GETTING STARTED
Teach good habits from the beginning. It's easier to teach good habits
than to retrain them later. At eight weeks, it's cute and fun to hold the
puppy in your lap on the couch, or to let it lunge on the leash, or eat
stuff off the floor, or bark cute puppy barks. At 60 pounds those behaviors
won't be so much fun. A strong, firm foundation is the best starting point.
Remember, a new baby puppy needs constant supervision! Tie him to your
belt loop for the first couple of weeks. Put him in his crate when you need
a break or can't watch him. Later on, keep a dragline on him when he's loose
in the house so that you can correct him if you need to.
Get the puppy used to handling—all over its body—every day from the very
first day you bring it home.
Encourage good manners at mealtime. A blind person doesn't need an
eighty-pound dog frisking about the kitchen. Tell your puppy "wait" and set
his food bowl down. You will have to restrain him at first, until he gets
the idea. Wait until he stops struggling to get to the food. Then tell him
"okay" and release him to eat.
Attend all the puppy meetings and ask lots of questions. Don't hesitate
to email or call your leaders in between times with questions or problems.
CRATE COMFORT?
Use your crate from the beginning when you cannot fully supervise the puppy
and keep your puppy in practice by kenneling him for a bit of time every
day.
Feed pup in the crate. He will think the crate is a wonderful
place, and he'll be more reluctant to relieve in it, thus reinforcing your
potty training.
Many brand new puppies behave as if it will kill them to be crated. They
may cry, whine, scratch, bite at the door or the air holes, or turn
around endlessly before they lie down. Don't let your pup buffalo you!
Being comfortable in a crate is an essential skill for a dog in
training, and it's far easier to teach it now than when the dog is
older. Here are a few do's and don'ts that may make crate training a
little easier.
Don't put a blanket in the kennel. A young pup will chew it up and may
swallow it, causing a potentially serious medical emergency. Plus, the
pup can urinate on fabric and then kick it out of the way, thus
defeating your efforts at house training.
Don't let the puppy out of its kennel because it is noisy; it teaches
the pup that making noise works. Wait until the pup is quiet (even for a
few seconds) before you unlatch that door! Then ask the pup to maintain
quiet for gradually longer periods, teaching that quiet works and noise
doesn't.
Don't throw anything at the kennel in hopes of making the puppy be
quiet. It will only cause the puppy to become noise-shy.
Do feed the pup in its kennel at first. This develops a positive
association with the kennel and gives the puppy another reason to keep
it clean—the kennel is bedroom and kitchen to the puppy.
Do kennel the puppy when you need a break from puppy hijinks, or when
you can't supervise it completely. This will allow you both to be happy
about each other's company and keeps the puppy from learning bad habits
while running loose in the house.
Do give your puppy an indestructible toy like a Kong or hard Nylabone to
help occupy his time in the crate.
Do pay attention to your puppy's needs and get him out in time to
relieve outside. (Eight week olds should be allowed to relieve at least
every 3 ˝-4 hours). Clean the kennel thoroughly with a product like
Nature's Miracle if the puppy makes a mistake, and wash the puppy's feet
and belly with a soft, damp cloth or bathe him as needed to make him
comfortable and sweet-smelling again.
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Potty Training
Take pup out, on lead and only on lead to do business after every meal,
after he wakes from a nap, after playing, or every half hour or so,
whichever comes first. If the puppy has accidents, shorten the interval. If
the puppy takes a few minutes to go once you get him outside, you can
probably lengthen it by five minutes at a time.
When in doubt, take the puppy out! Puppies have to go. A lot. Some can
hold it for hours, and some have bladders the size of a peanut. You can save
a lot of accidents if you take it out frequently. If you can't watch the
puppy, put in the crate for some nap time.
It's a good idea to carry him outside first thing in the morning, as he
may not be able to walk that far without relieving. But the more you can let
him walk himself, the quicker he will learn he has to make it outside to
take care of business.
Kill the smell—use Nature's Miracle or another product designed to
eliminate odor to clean up after accidents. If the puppy can smell urine, it
will be more likely to use that place again.
Don't scold your puppy if you find an accident after the fact. He won't
connect your anger with an act he probably cannot remember anymore. Do
praise your puppy extravagantly when he does his business outside!
SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT
Don't encourage the puppy to whine or bark in his crate by giving him
attention. If he fusses don't correct him, and don't reinforce the behavior
by speaking to him, either. He must be quiet for at least thirty seconds
before you let him out of his crate! If you let him out because he's
fussing, you've taught him he can get out by making noise. We want him to
think he has to be quiet in order to get out. Once he is quiet, take him out
to relieve, or you may have a mess to clean up.
Try keeping the crate next to the bed overnight. If the puppy cries from
loneliness, she may calm down if you stick a foot or hand out from under the
covers and through the holes in the crate.
All puppies learn to sleep through the night, although it may not seem
like it in the first couple of weeks, so hang in there!
SOCIALIZING
Your puppy is not ready for extended outings yet. If you take him out in his
puppy coat, take second person along who can take him outside immediately if
he is overwhelmed or needs to relieve. You want every outing to be a
success! At this age, outings should be short. Five to ten minutes is
maximum.
Carry a small diaper in case of an accident. They are very, very
absorbent. Also carry plastic bags and paper towels to clean up solid waste.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
You can't give your puppy too much love! Your most important job is to make
the pup feel loved. If you don't get the training done perfectly, the
trainers could fix that, but they can't teach the puppy to bond.
Enjoy the happy puppy raising times and take lots of pictures. The important thing is to love the puppy.
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