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Puppy
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Wednesday, 16 July 2008 14:00 |
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House training is one of the most important elements of creating
a well trained dog and trusted family member. Problems with
house training and similar issues are the number one reason that
dogs are surrendered to shelters, so properly house training
your dog can literally save his or her life.
House training a puppy does not need to be difficult, but it is
important to take the process seriously, plan ahead and take
things slowly. Some dogs will be easier to house break than
others, so it important to work with your dog. Rushing the
process can be counterproductive and cause you to have to start
all over again.
When it comes to house training a new puppy, it is important to
know what to expect. Unless the owner is able to supervise the
puppy round the clock, it is difficult to complete the house
training process until the dog is at least six months old. It is
important to know this ahead of time so you can be prepared.
Young puppies have bodies that are constantly changing and
growing, and puppies younger than six months often have not
developed the bowel and bladder control they will need to be
properly house trained.
When the owner is not at home, the puppy should be confined to a
small room and the entire floor should be covered with paper. Of
course it is important to puppy-proof the room, that is removing
any items on which the puppy could be injured. In the beginning,
the puppy will most likely eliminate anywhere within the room.
In addition, the puppy will probably play with the papers, chew
them, etc.
This is perfectly normal and should not be grounds for
punishment or distress. Cleaning up each day should simply be
part of the routine of living with a new puppy. Simply clean up
the soiled papers and put down new ones each day.
Time for paper training
During the time that the puppy is confined in its little den, it
will begin to develop the habit of eliminating on paper. After a
little time has passed, the puppy will begin to exhibit a
preferred place to eliminate. After this preferred spot has been
established, the area that is papered should be slowly
diminished.
The first papers to be removed should be those that are
furthest away from the "toilet". Eventually, the owner will have
to lay down only a few papers. If the puppy ever misses those
papers, it means that the papered area has been reduced too much
and too soon.
After the puppy is reliability doing its business only on the
papers that have been left, the papers can be slowly and
gradually moved to a location of your choice. The papers should
be moved only gradually, as little as an inch a day. If the
puppy misses the papers, again it means that they have been
moved too soon and too far. In this case it will be necessary to
go back a few steps and start over.
It is important not to become discouraged. The puppy will
eventually understand the concept, and you will be able to
choose your puppies toilet area and move on to the next step.
House training when the owner is home
Obviously the more time you can spend with your puppy the faster
the house training will go. The objective should be to take the
puppy to the toilet area every time he needs to do his business.
In most cases this will be either every 45 minutes, right after
each play session, after he first wakes up or right after he
eats or drinks. It is important to provide effusive praise for
the puppy when he eliminates in the established toilet area.
As the puppy becomes more used to using his toilet area, and as
he develops improved bladder and bowel control, he will be able
to begin spending more and more time outside his den with his
owner in the rest of the home. It is important to begin this
process by allowing the puppy access to one room at a time.
It is also important to allow the puppy in the extra room only
when he can be supervised. When you must leave the room, be sure
to put the puppy back in his den.
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Thursday, 24 April 2008 09:01 |
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For all too many, the process of choosing a puppy or puppies is based purely on how cute the puppy is or how playful its personality seems at the pet store or kennel. Granted, playful and cute puppies can really tug at your heart strings and urge you to make an impulsive and expensive decision regarding this very important addition to your family, but without proper thought and research into the type of breed you are purchasing, your family and your cute, adorable puppy could be in for a long road of pain and frustration ahead.
Purebred puppy breeds have inherent characteristics that are particular to their breed, and these characteristics usually get more pronounced with age. While different breed characteristics will be appropriate for different families, matching the wrong breed with the wrong family can have devastating consequences.
It has been estimated that the number one reason why competent pet owners relinquish ownership of their puppy or puppies to one of the many county humane services to be found all across the country is because they have become frustrated with certain characteristics of the dog. No matter whether the problem is big, such as aggression to children or other pets, or small, such as a tendency to chew everything in sight, as the puppy grows and its cuteness wears off, the frustration experienced from having a poorly matched puppy will increase. And the consequences can be heart wrenching for the both the family and the dog.
But by simply taking a little time to research the breed you are considering purchasing, you can guarantee that your new puppy will be a well-loved addition to your family unit. While I"m not saying that you should discount a breed entirely based on one troublesome characteristic, I"m saying that you should be prepared and able to deal with any problems, behavioral or health related, that is associated with the breed.
