Bringing a new puppy into the household is always an exciting and fun time. Everyone wants to play with, cuddle and hold the little ball of fur. The last thing on the minds of most new puppy owners is training the new addition, but it is important that puppy training and socialization begin as early as possible.
Socializing a new puppy is a vital part of any training program, and it is important for socialization to begin early. The window for socialization is very short, and a puppy that is not properly socialized to people, dogs and other animals by the time he or she is four months old often never develops the socialization he or she needs to become a good canine citizen.
Learning how to interact with other dogs is something that normally would occur between littermates. However, since most dogs are removed from their mothers so soon, this littermate socialization often does not finish properly.
One vital lesson puppies learn from their littermates and from the mother dog is how to bite, and how not to bite. Puppies naturally roughhouse with each other, and their thick skin protects them from most bites. However, when one puppy bites too hard, the other puppies, or the mother dog, quickly reprimands him, often by holding him by the scruff of his neck until he submits.
The best way to socialize your puppy is to have it play with lots of other puppies. It is also fine for the puppy to play with a few adult dogs, as long as they are friendly and well socialized.
Many communities have puppy playschool and puppy kindergarten classes. These classes can be a great way to socialize any puppy, and for handler and puppy alike to learn some basic obedience skills.
When socializing puppies, it is best to let them play on their own and work out their own issues when it comes to appropriate roughness of play. The only time the owners should step in is if one puppy is hurting another, or if a serious fight breaks out. Other than that the owners should simply stand back and watch their puppies interact.
While this socialization is taking place, the pack hierarchy should quickly become apparent. There will be some puppies who are ultra submissive, rolling on their backs and baring their throats at the slightest provocation. Other puppies in the class will be dominant, ordering the other puppies around and telling them what to do. Watching the puppies play, and determining what type of personality traits your puppy has, will be very valuable in determining the best way to proceed with more advanced training.
As the socialization process proceeds, of course, it will be necessary to introduce the puppy to all sorts of humans as well as all sorts of puppies. Fortunately, the puppy kindergarten class makes this process quite easy, since every puppy gets to interact with every human. It is important that the puppy be exposed to men, and women, old people and children, black people and white people. Dogs do not see every human as the same. To a dog, a man and a woman are completely different animals.
It is also important to introduce the puppy to a variety of other animals, especially in a multi- pet household. Introducing the puppy to friendly cats is important, as are introductions to other animals the puppy may encounter, such as rabbits, guinea pigs and the like. If your household contains a more exotic creature, it is important to introduce the puppy to it as early as possible, but to do it in a way that is safe for both animals.
It is often best to start by introducing the puppy to the smell of the other animal. This can be easily accomplished by placing a piece of the animals bedding, like a towel or bed liner, near where the puppy sleeps. Once the puppy is accustomed to the smell of the other creature, he or she is much more likely to accept the animal as just another member o the family.
Training your puppy not to bite
Biting is one of those things that every puppy seems to do, and must be taught not to bite. Like many behaviors, such as jumping up on people, biting and nipping can seem cute when the puppy is small, but much less so as he gets older, larger and stronger.
Left to their own devices, most puppies learn to control their biting reflex from their mothers and from their littermates. When the puppy becomes overenthusiastic, whether when nursing or playing, the mother dog, or the other puppies, will quickly issue a correction.
Unfortunately, this type of natural correction often does not occur, since many puppies are removed from their mothers when they are still quite young. It is therefore up to the puppy's owner to take over this important process.
Socializing the puppy with other dogs and puppies is one of the best and most effective ways to teach the puppy the appropriate, and non appropriate way to bite, and to curb the biting response.
Many communities and pet stores sponsor puppy playtime and puppy kindergarten classes, and these classes can be great places for puppies to socialize with each other, and with other humans and animals as well. As the puppies play with each other, they will naturally bite and nip each other. When one puppy becomes too rough or bites too hard, the other puppies will quickly respond by correcting it.
The best time for this socialization of the puppy to occur is when it is still young. It is vital that every dog be properly socialized, since a poorly socialized dog, or worse, one that is not socialized at all, can become dangerous and even neurotic. Most experts recommend that puppies be socialized before they have reached the age of 12 weeks, or three months.
Another reason for socializing the puppy early is that mothers of young children may be understandably reluctant to allow their young children to play with older or larger dogs. Since socializing the dog with other people is just as important as socializing it with other dogs, it is best to do it when the puppy is still young enough to be non threatening to everyone.
It is important for the puppy to be exposed to a wide variety of different stimuli during the socialization process. The socialization process should include exposing the puppy to a wide variety of other animals, including other puppies, adult dogs, cats and other domestic animals. In addition, the puppy should be introduced to as wide a cross section of people as possible, including young children, older people, men, women and people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
While socialization is very important to providing the puppy with life lessons and preventing him from biting, it is not the only method of preventing unwanted biting and mouthing. Giving the puppy appropriate things to play with and bite is another good way to control inappropriate biting. Providing a variety of chew toys, ropes and other things the puppy can chew is important to preventing boredom, keeping his teeth polished and keeping him from chewing things he should not.
As with any training, it is important to be consistent when teaching the puppy not to bite. Every member of the family, as well as close friends who may visit, should all be told that the puppy is to be discouraged from biting. If one person allows the puppy to chew on them while everyone else does not, the puppy will quickly become confused, and that can make the training process much more difficult than it has to be.
