Training Your New Puppy (Getting off on the Right Paw)

Sep 21, 2015

Training new puppy

Toilet Training

Start off where you want to finish off (ie if outside get them to go outside from day 1)
  1. Consistency is the key
  2. Take them to spot you want to toilet 1st in morning and night , 15-20 min after each meal and then every 2 hours
  3. Stay with them for 5 to 10 minutes or longer by playing again
  4. Praise with treats or affection if your puppy toilets
  5. Can use a word at time such as “wee wee”
  6. When your puppy is inside keep them in a confined area (use barriers) so you can keep watch on
  7. Crate training at night is a great way to speed up toilet training especially reducing accidents at night
  8. Don’t punish any accidents in house as this discourages them to go to toilet in front of you
  9. Clean up any accidents with “urine free” or “frebrees” to remove the smell (Don’t use ammonia as this smells like urine to puppies so they will go back to same spot)

Biting

  1. All puppies explore their world via mouthing so biting is normal
  2. Puppies learn “bite inhibition”= how hard is it ok to bit
  3. If your puppy is biting you then offer something else such as chew treat or toy such as a Kong
  4. If they continue biting “yelp” like a puppy or say “ouch) to let your puppy know it hurts
  5. Another method is to turn a negative into a positive by getting them to sit & then reward them

“Nothing in Life is Free” make sure they “Sit,Look &Stay”

  1. Before your puppies gets a pat, food or play time then make them sit, look at you & stay
  2. To say “please” your puppy needs to sit, look at you & stay then praise them
  3. Consistency is the key so all family members need to make sure the puppy sits and stays
  4. If your puppy jumps on you then stand up if you are sitting but ignore them say nothing, if you want to give a pat then get them to sit,look & stay
  5. By doing this your puppy will look to you for everything they want – food, love and play
  6. By doing this it will help prevent separation anxiety (one of most common problem) as they know that they have to wait before getting attention

Environmental Enrichment (making their home interesting)

  1. Each day when you leave them, you need to give than something to keep them occupied whilst you are out a
  2. Behavioural toys – such as kongs stuffed with mince and frozen and treat balls with their dry food meal
  3. Treasure hunt – put dry food meal scattered through the grass
  4. Chew treat
  5. Raw bone
Toilet training If they don’t go after meal watch for signs of sniffing and going round in circles. Usually a sign puppy needs to go take straight outside. I think the recommendation is to come in if puppy doesn’t go to toilet in 10 minutes but to watch for signs of sniffing etc. Need to stress socialisation period before 12 weeks old. Very important gets out and meets new people, animals and goes to different places. With biting use negative punishment ie reduce the behaviour by taking away the pleasant thing that is play. So stop playing immediately and give puppy a minute of ignoring. Ensure the whole family follows this as puppy gets confused if mum stops biting and teenage son encourages he puppy to mouth.