A group of dog owners recently traded notes on the training mistakes they wish someone had warned them about — and the patterns lined up closely with what RSPCA Australia, AVSAB and veterinary behaviour specialists already publish about reward-based training. Here's what they had in common, and the reward-based fix for each.
Key Takeaways
- Recall is a safety skill — start in a low-distraction space and make returning to you worth it, every time.
- Whatever a puppy is rewarded for repeating becomes the adult dog's default, cute or not.
- Socialisation means calm, positive exposure to the world — not greeting every dog on the footpath.
- Give a cue once. Repeating it teaches a dog the first few reps don't count.
- Puppies are learning during ordinary daily life, not just in formal 10-minute sessions.
- AVSAB and RSPCA Australia both recommend reward-based training and advise against aversive or after-the-fact correction.
1. Waiting too long to teach recall
Recall is easy to put off — a puppy following you room to room feels like recall already works. It's a different story the moment a gate is left open, a lead slips, or another dog appears across the park. RSPCA Australia describes a reliable recall as one of the most important skills you can teach, and recommends starting somewhere easy and low-distraction before gradually adding difficulty — and making the return itself rewarding rather than something to correct once your dog finally arrives. (RSPCA Australia)
Start indoors. Call once, reward generously when your Oodle arrives, then build up to the backyard and beyond on a long lead. And don't let "come" always mean the fun stops — sometimes reward the recall and send them straight back to what they were doing, so coming back to you stays worth it.
2. Rewarding puppy behaviour you won't want in an adult dog
Jumping, mouthing hands, grabbing socks — all easy to laugh off in a toy-sized puppy, much less funny once that puppy is a fully grown Groodle launching at a guest. Dogs don't register that a rule has quietly changed at 25kg; they repeat whatever has reliably worked. RSPCA Australia's training guidance recommends rewarding the behaviour you actually want long-term — attention when all four paws are on the floor, for example, rather than attention (even negative attention) for jumping. (RSPCA Australia)
A useful test: would you still be happy for your full-grown Oodle to do this? If not, it's worth teaching the alternative now, while the stakes are still small.
3. Treating socialisation as "say hello to every dog"
It's a natural instinct — puppy plus another dog nearby usually means "go say hi." But a puppy who's rewarded for greeting every dog they see can grow into an adult who's overexcited by the mere sight of one, which makes calm walks much harder to teach later. RSPCA Australia's guidance frames socialisation as safely building positive experiences with different people, animals, environments and situations — with the puppy free to investigate or move away, not pushed into every interaction. (RSPCA Australia)
Sometimes the win is your Oodle noticing another dog and simply continuing the walk. That's a real socialisation skill too.
4. Repeating a cue until it becomes background noise
"Sit. Sit. Sit, sit, SIT." If a cue is regularly given three or four times before anything happens, a dog can genuinely learn to tune out the first few. Veterinary behaviour guidance recommends giving a cue once — if there's no response, the environment is probably too distracting yet, not the volume that needs adjusting. (VCA Animal Hospitals)
Cue once, reward the response, and if nothing happens, make the exercise easier rather than louder.
5. Using one word for several different things
"Down" is a common culprit — used for lying down, getting off the couch, stopping jumping, and getting out of the car, all at once. Dogs don't arrive understanding English; what matters is that a word consistently predicts one specific behaviour. Picking "down" for lie-down and "off" for paws-off (or any other consistent pair) removes a genuine source of confusion.
6. Forgetting that training happens outside "training time"
This might be the single most useful mindset shift: puppies are learning during virtually every waking moment, not just in a dedicated session after dinner. Veterinary behaviour guidance notes that everyday interactions — greetings, mealtimes, play, house manners — all teach a puppy what leads to something they value. (VCA Animal Hospitals)
Opening the door, putting a bowl down, reacting to a stolen sock — your Oodle is learning something from all of it, whether or not you meant to be "training."
7. Only noticing your dog when something goes wrong
A dog lying quietly gets ignored; a dog who steals a sock gets chased around the house by the whole family. From the dog's point of view, that can be a genuinely great game — and an accidental lesson that mischief gets attention while calm doesn't. Veterinary behaviour specialists recommend actively reinforcing relaxed behaviour, rather than only intervening once a dog is already overexcited. (VCA Animal Hospitals)
Notice — and reward — the moments nothing is going wrong: settling on their bed, waiting calmly at the door, watching another dog go by without exploding.
