Training-Puppies.info

Bringing a new puppy home is a fun time for all. The kids are thrilled to have such a fun, furry friend and the parents are excited to have a playmate for the family. Then reality hits. Soon, it becomes clear that puppies and kids don’t always mix.

Don’t stress. You can help the kids and the new puppy become friends, but first you must learn how the pack relates. Yes, there is a ‘pack’ now in your family.

The Leader

In most cases, one of the parents will become the dominant ‘leader’ of the pack according to your puppy. You will be seen as the boss and puppy will look to you for commands. You will use this to your advantage during training and positioning the pack.

The Siblings

As for the kids, to your puppy they are equals, and puppy may feel they have some control over their ‘equals.’ This means the puppy will most likely treat them like he or she would other puppies.  In other words, your puppy will treat the kids in the family as siblings. There will be little respect, some fighting (biting), some yelling (barking), and probably jealousy when it comes to attention of the parents.

The Competition

Most kids will be very excited around puppies. The puppy will see this as a sign of weakness. Just like they will see you as the leader of the pack, they will take this excitement as an indication that the kids are beneath them in rank and treat them as such. Playful behavior is expected, but uncontrolled excited behavior will confuse the puppy. This behavior needs to be corrected as quickly as possible.

The Chain Of Command

Your puppy needs to learn that they are not in charge of the kids. They are at the bottom of the chain of command. It could become dangerous if this isn’t corrected as the dog will see the kids as their property and may try to protect them from other kids or people.

Puppy may also turn on your child if certain behavior is seen as unacceptable and may try to reprimand the child by nipping or biting. Puppy needs to learn that your children are NOT siblings and that you are in charge of everyone’s discipline. This is a good time to tell your kids what you expect them to do:

•  Stand your ground – If your child is old enough, teach him or her to stand their ground when it comes to the puppy. If the puppy jumps they must not back up, crouch, or run away. They need to stand up tall, turning their back to show disapproval as well as protect their body, and showing they are actually in control and in charge.
•  Never position yourself below or behind puppy – Laying on the floor with the puppy may seem fun, but it sets up the belief within the puppy’s realm of understanding that they are ‘above’ the child. The same situation occurs when entering the house. The ‘pack’ leaders and elders always enter the den first. When it’s time to come inside from playing, it’s parents, then child, then puppy.
•  Tame your excitement – Puppy sees excitement as a sign of weakness. They can sense a human’s emotions and will immediately react in the way they feel is appropriate. You need to train your child to remain calm and in control. This will make a huge difference in your puppies behavior towards the child. That doesn’t mean your child can’t play with the puppy. It means your child must have a calm voice and controlled movements to remain in charge.
•  Hold back affection – If there is a problem, your child should not be showing puppy any affection until the problem is solved. This is very important as your child needs to show authority and dominance. If your child shows affection too soon, it will again be seen as a sign of weakness and you’ll have to start all over again.

This will be a good start, but this complicated training principle can’t be placed solely on the shoulders of the kids. The parents need to get involved and show the puppy that the children are not at the bottom of the pack. The parents need to watch for this pack behavior and make sure the puppy knows what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.

Understanding, and living, the pack mentality can be a lot of work. I won’t kid you, it is. Raising a puppy takes work, time, and patience. No one can deny the value of this training when you have a happy, well-adjusted adult dog that respects both you and your kids. This is a dog to enjoy!

You have welcomed your new puppy home. Your new fuzzy family member is a little confused, a lot excited, and not one bit obedient. Of course, that’s to be expected. Your puppy will be spending a lot of time doing whatever comes natural, including going potty, chewing, digging, jumping, running, biting, and barking.

How do you help your puppy become a well-adjusted member of the family? With training of course. There are many tools available today to help you train your puppy. The following are some of the most common training tools for puppies.

Treats

A well-known favorite in puppy training is puppy treats. Have treats handy at all times in order to get your puppy to respond quickly to commands. Puppies love treats and most respond very well when they know they’ll receive one as a reward for doing as you ask. Treats are good positive reinforcement for puppy potty training. Give puppy a treat when the right potty spot is used. As with all training, keep consistent for this to pay off. You can tell a person is training a puppy or dog by the pockets full of treats. In other words, be prepared to be consistent.

