Five tips for training a dog

Before we brought home our boxer puppy last summer, we read a ton of books about puppies, dogs, and training. Some stuff worked with Diego, some stuff didn’t. Here are some training tips that worked for us:

1. Buy a spray bottle. There’s nothing our dog hates more than being sprayed by water. If he does something bad (barking, chewing, etc.), he gets a quick spray of water, and the word “no”. Water helps him learn real quick.

2. Ring to pee. We hung a bell on the inside of our front door. When Diego was a pup, each time we went outside for a bathroom break, we made him ring the bell. Now, when Diego has to go out to the bathroom, he rings the bell to let us know.

3. Chicken hot dogs. There are D’s favourite treat. They’re cheap, and relatively healthy too. Buy a pack of chicken hot dogs, cut ‘em up into tiny pieces, then microwave on high for 8 minutes.

4. Kong is king. There are only two toys Diego has not destroyed: his rope bone, and his kong.

5. Halti for walking. With a regular collar, Diego can pull us anywhere. With Halti, we can pull him anywhere.

-GG.