Puppy Training 101
Reporter Stevan Petkovich shares his experiences with his puppy Priscilla

As an occasional reporter for Naperville Connection, when the opportunity came around to do a story on how important professional puppy training is to new dogs, I couldn’t pass it up. This is a subject I have been swimming in for about two weeks now.

Proper training of a new puppy is vital to the safety of your family, your home and your puppy. As the proud new owner of a 3 month old English Bulldog, I can tell you that there is nothing more true than this statement. Growing up I have had three family dogs Patches (a German Sheppard – Collie mix), Rascal (a German Sheppard – Terrier mix), and Ally (a German Sheppard – Lab mix). All three dogs were very well trained and behaved. So naturally, when my fiancé Nicole and I were thinking of getting a dog, I thought that training it would be no big deal. I guess I just forgot about all the hard work my parents put into training those dogs.

Before we got a puppy we did our research, we studied breeds of dogs in order to pick a dog that would suit our lifestyle best. We settled on an English Bulldog for a number of reasons. Much like myself, they are lazy, don’t do well in hot weather, and don’t require a lot of exercise. Not to mention that we couldn’t resist those cute little squishy faces. So two weeks ago we got our new little Bulldog Priscilla……and the past to weeks have been an adventure, to say the least. She is like an Energizer bunny, constantly playing, biting and terrorizing other pets, it never stops. She is far from the stereotypical lazy English Bulldog that we were expecting. So naturally, I find myself in desperate need of professional help.

Like professional certified dog trainer Carolyn Fleming recommended, I signed little Priscilla up immediately for puppy training class. Unfortunately for me her classes don’t start for another week. Until then we are doing our best to tame this little monster until we can get some professional help. I just hope all of our shoes, furniture and clothes will last until then.

You need to have a lot of time and patience if you want to add a new puppy to your family. Try to pick a breed that has the traits that suit you and your family best. That being said, puppies are puppies, and no matter the breed they are going to be a handful. They will have bad habits that you are going to need to properly correct. Even if some of the things they do as a puppy seem cute, you have to learn how to correct their behavior. Professional dog trainers are available to help you and your puppy become compatible with each other.

Stevan Petkovich reports.