and easy (with the best treats, obviously).

If you’ve just adopted your first puppy, puppy classes are a great place to learn how to train your new pet. Not only can you learn more about dog training, your puppy will socialize with other dogs and learn to listen to you despite distractions.

If you’ve had dogs before and already know how to train them, the socialization aspect of the course can still be beneficial. You shouldn’t neglect daily training at home either, since dogs learn by conditioning. For example, use natural and chewy duck treats as a reward after peeing outside.

Although it’s ideal to train a puppy at an early age, it’s never too late to get rid of an unwanted behavior. Check with your local training center to find a course that suits your pet’s age and needs.

There are many different approaches to training. Make sure you know the values and techniques of the center or person you choose to ensure they match yours.

If you live far from big cities, or if the courses offered don’t suit your schedule, there are several dog training apps, each with their own advantages. For example, GoodPup allows you to have virtual meetings with a dog trainer, while Pocket Puppy has a store where you can buy puppy items directly.

We often see dogs performing impressive tricks on social networks. Whether it’s Sapphie communicating with buttons or Luna answering mathematical questions, the dogs of Instagram and Tiktok can make us want to teach our dogs some fancy tricks.

However, don’t forget that basic commands like recall can literally save your dog’s life, and it’s essential to teach them first. For more information on recall, see our article Did you say “come back”?

Treats are a great way to reward a dog for executing a command or behaving well. However, to avoid overfeeding your puppy with treats, you can also use fresh chicken kibbles during a training session. For example, if your puppy has to eat 1 cup of kibbles for dinner according to age and weight, you can measure the amount and dip into the cup to reward your furry friend. After training, serve the rest of the kibbles as usual.

We wish you lots of fun while your dog learns!