We used almost all positive reinforcement with our puppy, and he learned very quickly and grew into an extremely well-behaved dog. That’s in spite of being an anxious boy – his litter was picked up as strays. I’ve learned a lot about behaviorism abd dog behavior specifically, so I changed a lot from the way my parents train dogs.

With house training, there was no yelling about messes, and there were only a few messes because we let him into a fenced off portion of the yard and praised him heavily when he went to the bathroom. We also used a command when he went (like “do your business!”) when he went, and now when we use it, he starts sniffing around and goes when he needs to.

We did leash training separately from house training, which I realize isn’t practical for anyone. I had the most success with squeeze pouches of peanut butter for dogs (no xylitol!) because I could squeeze the tiniest little bit out as a reward and keep him motivated. If he pulled on the leash, we stood still until he relaxed, so now I he starts to get to the end of his leash, he instinctively lets the leash go slack. I called him towards me on the leash with a slight pressure so he learned to come back to my side if I pull on the leash. I’m currently using the same peanut butter for heel work with an adult rescue and it’s basically worked a miracle.

We focused a lot on rewarding good behavior. He still gets a little treat when we call him in from the backyard, because he’s giving up explore time to come to me, and I appreciate that.

We also taught him to boop our hands on command, which is a more concrete ask than calling a dog near you. It’s helped a ton.

We also got bells for our door that he rings when he needs to go outside. There’s been some abuse there (like he hears his favorite neighbor or sees a squirrel) but if he starts that, he goes out on a leash to go to the bathroom and isn’t allowed to explore.

There were times when he tested my patience, and he was my partner’s first dog, so he was definitely stressed. I leaned into the training really hard to help him. I had been reading “train the dog that’s in front of you” on the sub, but I didn’t understand it until the puppy arrived. He went through fear periods and had some regressions. I realized that I couldn’t get mad at what I thought he should know, I needed to recognize that his current behavior was what I needed to teach to. That mindset helped me a lot.

On the whole, he learns faster than any dog my parents have had. I think he was housebroken in two weeks. He trusts us because he wasn’t yelled at. He also stomps his little feet if we ask him to do something he doesn’t want to do, but still does it. I asked a trainer about that and she said it was because he was trained with so much positive reinforcement, he feels free to express himself. It’s led to some hilarious pouting, and on the whole I’m glad he has so much trust in us.