Training Your Dog Using Positive Discipline Training Your Dog Using Positive Discipline Things have changed a lot since you raised your last puppy 20 years ago. New understanding of animal behavior has led to a veritable revolution in the methods used to train most domestic animals, including horses and cattle. You've been told to catch your kids being good and reward them for it. The same principle applies to raising a puppy, and it works just as well as it does for kids. Ignore any behavior that is not the one you want.
Punishment is a form of attention, and attention is what dogs want most of all.
They'd rather be yelled at or even hit with a rolled-up newspaper than be ignored . A behavior you ignore will go away faster than one you punish. A behavior you reward will happen more frequently. If you want him to wriggle around happily but keep his paws on the ground, it's helpful to start modifying his behavior toward that end from the very first day you get him. So you come into the room, and your puppy jumps on you.