Family Meeting for House Rules and Cues

Before or right after your pup comes home hold a family meeting with everyone in your household so you can come to an agreement on your pup’s house rules and cues. House rules are what the pup will be allowed to do in and around the house. Cues are the words or commands, such as sit, you will use to communicate with your pup.

It is much easier to teach your puppy to do the right things if you start right after they come home with you.

Puppies learn best what they learn first!

They are sponges absorbing learning from everything in their environments, both what you actively teach them and what you simply permit. It is not only much harder for pups when you change the rules but it is also confusing to them. In some pups, it can break their trust in you.

While you are discussing these things, think of your puppy at its adult size, weight and behavior. Will each behavior be acceptable when your pup has grown up, reached its adult size?

Consistency

Consistency is critical to pups learning what we want of them. Puppies don’t speak our language, they pick up the meaning of sounds when we use them regularly.

For a puppy, “sit” and “sit down” are two different words. So are “down” and “lie down,” and neither of them mean get off of me. Another cue that people use too casually is the most important one, “come.” Stick with “come,” not “come here,” “come over here,” or “here.”

You’ll note that we don’t have a space for “No!” on our sheet. That’s because “no” is not a cue for puppies. Eventually they learn to stop when they hear it but they don’t know what to do. Use cues that tell your pup what you want it to do rather than just yelling “no.”

Record Your Rules during the House Meeting

Once everyone has committed to follow the rules all the time and use the cues consistently, post the list where everyone will be able to see it. The refrigerator is a good option.