How Puppy Training Can Help Your Business

Chuck Yorke

As leaders we always want to improve the performance of our organization. To improve we must release the creativity in our employees, leaders must get involved in their employees’ work. Not everyone knows how to do this, but maybe it isn’t all that different than training a puppy. Following are common themes used in training puppies.

Have a proper kennel, it should not be too large, just enough space to stand up, turn around and lie down. Most puppies will not soil where they lay. Having too much space in your business attracts waste. Excess inventory, outdated machines, old files, and other junk will soil too large a space.

Schedule all feeding times at the same time each day. Companies through Japan have a practice called the “manager’s walk,” where a manager walks through their area at the same time each day. A theme is selected for each walk, asks questions around the theme and shares information. This is a powerful process for learning and sharing information.

Spend as much quality time as possible with your new puppy, this encourages him to do the things you ask of him. To release the creativity in our employees, a leader must get involved in that employee’s work. They must follow up on employee ideas and promote employee involvement in the business.

First thing in the morning take your puppy from the kennel to the area you’ve decided will be the place for your puppy to eliminate. If your puppy eliminates then praise and reward him. Your business also needs a consistent startup procedure. Maybe a quick meeting about what needs to be done today to share a common understanding of today’s goals. Be sure to include a review of some of your employee’s ideas and a plan for how you will challenge your people to improve the business. Also, think of topics for your “manger’s walk.”

Proper clean-up is critical to proper housetraining. A puppy will return to where he has eliminated before if it is not properly cleaned. Your workplace also needs to be properly maintained. Sort through your materials and remove what isn’t needed. Materials that are necessary should be properly stored, so everyone knows where everything goes. Clean equipment, tools and the workplace. This is a foundation for both safety and equipment maintenance.

Prevention and positive encouragement are the best ways to teach your puppy. Once an employee identifies a solution to a problem, put a procedure or fixture in place to prevent the problem from reoccurring. Respond to your people’s ideas. Use praise, show respect, thank them and treat them the way you would like to be treated. See how their ideas can or cannot be implemented and provide positive feedback.

Punishment won’t help. Screaming or hitting will only create fear, confusing and training your puppy to soil when you are not around. Enough said.

Copyright © 2005 Chuck Yorke - All Rights Reserved

About the Author

Chuck Yorke is an organizational development and performance improvement specialist, trainer, consultant and speaker. He is co-author of “All You Gotta Do Is Ask,” a book which explains how to promote large numbers of ideas from employees. Chuck may be reached at ChuckYorke@yahoo.com

RELATED ARTICLES:

3 Important Things To Remember When Training Your Puppy
There are as many ways to raise a puppy as there are to raising a child. In fact, one way per family in general! But most of us agree that when it comes to children, certain things are universal and undisputed. Here are three things that a lot...read more

Dog Training: Here Is A Strong Training Method To Effectively Control Your Dog At Difficult Situations
The head collar has become an increasingly popular dog training tool in the past couple of years. Two of the most well known brands of head collar on the market are the Gentle Leader and the Halti, but there are many other brands that incorporate...read more

Dog training - Leash/collar training
There are many different styles of dog training, and finding the one that works best for you is important for creating a dog that is a talented, loyal and faithful member of the family. All successful methods of dog training work to reinforce...read more

Train Your Dog With Respect
Proper training of your dog should begin when he is a puppy. The first four months of a dog’s life are very important in the training of your dog. This is when they learn behaviors that they will practice in the future. Socializing your dog...read more