A dog or a puppy absolutely thrives on consistency. This is true all the way from finding and sticking to the right kibble to deciding what is and what isn’t acceptable behavior. Consistency makes a pup very, very much happier and more secure than the bouncy kind of life many of us humans prefer.

Maybe you’ll have to have periodic family councils to hammer out just what kinds of canine behavior are and are not acceptable to various members of the clan. By all means get it straight among the human members of the family; otherwise, if you are unpredictable and all pulling in different directions, the puppy will end up a confused mess, and it will be your fault. Once you have agreed on what goes, enforce the rules. “Oh, let her do it just this once,” is a sure way to wreck the training program and confuse the pup.

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