Great advice from Nina Bohm who runs Black and White Dog Training
New Puppy Information Sheet
1. SLEEP – Puppies need a lot of sleep. They should have a nice warm safe place to retreat to. Don’t let children constantly pester them. I would highly recommend crate training. The crate should be a happy place and never used as a punishment. Overtired puppies are often more difficult to deal with. I wouldn’t leave your puppy alone at night to cry. This can cause anxiety. I would recommend a crate in your bedroom. Settle them in it before you leave them.
2. TOILET TRAINING – Take them outside every half hour to begin with, after each meal and as soon as they wake up. Have a command such as ‘go wee’. Praise them when they go. NEVER tell your pup off if they have an accident or they will be reluctant to do their business in front of you in the correct place.
3. PUPPIES DO NOT GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO BE NAUGHTY! – Your pup will do lots of things you may consider naughty like mouthing, chasing, stealing, jumping up, chewing, digging and barking. They are just young and it’s normal. Teach your puppy lots of alternative behaviours to do such as sit, wait, down, leave etc… Don’t ever shout at your puppy, you want to build a trusting relationship, not one based on fear.
4. FEEDING – There are many foods on the market. Every dog is different, so choose what’s right for them. I would recommend three or four meals a day until six months. If they don’t eat it, take it up after twenty minutes. Even better, use their food to train them with. Never leave food down all the time. Never take your puppies food away when they are eating. This can cause resource guarding in the future. Same applies for toys.
5. VACCINATIONS, WORMING, FLEA TREATMENTS, NUTERING & INSURANCE – These are personal choices. The only advice I would give is to do your research and speak to your vet about it. Be careful of misinformation on social media and the internet.
6. SOCIALISING – The optimum period for socialisation is 3-16 weeks. During this time make sure your puppy has positive experiences with everything possible. Carry puppy around before vaccinations and arrange puppy play dates with other vaccinated dogs. They need to meet a wide variety of different people, children, dog breeds, animals and places. Never force a situation. Give your puppy time to explore the world.
7. RECALL TRAINING – You can never start this too young. There is a separate information sheet available for this. 8. PUPPY CLASSES – It is a great benefit for them to attend regular training as a puppy and into adulthood. A well trained dog will be more confident and happy.
9. KNOW YOUR BREED – Obviously it’s important to choose the correct dog to fit in with your life, but as you are reading this I’m guessing you already have! Do plenty of research into the breed. Dogs enjoy a variety of activities, for example a husky may enjoy canicross or a collie may enjoy agility. Most dogs need something!
10. ENRICHMENT & EXERCISE – as a general guide your pup should have no more than 5 mins twice a day per month of life. E.g. A pup of three months would need two fifteen minute walks a day. Be careful that they don’t jump too much as their joints are not fully developed when they are young. I wouldn’t recommend throwing a ball continuously. Use tuggy toys and do lots of obedience training when out on walks. Make sure your pup has a wide variety of toys at home and lots of chews. Teething is uncomfortable for pups so they need to chew. It will be your furniture if they don’t have anything of their own. Avoid rawhide.
11. GROOMING & HANDLING – Use lots of treats to make handling a positive experience for them. A trip to meet the groomer and the vet when they are really young is advisable.
12. LEAD WALKING – Introduce a collar or harness as soon as possible, practise nice lead walking around the house to begin with using plenty of treats. Never yank your dog back or drag them along. Pups often need a bit of time to sniff and explore.
13. THEFT & ATTENTION SEEKING – Your puppy will very likely want to steal things to get attention from you. Smelly socks are a favourite! Keep anything of value or anything dangerous out of reach. Try not to engage in a game of chase with your pup. Train your pup a good ‘leave’ command. Puppies may also bark, jump up, mouth and scratch amongst other things to gain attention. Try to ignore it as much as possible.
14. JUMPING UP – Puppies will want to jump up. Don’t reinforce it by giving them attention. Turn your back, say nothing and walk away. Give them praise and attention for sitting nicely and lying down. Make sure everyone does the same from the start. Remember your cute little 3k pup could be 25k in a few months!
15. KEEP CALM – If you want a calm dog then you need to be calm yourself. Don’t fight fire with fire. If your pup is doing something you don’t want, deal with it in a calm and positive manner. Ask for alternative behaviours and reward them. Dogs pick up our moods. You can’t hide anything from them! They smell anxiety and fear! If you panic so will they.
16. DANGERS OF AVERSIVES – Dog training takes time and patience. There are many products on the market that claim to train your dog such as shock collars and anti-pull leads. Using pain or fear to train your puppy can lead to an anxious dog. Build a relationship with your puppy based on trust. Motivate them to do the right things for you.
Recommended Reading Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor In Defence of Dogs by John Bradshaw For more information about training ….
www.blackandwhitedogtraining.com
Black and White Dog Training offer a variety of classes including…
Puppy classes – 6 weeks
Further obedience and life skills – 6 weeks
Fun obedience with agility foundations – 6 weeks
Lead walking and heelwork – 2 weeks
Good manners classes – one off sessions
We also offer one to one training for foundation agility, obedience and training walks.
Behaviour Consultations These sessions are for more serious issues such as aggression and separation anxiety.
For more information…. Call - Nina Bohm 07949131456 Email – hello@blackandwhitedogtraining.com
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