7 Must-Haves for Bichon Training
One of the great characteristics of the bichon breed is that they are naturally gentle, loyal and loving family pets. This makes them great with children and other dogs. At the same time, they can be difficult to train at times. They tend to be stubborn and resist housebreaking and other types of training. With persistence and patience, you can break this stubbornness and teach your bichon puppy to be a well-behaved member of the family. To help you with this, here are seven “must have” items that will help all bichon owners train their new pup:
Understanding the Breed
Bichons are a unique species of dog and are much more gentle and sensitive than most. This means that they do not require harsh training methods. Using a stern voice and pointing fingers to scold them for bad behavior works very well. Avoid yelling or harsh punishment, as this will only scare the dog and make his training efforts much more difficult.
A goal and a plan
You need to know what your overall goal is for training your dog. This could be housebreaking, healthy behavior with other dogs, or limited barking. Only when you know what your goal is can you make a plan for how you will help your pup reach it. Have a plan for what commands you will use, how you will reward good behavior, and how you will correct bad behavior.
Tools
As with many things in life, a good set of tools will go a long way in your efforts to train your pup. His “tool bag” should include a collar and leash, treats as a reward, and play toys. Additionally, you could also consider training books/videos as part of your toolkit.
Patience
As stated above, bichons can be stubborn in their training. You will need a lot of patience as you work with them to achieve your goals. It may take longer than you expect, but if you can be patient, you will succeed.
Dedication
This goes along with patience, but it also goes hand in hand with your goal and plan. Dedication requires you to be persistent in your training. As you go through the training process, you should reward every good behavior you see and punish every bad behavior. This can get tedious and exhausting, but having this dedication will show your pup that you are the leader of the pack.
A good attitude
If you are short-tempered or easily angered, your pup will pick up on it. You may be prone to biting your dog, and this will go against your overall plan. Be happy and have a good attitude as much as possible, and only be stern when necessary.
reasonable expectations
Of course, no one is going to expect their pup to learn to backflip overnight. We all know that this is unreasonable. But even some things you might think are reasonable expectations may be too difficult for your pup right away. He sets realistic goals and works to achieve them first. Also be reasonable in the amount of time he expects your pup to train each day. They will get bored and won’t respond to long training advice, so stick to short 10-15 minute sessions and take breaks.
The bottom line
It will take a lot of effort to properly train your pup, but with the right attitude and plan, all goals can be achieved. Set aside time each day to work on certain skills and you will eventually have a well-behaved, well-trained pup!
