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Bonnie the staff puppy, submitted by Charlotte and Alice
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Puppy Preparation
When training a dog it is important to do so from as young an age as possible – and so the ideal situation would be to train the dog whilst it is still a puppy. Obviously in certain situations this may not be possible, perhaps you have adopted a dog from a kennel, or maybe you made a mistake and didn’t bother training the dog as a puppy. This article probably isn’t going to be much use to you if your dog is no longer a puppy, so you can always move on to the next training resource if you feel it would be more beneficial for your dog’s behaviour and manner. Whatever situation you may be in though, you may learn some important facts and ideas from reading this article, even though it is predominately aimed at puppies.
As mentioned earlier, it is so important to start training your dog from as young as possible. You have probably heard of the phrase “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and so you should try your best to train your dog as soon as you receive it, however that may be. If you think of a puppy the same as a baby – the brain is still developing and growing, and so by teaching them at a young age it is far easier for them to learn and develop themselves. As you get older it is harder to learn new things, and this is no different when it comes to dogs.
Before receiving your puppy it is important to clear an area away, especially for use by the new arrival. Try and minimise the risk of damage to carpets/clothing etc by preparing yourself fully. Remember the puppy will not be house trained at first, and so you have to expect some accidents/mischievous behaviour. It is important at this stage not to show anger or frustration, you must show understanding towards the dog as it is still learning. It may be best to try and close an area off for the puppy to use, so that it can’t wander off or cause much damage elsewhere. If the puppy is given too much freedom it may start to take advantage, expecting to be able to wander the house when it likes. Make sure it knows that you are in control, and that it is up to you whether the dog is allowed in certain rooms/allowed onto furniture etc.
Try and place the food and water bowls in the same area as the puppy, and keep them in the same place in the future too. This is too help keep the puppy relaxed, and for occasions when it is left by itself it will feel less anxious when things are kept in the same place, without it worrying about its food/water. Try and make sure the puppy has toys available to entertain itself with too, though make sure they are suitable and that bits can’t be chewed up, etc.
Another obvious preparation for the arrival of the puppy would be to brief any family members about the puppy. Make sure that if they are involved with the training/care of the puppy that they understand fully what to do, be it simply taking the dog outside so often to go to the toilet, or making sure that it is fed properly at certain times.
It is vital that you invest in a collar and a lead too, obviously so that the puppy can be kept on a lead at times when necessary, and so that they get used to the feeling of the collar/being kept on a lead. Again, the dog has to understand that you are the leader and you are in control of the dog – and not the other way round. Another important suggestion would be to get an ID tag for the dog. This can include the name of the dog, and your own telephone number. This is so that if the dog was to run away, hopefully someone could find it and look at the tag to find out how to contact its owners.
When everything is set up and in place, and all the preparations are complete, this is when you are finally ready to introduce the puppy. Make sure newspaper is covering the nearby floor in case of an accident, and make sure the puppy feels at home. Try and leave some toys scattered across the floor so that it can always play when it feels like it. When the puppy is introduced to its new surroundings, make sure you give it plenty of time to rest and sleep when it wants to. Be sure not to disturb it or try to play with it when it looks tired, as puppies will need to sleep a lot of the time. Inevitably everyone in the household will be excited and enthusiastic towards the puppy, make sure they don’t fuss over it too much though – try and stick to some rules, and be consistent with them. Make sure that the puppy doesn’t jump up at everyone, as this can lead to a bad habit in later life when the dog is excited to greet new people – simply jumping up and digging its claws into their legs. This isn’t too nice for the person visiting the dog, especially when the dog has muddy paws.
Make sure that the dog sleeps in the bed provided for it, or on the floor in the room provided. Don’t take it too your own bed to sleep with it, as this can cause behavioural problems.
When playing with the dog, try and be quiet and gentle. Show the puppy how you want to play with it, and show how to play with the toys provided. If you catch your puppy chewing furniture or other items, firmly tell it off and instantly provide it with one of its toys. This will encourage it to play with its toys, and not with your best furniture. Make sure you praise your dog when it does play with its toys, show your happiness towards the dog when it is behaving well. This will again help to provide a picture of ideal puppy behaviour, which your dog will eventually pick up on.
Be sure not to pamper the puppy, and also try not to be constantly by its side. Purposely leave it on its own for periods of time, and then increase the lengths of time that it is left on its own for. This will help the puppy adjust and realise that you can’t be around it all the time. The dog will then have to understand when it will have to entertain itself, and wait patiently for its owner to return. This is good practise for when you do have to go out for long periods of time, without having to worry about the puppy whining constantly.
At this stage it would be important to book an appointment with your local Vet, so that your puppy can be immunised against diseases preferably before it goes anywhere outside. Another recommendation would be to purposely take it somewhere that there will be other dogs, so it can learn to socialise and behave amongst others. The same can be done with people, so when you feel it can handle it try and introduce it to a relative or a friend and see how it reacts.