This article is written to help you and your puppy begin training in the early months. It contains helpful hints for training puppies and establishing a trusting relationship. We start by sharing information about what to expect in the first few months. Older puppies will have more specific training needs.
You are about to embark on a challenging and rewarding journey. It will go by quickly, so remember to relax and enjoy every day with your new puppy. Before you know it, you’ll be bragging about your well-mannered doggie!
House Breaking:
Housebreaking can be a frustrating event for both you and your puppy. Here are some basic training techniques that will help you establish a smooth and speedy house training process.
Crate Training:
Puppies like to have their own space, so it is usually a good idea to plan for keeping your puppy in a crate during the early months. Crate training will help to eliminate accidents in the house. You will want to allow your puppy only enough room in the crate to lie down, turn around, and stand up. This will prevent your puppy from having enough room to establish a potty area and a living area in the crate.
Food:
Monitor all food intakes and do not allow your puppy to graze. Grazing, or allowing the puppy to eat food at any and all times, leads to unpredictable elimination habits. Be sure you know when your puppy is eating and drinking and always remember, what goes in must come out! Limit eating time to 15 minutes, and then pick up the food
Water:
Keep an empty water bowl on the floor. When your puppy goes to the bowl, fill it with water and let your puppy drink as much as your puppy drinks normally. Then empty the bowl and replace it on the floor. This helps you manage how much water the puppy is drinking and how long it takes for it to come out. Puppies should always have water in the bowl when eating meals.
Potty Time:
After eating, puppies may take up to 30 minutes to go to the bathroom. Movement helps speed up this process, so take your puppy out for a walk or play with your puppy to establish a regular elimination schedule.
Bathrooms:
Take your puppy out the same door every time. When puppies are taken to the same door each time to eliminate, they learn where they are supposed to go to tell you when it is time to “go to the bathroom.
Puppy’s Potty Area:
Take your puppy to the same spot in the yard to help your dog understand why you are outside. Give them a command such as “hurry up,” or “Go Potty,” and use the same command every time
Big Treats:
Big treats such as rawhides or big edible bones should be considered to be a meal. Take your pup out after they finish a treat.
Timing:
While taking pups out every 30 minutes is often recommended in the earliest weeks, it is not recommended for too many days. Try to expand that time between early on, in the first few days. This helps your puppies bladder get stronger and your puppy learns to hold it longer.
Napping:
In addition to after every meal, always take your puppy out after a long nap and after your puppy has spent time in the crate.
Watching:
Watch your puppy closely and do not give your puppy a chance to sneak off to go to the bathroom in the house. If you cannot watch your puppy, put the puppy in the crate until you are available to be there to watch for the signals your puppy will give when asking to go outside.
Corrections:
Never correct a puppy unless you catch them in the act. Rubbing puppies faces in their accidents after the fact does not teach them what they did wrong.
Taking Care of Business:
Allow your puppy to take care of business before playtime. This will help your puppy learn, “If I go in the right place, then I get to have fun!”
Praise, Praise, and more Praise!!!:
Make sure to praise your puppy each and every time they go to the bathroom outside. You do not have to give your puppy a treat, as frequent treats leads to further training challenges and you may lead to health problems later on. Remember that enthusiastic “hands-on-praise” is best.
Socialization
Socialization is extremely important for your puppy’s development. If your puppy appears to be afraid of anything, slowly allow your pup to be exposed to people, other dogs, and anything that may be causing your puppy to be fearful.
- Introductions: Introducing your puppy to everyone and everything around you will help your puppy build confidence.
- Children: Children should be told to move slowly and extend a hand with palm facing up. This will help your pup not feel threatened.
- Adults: Introduce your pup to as many adults as possible.
- Household Appliances: Your puppy needs to learn about household sounds. Don’t be afraid to vacuum near your puppy, or use other “noisy” appliances.
- Bikes and Swings: Having puppies around moving objects helps to desensitize them, and will help to keep them from running away in panic, or chasing moving objects.
- Loud Noises: Your puppy can learn not to be fearful of loud noises by hearing the noises over and over again. Playing a recording of a thunderstorm is one way that you can help your puppy learn about loud noises.
- Cars: Traveling in cars frequently, for short trips, will help diminish car sickness.
Toys and Treats
There are many safe toys and healthy treats available for your puppy, but there are also some toys and treats that may not be good for every dog.
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- Safe Toys: Puppies and dog toys are meant to entertain your dog, but it is important to supervise your puppy to make sure your puppy is not making a meal out of a toy that isn’t meant to be a meal. This can be dangerous. Be sure to always read the labels on puppy and dog toys. Toys that can give long hours of safe fun include most nylon bones, bones made out of starch, “Kong” brand toys, hard balls that your puppy cannot destroy and that do not fit fully into your puppy’s mouth. Again, it is important to supervise your puppy when your puppy is playing with toys.
- Rope Toys: Rope toys can provide lots of fun for your puppy, if your puppy does not have a tendency to chew on carpets, blankets, throws, or clothing. If you see your puppy is chewing on these items at home, then avoid rope toys.
- Plush Toys: Plush toys are lovable, cute, and your puppy may enjoy “cuddling” with plus toys. The fabric and stitches on some plush toys are easy to tear apart. If your puppy likes to rip open the plush toy and pull out the stuff, avoid these toys.
- Healthy Treats: Treats are used for special occasions. Feeding your puppy too many treats can lead to obesity later in life.
Games and Activities
As you probably already know, puppies love to play. Playing with your puppy will not only help you establish a trusting relationship early on, but it will allow your puppy to burn off excess energy and avoid other “excessive energy” problems, such as boredom.
- Games to Enjoy: Puppies like playing “Hide and Seek,” Fetch, and Find It. They also enjoy having social time with other dogs and taking walks with you.
- Games to Avoid: Puppies generally love to “tug” on toys or other objects. It is best to avoid tug-o-war games as this may cause your puppy to grow into a dominate dog, or a dog that loves to play “cat-and-mouse” when it has your favorite slippers. You will be chasing your puppy everywhere when this happens.
A Few Final Notes
A trained pup is a happy pup. Be sure to get your puppy into training as early as possible so you can enjoy your puppy and your puppy can enjoy you and others.
You should not have to alter your life for your puppy; puppies should alter their lives and behaviors for you.
Puppies do not always grow out of puppy behavior and it is true- puppy behavior can transfer to adulthood!
Puppies and dogs love to please their owners. Love your puppy every day and make sure you praise your puppy every time they do something right. Consistency is the key to success!
Most of all, enjoy your puppy! If you are in doubt about what to do, or if you need help in any way, feel free to call Doggie Manners¸ at (815) 886-0059.
Doggie Manners
Jennifer Dorner, Master Trainer, National K-9 Certified