There are a lot of different commands you can teach your dog. Some are useful, like “stay”, and some are potentially life saving, like “come”. There are a number of other commands that may not be as important, but they are very convenient. My very favorite is to teach my dog to pee on command.

Why would I want to do that? I used to compete in obedience and agility competitions, and if my dog urinated in the ring, we were heavily penalized. I taught my dog to pee on command, and before we would go into the competition ring, I’d take him for a walk, tellhim to pee, and I’d be confident he would not cost us points by doing it at the wrong time.

There are also some other times it is useful. For example, late at night, when you’re tired, the last thing you want to do is wait for your dog to eventually empty his bladder. If your dog can pee on command, you will be back inside and in your bed very quickly.

You may be visiting your vet, and your vet may need a urine sample. No problem here, take your dog outside and commans it to pee, and come back in with a freshly voided sample for testing. It is really a very useful behavior for your dog to learn.

Although your dog may not always pee immediately when told to, he will go to the toilet quicker than if he had not been trained.

You can train your dog to urinate when you ask him to at the same time as you are toilet training him. It’s easier for him to learn at the same time as he learns where his toileting area is when you’re potty training a puppy. However, older dogs are also capable of learning to pee on command.

Take your dog outside to his toileting area, and as he urinates, give him whatever command you’ve chosen - it could be “toilet” or “pee” or even “tinkle”. It will not matter as long as you’re consistent and you use the same command each and every time.

When your dog urinates, give it lots of praise and cuddles. Because of this, when dog s learning where it’s ok to pee, he’s also linking it with your command.

You must give your dog this same command every time it pees, and reward him when he gets it right. This means you’ll have to do it while you’re out walking, or at the beach. You could get some odd looks from some people, but don not let a chance go by to reinforce what your command means.

Commands like “sit” or “drop” are very quick to teach using food, however training your dog to pee on command can be a slow process. It will take time, repetition and a lot of patience, and in some cases, dogs do not ever “get it”. Dogs are clever though, and in most cases, they eventually learn. When your dog does figure it out. providing your dog has something in it's bladder, it will be very willing to do as you ask. Taking your dog to the toilet the very last thing at night will be much more convenient.

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A timid pup is truly a problem child, but his problems are at the opposite end of the spectrum from his pack-leader littermate. This puppy seems to react in fear to almost everything - littermates that play too rough, loud noises, strange people, etc. This little guy needs a slight different set of puppy training tips. People who are not aware of what the situation really is are apt to assume that the puppy has been abused, when that is not the case at all.

I can remember one occasion in particular in which I had a shy puppy born to a litter in which all the other puppies had absolutely delightful temperaments. He evidenced this behavior right from the time his eyes first opened and he began walking around the whelping box. His treatment and experiences were no different than those of the other puppies. Try as I might, I was never really able to conquer the puppy’s unfounded fears.

Fortunately, I was able to come across kind and sympathetic owners for the pup. They were mature people with no children who understood the temperament difficulties and yet were happy to provide a home for him. They had experience with training puppies and so the puppy was placed with the family under the provision that, in the event a problem arose that the new owner was not able to cope with, the puppy would be returned to us. In this particular case, however, the puppy grew to adulthood as a quiet, devoted pet While he did improve in his shyness, new situations, strange people, or sudden loud noises were a problem throughout his entire life.

Puppy Temperaments

There are a few puppy training tips or techniques that can tell you a great deal about an individual puppy as well. Cradling a puppy in your arms and holding him on his back can tell you how willing the youngster is to comply with what you want him to do. Checking ears and feet can bring a number of different reactions. Some pups will easily comply; others will offer mild resistance.

The puppy to avoid is the one that becomes terrified at the occurrence of something strange or the one that snaps at being intruded upon. No puppy should be anything less than happy, friendly, and reasonably able to cope with your little experiments.

There are more formal tests that behaviorists can give puppies that can reveal significant details in regard to their potential temperament as adults. These tests begin as early as three weeks and continue on up to three months.

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