A great start

Your puppy is begging for your help to be the perfect dog for your family. As summer approaches, we get a lot of questions about puppies from people who realize that this season is a great time for adding to the family. Long days, no school, warm weather — what could be better?

A few words of warning, though, if you're one of those people with a new summer pup: Don't let the season pass you by without putting some serious effort into raising the great dog you want your puppy to become.

Puppies need structure, consistency and lots of positive reinforcement. But more than anything, they need your time. Every minute with a puppy spent training, socializing and preventing problems will save you time and aggravation down the road.

Teach your puppy to get things right from the start by removing opportunities for undesirable behavior, such as limiting your pup's access to areas where he can chew things you'd rather he leave alone. Keep him where he can't get into much trouble, and give him a toy to chew on instead. Don't forget to praise him for making the right decision — even if the right choice was the only one offered.

In training, stick to the positive. Use praise and treats to motivate and reward your puppy as he learns the basic building blocks of good behavior.

You'll need some tools to help you stop unwanted behavior. Here are a few effective ways to turn a situation around without resorting to physical punishment:

• The ol' switcheroo. Especially useful for the young puppy, this technique stops a behavior you don't want and provides the puppy with one that's acceptable. For example, if your young puppy is chewing on your nice leather shoes, make a noise to startle and distract him — slap the counter or clap your hands — and then give him something you do want him to chew on, such as a toy. When he takes it, praise him. (And then put those shoes away.)

• Ask for another behavior. With older puppies and dogs, you can stop a bad behavior by asking for a better one. Tell the puppy who's jumping up for attention to sit instead and then praise him for planting his rump on the ground.

• The time-out. Crates, so useful for housetraining, give you a break from your puppy and send him a message at the same time. Puppies thrive on your attention, sometimes even if it's negative. The time-out removes this reward and gives a pup a few minutes to think things over. And sometimes, having a place to put your puppy will help keep you from losing your temper.

If your puppy has been running around for a long time and just seems bratty, he may be tired. If that's the case, put him in his crate for a nap, along with a chew toy. Ignore his fussing. Chances are he'll be asleep in a few minutes.

If you're constantly trying to reprimand your puppy, you may be send- ing him mixed signals: laughing at bratty behavior sometimes, and yelling or hitting your puppy for that same behavior at other times. Discuss the situation with a trainer. You may have some big problems developing if you don't learn how to shape your puppy's behavior in a positive way. No matter how well you're doing in raising your puppy, a puppy class is time and money well spent. Puppy classes for dogs as young as 12 weeks offer puppies a chance to socialize and give you an oppor tunity to work with your pup under the expert eye of a trainer.