Teaching a puppy to accept his collar and leash
Learning to walk on a collar and leash is the basis of all further training for every puppy. Until the puppy has learned to accept the collar and leash, it will be impossible to perform any additional training. The first step toward getting the puppy to accept the collar and leash is to find a collar that fits the dog properly. It is important that the collar be neither too light or too heavy, neither too thin nor too thick. A collar that is too light for the dog can be easily broken, while a collar that is too heavy may be uncomfortable for the puppy to wear.
It is also important that the width of the color be appropriate for the size of the dog. Determining the proper length of the collar is relatively easy. Simply wrap a tape measure or a string lightly around the dog's neck to get an accurate measurement. It is important that the tape measure not be tight, just slightly snug. Most collars are sized in two inch increments, so you may have to round up to get a properly sized collar. For instance, if the dog has a 13" neck, you would buy a 14" collar, and so on.
After you have purchased the perfect collar, the next step is to put it on the dog and allow him to wear it around the house. Do not be dismayed if the dog whines, paws at the collar or otherwise tries to remove it. This is normal, and the dog should not be punished for it. It is best to simply ignore the dog and allow him to work out his own issues with the collar.
The dog should be allowed to wear the collar 24 hours a day for a number of days to get used to the feel of the collar on his neck. After the dog is accepting the collar well, it is time to start introducing the leash. A lightweight leash works best for this process. Simply attach the leash to the dog's collar and allow him to walk around the house with it. The dog should of course be supervised during this process in order to make sure he does not get the leash caught on anything. Getting the leash caught or snagged could frighten the dog and create a leash phobia that will be hard to overcome.
In the beginning, the leash should only be attached for a few minutes at a time. It is important to attach the leash at happy times, such as playtime, meal time, etc. It is important for the dog to associate the leash with happy things. When the leash is not attached to the dog, it is a good idea to keep it near the dog's food and water bowls. The dog should be encouraged to investigate the leash, and to discover that it is not something to fear. After the dog is used to walking around with the leash attached, take the end of the leash in your hand and just hold it. Allow the dog to walk around. If the dog bumps into something, just allow the dog to react and move as he desires. The goal of this exercise is to simply allow the dog to get used to the feel of the collar and the leash.
It is important to allow the puppy plenty of time to get used to wearing the collar and leash before ever attempting to lead the puppy. It is best to perform this exercise in the home or other environment where the puppy feels safe and secure. After the puppy is comfortable and content walking on the leash in the home, it can slowly be taken outside. It is best to make these outside trips very short at the beginning, and to lengthen them slowly over time. Some puppies take to the collar and leash immediately, while others may require some additional time.
Tips for house training your new puppy
House training a puppy is one of the first, and one of the most important things, that any new dog owner must do. It is easy to get frustrated if you do not understand the basics of this important process, so we have put together a few tips to make the process of house training your puppy a little easier.
It is vital to establish good toilet and hygiene habits in the puppy when he is young, since the patterns that are established in those first few months can last a lifetime. When you consider that house training issues are the number one reason why dogs are surrendered to animal shelters, it is easy to see why house training is so extremely important.
In most cases, a puppy will not be completely house trained until he or she is six months of age. That is because puppies younger than six months often lack the bowel and bladder control that they need in order to be reliably left alone in the home all day.
Puppies younger than six months should be confined to a single, small puppy proofed room any time the owner is not available to supervise the animal. The entire floor of the room should be covered in newspaper or other similarly absorbent and cheap material.
At first the puppy will go everywhere and anywhere in the room. As the puppy gets older and begins to display better bladder and bowel control, the amount of paper used is slowly reduced, until the puppy goes only on the established "toilet" papers. This toilet area will form the basis of later house training.
House training the puppy - what to do:
- Provide the puppy with constant, unrestricted access to the toilet area that has been established.
- Take the puppy to the toilet area every 45 minutes when you are at home.
- When you are away from home, or when you cannot supervise the puppy, it is important to confine the puppy to a small area that has been puppy proofed and covered with newspaper.
- It is important to be sure that the toilet area does not resemble anything in the home, such as carpet or hardwood floor. Once the puppy is used to eliminating on a particular surface, such as grass or blacktop, he will want to eliminate on that time of surface.
- Always provide lots of praise when the puppy does its business in the established toilet area. The puppy needs to learn to associate eliminating in the established area with positive things like treats, toys and praise from you.
- It is important to keep a set schedule when feeding the puppy, and to provide ready access to fresh, clean drinking water at all times. Providing a consistent schedule for feeding will help you learn to anticipate your puppy's toilet needs.
- Using a crate can help the puppy to develop much needed self control. Dogs are naturally very clean animals, and they will try their best not to soil their bed area.
And finally, it is vital to employ patience during the house training process. House training can take as long as several months, but it is much easier to house train right the first time than to retrain a problem dog.
House training the puppy - what to avoid
- Do not punish or reprimand the puppy if it makes a mistake. The puppy will not understand the reason for the punishment, and he may become nervous and agitated. This could set the training back even further.
- Do not give the puppy constant access to food. Keep the puppy to a set feeding schedule instead of leaving food out all the time.
The puppy should not be given the run of the house until he has been thoroughly house trained.
House training a new puppy is not always easy, but it is important to persevere. By exercising patience, and rewarding your dog with lavish praise every time he does the right thing, you will have your puppy house trained in no time at all.
I will deal with problem puppy behavior in the next post.
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