8. Trying to stop chewing instead of redirecting it
Puppies chew and mouth as part of how they explore the world — that instinct isn't going away, and it isn't meant to. The realistic goal is making it obvious what they're allowed to chew, not eliminating the behaviour altogether. Reward-based guidance recommends redirecting mouthing and chewing onto appropriate toys rather than punishing what is, at bottom, normal exploratory behaviour.
This is where having the right chew ready before you need it actually matters — sock in mouth, trade for something appropriate and redirect; hands becoming the toy, pause and offer the real one instead.
9. Relying on discipline after the fact
Finding a puddle on the floor and reacting to it minutes later doesn't teach the lesson it feels like it should — your dog can't connect a correction to something that already happened. More broadly, AVSAB's position is that reward-based methods should be used for training and behaviour modification, and advises against aversive methods because of their potential welfare and behavioural costs. (AVSAB)
The more useful question isn't "how do I make clear that was wrong" — it's "how do I make the behaviour I actually want obvious, easy and rewarding before the mistake happens again."
10. Expecting a puppy to just know how to live in a house
Toileting, crate training, walking nicely, greeting visitors, settling, being left alone — none of it is automatic. These are skills, and puppies build them through small, repeatable wins rather than one long session. A few minutes of recall before breakfast, a calm sit before the door opens, thirty seconds of settling while the kettle boils — short and frequent beats long and rare.
Where toys actually fit into training
A toy isn't a substitute for training, and we don't think it helps anyone when a pet brand pretends otherwise. But the right toy is a legitimate part of the toolkit, because food, attention and play can all work as rewards. RSPCA Australia's own recall guidance even suggests using a dog's favourite toy for dogs who aren't especially food-motivated — and recommends keeping a dedicated training toy put away between sessions so it holds its value. (RSPCA Australia)
- For redirecting chewing: The Everyday Small Bone or The Everyday Big Chew Bone gives an appropriate outlet to redirect onto, instead of trying to eliminate chewing altogether.
- For play as a reward: The Mini Squeaky Footy or The Big Squeaky Footy can be kept aside and brought out as a high-value game, rather than left on the floor to lose its novelty.
- For working with you specifically: Tug & Tumble is built for supervised, owner-led play — a short tug session your Oodle earns after a good rep, not something left out to shred solo.
It's also part of the thinking behind rotating toys instead of leaving everything out all day — sometimes access itself is what keeps a toy valuable.
Your puppy doesn't need a perfect trainer. They need a predictable one: reward what you want generously while it's being learned, stay consistent about what you don't want rehearsed, and practise the important skills before you desperately need them. Training isn't ten minutes after dinner — your Oodle is learning from you all day, which means you get hundreds of small chances to teach them well.
A note about behaviour problems
This article covers general training foundations, not individual behavioural treatment. If your dog is showing significant fear, anxiety, aggression, reactivity or a sudden change in behaviour, speak with your vet or a qualified reward-based trainer or veterinary behaviourist rather than relying on general advice alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the biggest recall mistake new owners make?
Waiting until it's needed in a high-distraction moment. RSPCA Australia recommends starting somewhere easy and rewarding every return, so the cue is already reliable before it matters.
Should I stop my puppy chewing everything?
Not the instinct itself — redirect it. Reward-based guidance recommends offering an appropriate chew rather than trying to eliminate normal exploratory chewing and mouthing.
Is punishment ever recommended for puppy training?
AVSAB's position statement recommends reward-based methods for training and behaviour modification and advises against aversive methods due to their welfare and behavioural risks.
How much socialisation does a puppy actually need?
RSPCA Australia frames it as safe, positive exposure to a wide range of people, animals, environments and situations — not necessarily direct play with every dog encountered.
Want a toy that actually earns its place in the training toolkit? Explore the Play Packs →
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More on routine: Enrichment Isn't Just Toys: Why Predictability and Scheduling Matter Too →
