New Puppy Behaviour & Training Notes

 

Congratulations on your new puppy. We wish you a long and happy time with them and have prepared this short note to help you get off to the best start.

First, we’ll look at some house rules for you to consider and then move on to various topics that will help your puppy to build confidence.

 

House Rules

Toilet Training

The quickest way to teach your puppy to toilet outside is to plan sufficient outside visits such that they never find themselves needing to toilet when they are in the house. This may mean taking them outside every hour. Make sure that outside time is quite boring, otherwise they’ll just get distracted and not attend to necessary business.

Newspaper or puppy pads can help with house training but usually do extend the time that this takes.

Never rub your dog’s nose in it or give them a row if they have an accident – this simply reduces the likelihood that they will toilet in your presence.

Be consistent and clean up any accidents with special pet toilet cleaner (do not use normal household cleaners as the ammonia smell may encourage toileting).

 

Jumping up

Surprisingly, it’s humans that actually teach puppies to jump. This simple tip can truly help to avoid future jumping problems.

Jumping up is one of the most common training problems that is easily avoided. If your puppy jumps on you, gently hold their wee bodies and place their paws on the floor. Continue to pat them, telling them they’re a good dog.

 

Chasing and Nipping

Puppies love to chase moving objects, pounce on them and grab them with their teeth. Mops, vacuums, ankles and toes are frequently seen as fantastic toys for puppies. Avoid mop chasing by aiming to keep them out of the way or distracted with a chewy toy.  Distract them from ankle and toe chasing by diverting their attention onto a fun toy.

 

Stealing Objects

Another fantastic game that puppies love to play is to steal objects such as socks or kids’ toys and run away with them. It’s a great game for them because, usually we chase them and “play” with them to get the object back.

The best plan here is to keep a very tidy house, thus reducing the likelihood of this troublesome behaviour. If they do steal something, aim to swap it for something better. Always praise your puppy for bringing you something (this encourages fetch and recall).

 

Crate Training

Teaching a puppy to feel happy and safe in a crate can help with so many different problems. It can give them a safe den to sleep in and can keep them out of mischief whilst you’re cooking or doing housework etc.
Build this up gradually. Feed them in there and give them a tasty chew toy. Pop them in there after a play or training session when they will be tired anyway. If they are ok, then close the gate. Aim to be there to open the gate when they wake up to avoid teaching them to bark to be let out.

 

Puppy Confidence

Most dog behaviour problems develop from fear and anxiety. Therefore, we want to do our best to ensure that their life experience is as fear-free as possible. Here are some areas to consider.

 

First nights

Your puppy has just been removed from their littermates, mother and the security of their birth home. We need to, therefore, give them some time to become accustomed to their new home.

It’s not a good idea to isolate a puppy in the kitchen or utility room and let them cry, whine or bark. Instead, set up a camp bed and sleep there with them (where you want them to eventually sleep) for the first couple of nights.

Then, sitting calmly beside them whilst they are lying in a super comfy bed, should help them to drift off into a lovely calm sleep. After a few nights, they should be much more relaxed in your home and be less likely to whine when left.

An Adaptil plug-in beside their bed may help them to be calm too.

Sleeping with your dog for the first few nights also enables you to know if they wake up and need to go outside to toilet.

 

First Steps in Training

Puppies learn best by being taught what “to do” rather than being told off for doing something they shouldn’t. Truly they really don’t know any better just now. Usually “Sit” is a very easy lesson for puppies to learn.

Simply hold a small treat in your hand and encourage your puppy to look up at the treat; they will usually sit, and when they do, say “Sit”. Then, when they are jumping or running off with something or doing something they shouldn’t, you can get them to “sit” instead of saying “no” or “stop it”.

Puppies do need to learn “no” but we usually tell them off far too often. They are not children and don’t understand the concept of “ok” and “no” at this stage. This comes with more training.

 

Socialisation

All puppies benefit from careful and gentle “socialisation” within the first four months of their lives. This is about exposing the puppy to the many sights, sounds and experiences that they will have to cope with in life. For instance, if a puppy never sees a bicycle or person wearing a hat or yellow work jacket, they may well be fearful of these later in life.

It’s important to start with socialisation as early as possible and continue with your calm exposure plans on a regular basis. The simple trick here is to e.g. let them see traffic from a safe distance or to e.g. keep them distracted whilst you are vacuuming. A little new exposure every couple of days will be ok for most puppies. Please do ensure that they are not being overwhelmed.

Obviously, we need to take care of your puppy’s health during their vaccination period. However, you can safely take a puppy out in a car, park it somewhere and sit with them whilst they experience the noises passing by.  Inviting friends to visit and going to friends houses also helps with safe exposure. There are also many noise CD’s and free downloads available now to help puppies to learn to ignore fireworks and other noises.

 

Travel

Whilst we’re talking about taking a puppy out in the car, please ensure that they are safe and secure. At this early stage, they need a small, enclosed space to ensure that they don’t slide about as you drive along.

 

Breed Type Habits

Here’s a top tip! Preventing habits forming is much easier than fixing unwanted behaviours later.  Specifically, if you have a breed of dog that is renowned for barking, pulling or chasing things, then get started with your training very early.

• Encourage desirable behaviours such as running to you or bringing you toys.
• Consider using a Halti or Gentle Leader, gently introduced to prevent pulling before it begins.
• Distract a puppy from whatever they are barking at.

 

Handling

Being able to examine your dog is something that not only benefits vets but will also prove very helpful for you. Consider, for instance, having to apply ear or eye drops, or remove a tick. Even toweling down and grooming are obviously much easier if your dog will happily stand still.

You can encourage your puppy to stand still by: holding a wee treat in a cupped hand and letting them lick at that, whilst touching various parts of their body with your other hand. Start off with their backs and move down the tail and legs. Once they are calm enough, then you can start to touch and look at their ears, teeth and eyes. Practice this each day for a little while and name the parts of the body that you are going to touch.

 

Multiple Dogs or Puppies

It’s very important that your new puppy gets to experience life without their other doggy family. Please ensure, therefore, to have some good quality 1-1 time with them whilst training, playing and experiencing the outside world. This will not only help them to bond with and be more responsive to you, but will also help to build their self-confidence.

We do hope you’ve found these New Puppy Tips useful. Of course, this is just a brief, introductory note. We’d be delighted to answer any other questions at your regular puppy visits.

Contact us Tain Surgery 01862 894223 or Invergordon 01349 854981.

This note has been prepared by Anna Patfield, Behaviourist at Pawsbility.co.uk, May 2019.

©2019 Johnston & Farrell Ltd Veterinary Surgery