In order to obtain accurate information when choosing the right breed of puppy for your family, stay away from sources that have an interest in selling the puppy. I learned this one the hard way. After my children and family fell in love with a puppy at a local, reputable pet store, I had many questions for the sales clerk about how easily the puppy could be house broken. A puppy making messes all over the house is just not something that I can deal with a few times let alone for months of house breaking.
I was assured by the clerk that the breed was very intelligent and able to be crate trained in a matter of three days. To make a long story short, $1,500 and 9 months later the puppy still requires constant supervision and cannot be a complete part of the family due to our inability to house break him. Research conducted after the purchase revealed that the breed was inherently stubborn and in some cases unable to be house broken despite all attempts.
So, instead of relying on biased sources, turn to the library and people who own that particular breed of puppy or have owned one in the past. If you know someone who has relinquished a purebred puppy of the breed that you are considering for a fraction of the cost that they paid for it or for free, you need to ask them some serious and pointed questions before deciding to invest in that particular breed of puppy.
Here are the most important questions that you need answered before purchasing a puppy or puppies:
- What is the temperament like?
- What is the mature size and weight?
- Are they good with children?
- What are their indigenous health problems?
- How long do they live?
- How much do they shed?
- How much do they eat?
- How trainable are they?
- Can they be easily house broken?
- Do they require a lot of grooming?
- How noisy are they?
- How protective are they?
- Do they require any special care or management?
- Are they good with other dogs and animals?
Now all you need to do is match the answers of these questions with your family"s needs. Choose wisely, and you will have chosen a best friend of a lifetime, a dog that will truly be a joy to have and a treasured member of the family.
About The Author
Randy Myers
Find more puppy articles, tips and tricks at my website:
Wise Puppy http://www.WisePuppy.com
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Friday, 14 March 2008 03:01 |
If you have a puppy, you must start training early, but do it gently.
Your puppy has to have confidence in you before he can begin learning. Remember that puppies are like children - they have growing bodies, short attention spans, and will only learn things when the conditions are right and when they understand what it is you"re trying to teach them.
That said, the earlier you start training dogs, the better. More specifically, it"s best if you start “socialization” from 8 weeks, simple commands like “come” and “sit” from 12 weeks, and more intensive training at 5 to 6 months.
While some early training can be started as soon as you bring your puppy home, the optimum time to begin obedience training is somewhere around 9 to 12 weeks of age.
Keep in mind that training can cover a broad range of topics – I’m not suggesting that you begin training your puppy at 8 weeks of age for agility competitions! Your training should start off with the basics – teaching him “No!” and beginning house-training.
Socialization skills are next – experts tell us the best window for your puppy to learn socialization skills is between 3 and 16 weeks – that’s the best time to insure that your puppy grows into a well-adjusted adult.
And remember, socialization isn’t about teaching him the right fork to use at the dinner table – it’s about giving your dog the self-assurance to deal correctly with any social environment he finds himself in is one of the most valuable and lasting lessons you can teach him.
A well-socialized dog will interact well with all types of people and situations, even those he has never been in before. With appropriate social skills, your dog will show little or no fear of most objects, people or other animals, and even if startled, will recover quickly and won’t panic.
Bottom line, a well-adjusted dog is one that is comfortable in a variety of situations and surroundings. He may be excited in a new setting, but not fearful. The key here is to create positive experiences as you expose your dog to more and more new situations.
Even training your puppy for 5 – 10 minutes per day as soon as you bring him home will make a big difference in the social skills and adaptability of your puppy.
Keep in mind that puppies have very short attention spans, so keep your lessons short and fun. How short an attention span? That depends on the age of the puppy, his breed and how mature your individual puppy is – but a good rule of thumb is to keep the training sessions within that 5 -10 minute range.
Depending on your puppy’s age and maturity level, sometime between 3 and 6 months of age you should be moving the training into the area of the basic commands such as Sit, Heel, Down, etc.
It’s important you have realistic expectations about your dog’s capabilities at this point – I don’t expect a puppy to be responding to the basic commands with any degree of regularity until they’ve reached 6 months of age.
For more: http://tinyurl.com/4efaq
About the Author
Author, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!“ which you can read more about at:
http://tinyurl.com/4efaq |
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