Colby Morita's 6 Common Puppy Training Mistakes

I completely agree with number six. It's so hard not to make a fuss when a dog is scared of something but in the long run it will show them that there is no reason for their fear. The number of people who will pick up a puppy when they see another dog approaching give rise to the anti-social dog who believes that other dogs are something to fear.

Something else that was an issue with our rescue dog is the "down" command. He must have been taught by his previous owner that "down" meant to lay on the ground and yet when he decided to take up almost permanent residence on our settee we automatically told him to get "down". He couldn't understand why we weren't happy when he flopped out on the settee rather than getting on the floor! We soon changed it to "get off" and it's been far less confusing for him ever since. (I have no problem with him being on the furniture but sometimes he takes up too much room and I object to having to sit on the floor myself).