Important Exercises For Puppies

Luna is supposed to rave with Rex on the walk, but ignore him at the meeting in the city. She should waggle friendly when strangers pat her on the head, but please do not jump at it. Furniture should be recognized as furniture and not as chewing toy, the carpet should not be used as a toilet. – The job of a family dog ​​is demanding in our society!

In contrast to human children, dogs have a relatively short socialization period to get to know the big wide world. The optimal age for new experiences is between the 6th and 16th week. This time can be wonderfully used to prepare the new family member for their individual job.

Reward matching the desired emotion

What emotion do I wish for the collected experiences? The experiences gained should not only be positive, but also associated with the desired emotion (relaxation or joy), this can affect the puppy owner.

The new puppy owner should answer questions such as:

What would I like to do with my dog ​​later?

How should he behave?

If you want to promote a happy expectation, curiosity and motivation in the puppy exciting and fast things are offered as a reward:

A racing game

Explore mousetracks

A Zerrspiel

Thrown toy

On the other hand, if you want to promote relaxation, quiet behaviors such as B. chewing and searching games:

Eating chewing bones

Looking for a treat

Unpacking food

Leak KONG®

Meet other dogs

Even in dog encounters, it depends on the right relationship of emotions: A dog who has met other dogs only as a play partner in the puppy group, will be overwhelmed by his positive emotions and encounters on a leash and the “party” from the last puppy lesson want to continue on the road. This can quickly lead to frustration in everyday life, as a game on a leash in the city is not possible.

In my dog ​​school I get such cases then presented as “Leinenaggression”.

On the other hand, when a puppy meets other dogs in both relaxed and excited situations, leash encounters are often not a problem. Therefore in groups with other dogs relaxation exercises can be useful in addition to playing experiences. The puppies are leashed and it is waited until all have calmed down.

If puppies have learned to “shut down” quickly, this is an important requirement for dog life. For example, chewing bones offer as a reward for the relaxed waiting. Then the game with the other puppies can be continued. Even when playing puppies learn a lot: they test actions for the entire range of communication.

Playing makes puppies communicative and adaptable, because they get to know and play through many situations: they fix themselves, hunt each other, bite each other playfully and roll over each other. They get to know the different effects of their behavior and to react appropriately. If a puppy snaps his playing partner too tightly, he will react to it by B. the game aborts. The little one quickly learns to use the teeth in such a way that they do not cause any pain. Learning should be continued through interactions with dogs of different age groups and races. So puppies learn the body language of other dogs correctly “read” and assess.

People Trust

Not only other dogs are encountered in everyday life, but also foreign people, the puppies like to touch the same. Many puppies are scared when a (foreign) hand pats their head. In everyday life, however, it can often not be prevented that strangers take puppies over their heads. During a restaurant visit, a child even sneaked under our table unnoticed to pet Peanut, our terrier bitch.

In such and similar situations, it is helpful for puppies to associate a patting hand with positive emotions. For this, a “touch me” game with the puppy can be played. Here, the dog learns the coming from above hand as an announcement for something beautiful. First of all, you test where you can position your hand while exercising. To do this, hold the outstretched arm over the dog's head and lower it downwards. How does the dog behave? Yawning, turning away or maybe a sudden scratching could be a sign that he is uncomfortable. In the next step you hold a treat in one hand, slowly take the hand from above towards the dog's head (only as long as it is comfortable) and give it the food piece. The earlier a puppy sees different hands as an announcement for something beautiful, the better.

Another exercise that I like to do with puppies is the “on my feet” show. While the dog is “parked” on the feet of man, you can afford him protection, because other people and dogs are better kept. Even with Dog Dance, it makes sense if the dog feels close to the human legs. This can be practiced by first teaching his puppy to stand on shoes. Or you can lure the dog directly behind the legs of the human with a treat and from there on and on to his feet.


The puppy can also actively help with harnessing (or collar) clothing, then it will not happen that he will be afraid of it. To do this, first lure the puppy with a treat through the dishes. After a few repetitions you hold the dishes in front of your head and see if he already has an idea of ​​the exercise. “Can you manage to put your head a little bit into the opening of the dish?” As soon as he has done that, he will reward his courage with food or a game and gradually increase the requirements.


In many situations, it makes sense that the puppy finds it “normal” to wear a muzzle. If he already learns from childhood to put his nose in the strange thing, he will not have any problems with it later. The best is a muzzle, with which it is still panting and drinking. First, you can transform the muzzle into a “food bowl”, so to speak, by letting the puppy eat a few treats. In the next step, the feed is then fed from the outside through the muzzle. If the puppy directly plugs its snout and takes food, the basket can be closed for a few seconds. Gradually the time of wearing is extended.

Cut claws

My poodle bitch does not like it when her claws are cut. As I've found out, the sound of claw cutting is terribly uncomfortable to her, not the paw holding or the quiet waiting. At a seminar Ken Ramirez brought me what I think was a brilliant idea. He mimics claw cutting by cutting uncooked pasta with a claw scissors, and combines that sound with relaxation in the dog. That could be something like that.

The puppy can decide freely whether he can endure the noise or the claw tongs in the vicinity of the paw or if he would rather retire. Also in this exercise you can ask your puppy the question:

“Can you stand it if I pick up your paw and make a noise with the claw pliers?”

“Can you stand it if I take your paw and the claw pliers touch your claws?”

If the question is answered with no, z. For example, by turning away, leaving or a retracted rod, the exercise is made easier or canceled. On this way, you gradually feel your way towards your destination. The exercise should be associated with positive emotions.


Every dog ​​is repeatedly exposed to different sounds. Whether at home (vacuum cleaners, crackling plastic bottles), in the garden (lawnmowers, neighbors screaming) or at certain events (New Year's Eve, World Cup). So that the puppy does not get scared of it, it is important to accustom him early to noises and noise. When eerie and unusual noises are combined with positive things, they lose their intimidating effect. It is ideal if the little one can decide for himself to what extent he would like to expose himself to the noises. It is nice to see how fast the puppy grows out over itself.

Fast and easy this goes z. B. with a “crackle bottle search”. These plastic bottles on the floor or in a box (large enough that the puppy can run in it) placed and distributed between treats. Gradually, there are more bottles and the treats are not only hidden next to the bottles, but also below them. The puppy can decide for himself whether and how far he is going to get at the crackling bottles or whether he might jump in right away.

Another occupation to bring the puppy self-determined to sounds, is a tower of metal pots. Here, the pots are stacked and distributed among them treats. If the puppy shoves a pot, it does not only rattle it terribly, it also drops out the treats. That's how it works

Clank to announce the food. To increase the volume slowly, you can do this exercise first on carpet or grass, then later on tiles.

In everyday life, further sounds can be positively linked. So you can tap on the food bowl with a spoon while putting the bowl on the floor, or you can stamp on the feet with the Zerrspiel.



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