​Puppy Training with Psychology

Training a new puppy can be an exciting, yet challenging experience. It requires patience, consistency, and a deep understanding of how your own mind works. Understanding your own mind is the key to effectively training your new new companion, and it begins with recognizing that your puppy's mind is composed of three different developing areas of influence.
The first area of influence is instinct.
 Instinct is the natural, unlearned behavior that your puppy exhibits. It's a survival mechanism that helps your puppy navigate the world around them. For example, a puppy's instinct might be to chew on things to relieve teething pain. Instincts like marking in a male are hard to train over because they are hard wired so understanding your puppy's instinctual behavior is the first step in training them effectively.
The second area of influence is the conscious director.
 This is the part of your puppy's mind that makes decisions based on experience and learning. It's the part of your puppy's mind that does the training. Positive reinforcement is a highly effective method of training your puppy's conscious director. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding your puppy when they exhibit the desired behavior. For example, if you want your puppy to sit, you would give them a treat when they sit on command. This type of training helps your puppy associate good behavior with rewards.
The third area of influence is learned behavior.
 Learned behavior is the result of experience and training. It's the behavior that your puppy learns through repetition and reinforcement. Aversion training is another highly effective method of training your puppy's learned behavior. Aversion training involves using negative consequences to discourage undesirable behavior. For example, if your puppy chews on your furniture, you might use a bitter spray to discourage them from chewing on it in the future.
The key to effectively training your puppy is to use a combination of positive reinforcement and aversion training the carrot and the stick, metaphorically on the stick. By using both methods, you can write over instinctual behavior and encourage your puppy to exhibit desirable behavior. Positive reinforcement helps your puppy associate good behavior with rewards, while aversion training discourages undesirable behavior.
This training method can have many benefits for dog owners. Not only can it help you establish a strong bond with your puppy, but it can also help prevent behavioral problems in the future. By understanding your own mind and your puppy's mind, you can create a positive and healthy relationship with your furry friend.
This mind-altering concept of understanding your own mind and using a combination of positive reinforcement and aversion training can also be used to retrain ourselves. Just as we can train our puppies to exhibit desirable behavior, we can use the same methods to train ourselves to adopt positive habits and break negative ones. By understanding the power of our own minds, we can create positive change in ourselves and our little wolves.