Training tips
Easy ways to train your dog at home
Puppies:
Generally your puppy will be quite rowdy and energetic. This is a good thing, if he is not, then you either have a rare docile pooch. For those of you with your new pup bouncing off the walls and getting into everything, this is for you:
Before bringing the pup into your home, you'll want to puppy proof it. The best way to do this, is to get down on all fours, yes you, and crawl around the house, anything that you see on the floor, like pens or bottle caps or any small object you've been meaning to pick up but have forgotten about, now's a good time. Try and keep plants off the floor too, puppies have a great sense of adventure, but no sense of danger.
I would suggest in your house or apartment, to section off an area for your new pup, sometimes the kitchen is a good place because usually there is no carpet so if the little guy has an accident, it's not too bad to clean up. I would also suggest in this secluded area to have a crate of cage, these are usually pricy, so you would want to buy one big enough to hold him at his adult size. otherwise you'll have to keep buying them as he grows, which is silly.
The reason I suggest crate training is simple, your dog will feel safe and you'll know he's safe.
For the crate, have a few blankets, sheets or towels that you no longer use and rub them on the puppy. If you bought your pup from a breeder, rub the sheets on the mother of your pooch. This way he'll have her scent in his crate and he'll feel more secure.
The crate should never ever be used to punish the dog. It should be a happy place for him, so put some toys in there too, be careful of which toys you use, if you are using stuffed animals, make sure there are no eyes or noses he could chew off and swallow, if you use rawhide, make sue the bone is big enough that he won't be able to chew through it in two minutes.
A puppy should only stay alone for about 1 hour for every month old he is. Maximum. He will have to out to do his business more often because his bladder is quite small.
So, now you have your crate ready for puppy, what you want to do is let him sniff it, let him get used to the sight of it. Then after a while get a cookie and put it in the crate, put puppy in too, close the door and walk away. Leave him for a minute or two, but try not to let him see you. Even if he barks or yelps, he will adjust.
Do this several times over a few days.
If you can, always leave the crate in the same spot and leave the door open when you are home so he can roam in and out freely.
If you are to leave him for longer than a minute, you may want to invest in a toy called a Kong.
They come in different
sizes to suit your dog and what you can do with this is pack treats inside of
it, maybe a little peanut butter, and when you leave, drop it in the crate with
your pup, and he will go at it for quite a while. You can buy these toys at your
local pet store. Their about 10$
You will notice that eventually your dog will see you prepare the Kong and probably wait in his crate for it.
It's also important to not make a huge fuss over the dog as you are leaving, this can cause separation anxiety. Try to leave as quickly as possible. The same goes for when you return, don't make a big fuss, (as hard as it may be), come in take off your coat, let the dog out, walk around a bit, then fuss him up like crazy.
It's also better to put the crate out of view of the door.
If you don't like the crate idea, no problem, but I would still suggest sectioning off a part of you house, so that your dog is not overwhelmed by all the new stuff he can get into. Using the Kong will still benefit you.
As for toilette training a puppy, the best thing you can do is let him out every 10 to 15 minutes if he is 1 month or less, and every half hour if he is 2 to 5 months. If an accident occurs, don't yell or punish him, just put him outside or if it's a small dog and you use newspaper in the home, put him on that, this way if he's put outside or on the paper every time he pee's, he'll catch on.
Please, Please, Please, Never put the dogs nose in his urine, to show him it's bad, a dogs sense of smell is triple ours, and it's just cruel and unnecessary.
If you have more questions about your puppy feel free to contact me via E-Mail