Clicker

A newer form of training that has caught on is the clicker method of training. The clicker is typically a mechanical device (although some people just use vocalization) which emits a pleasant, you guessed it, ‘click’ sound to reinforce a puppy’s good behavior. People will use this training tool for many reasons. For instance, if you don’t want your puppy to have a lot of treats, you can train your puppy very effectively without them using the clicker method. The thing to remember is the ‘click’ sound must be associated with good things, like a pat on the head, a hug, a belly scratch, or whatever your puppy wants for a job well done.

Crate

If you are potty training your new puppy a crate is a very useful tool. Dogs are den animals, and if you introduce them to a crate early enough they will consider it their den. Dogs don’t like to mess in their dens, so your puppy will hold their potty time as long as they possibly can in order to keep their ‘home’ clean. They will learn to wait for you to let them out to go potty. This helps with potty training as you can reward puppy for going outside when you let him out of the crate. Of course, puppy will need play and cuddle time, too, so be sure to reward puppy after a successful potty trip with time out of the crate playing with you.

Newspaper

When potty training puppy, there are bound to be accidents at first. Newspaper or puppy training pads can be used to transition puppy from inside the house to outside. This will keep the inevitable mess to one location. This may also be necessary if you live in an apartment or other location where it’s not possible to run outside each time a puppy needs to go potty. In the middle of a dark winter night, you may also consider paper-training necessary for a young puppy that hasn’t quite gotten big enough to hold his potty urge for very long.

Chew Toys

This is a big deal. Your new puppy needs chew toys so you can train him not to chew and bite your furniture, your shoes, or YOU! There are many choices when it comes to chew toys. You can buy hard plastic bones for puppy to chew on, soft squeaky toys, balls, ropes, and more. It’s best to try out a variety of toys and see what your puppy likes. Make sure to give the toys to your puppy quickly when you see him or her trying to bite something inappropriate. Distraction and expediency is key. Keep the chew toys handy and interrupt any bad behavior quickly. Then, praise puppy when chewing on the toy you presented. Be prepared to have chew bones devoured quickly. Stock up so you are always ready when puppy is.

Collar and Leash

Using a collar and leash is something most dog owners will need to do. To walk your dog, you’ll want to start training your puppy by first having him or her get used to having a collar and leash on. Just having puppy wear them around the house will help, even before puppy is able to walk properly with a lead. Then, when you are ready to start training puppy to walk alongside you, the collar and leash won’t be foreign.  Be prepared for some resistance at first while your puppy tries to understand how it all works and what you expect. And, don’t plan to go very far in the beginning. A walk down the driveway may be all your little puppy, or you, can handle at first.

Training a new puppy can be a rewarding experience, especially if you have the right tools for the job. These basic training tools can help you and your puppy get started on the right foot – or paw!

You have recently welcomed a new cute and cuddly puppy into your home.  A healthy diet is essential for a long, happy life together.  What things do you need to consider when selecting your puppy dog’s diet?  Always talk to your vet about a proper puppy dog diet.  Remember that a puppy dog’s diet is not the same as an adult dog’s diet.  Avoid a trip to the grocery store to grab a bag of adult dog food to feed your pet.  This will not meet the nutritional needs of a healthy puppy dog diet.

You can choose to feed your new puppy one of several options.  Natural and organic puppy dog diets have become more popular in recent years.  Some pet owners prefer to feed a raw diet to their puppy.  Most people choose to use kibble as the main component of the puppy dog’s diet.  For this reason, I will focus primarily on this choice.

As you wean the puppy, a high-quality puppy food with tiny kibble is best.  A puppy dog’s diet should include all the essential vitamins to create a healthy diet for excellent growth.  Feed your new puppy three or four times a day.  Your puppy dog’s diet should consist of puppy food moisten with water.  Do not moisten the puppy food with milk.  The milk acts as a laxative in your puppy dog’s diet.  The water will create a softer, more palatable cuisine for your pet.

As the new puppy grows and becomes accustomed to eating the kibble as a regular part of his or her diet, you will want to gradually decrease the amount of water.  If you plan to feed dry dog food in the future, expect to transition the dog’s diet earlier than later.  Continuing to moisten the dog food may make transition more difficult later in life.  By six weeks of age, your puppy dog’s diet can be solid kibble.

Your puppy should be permitted all the kibble he or she wants during the initial phase of the weaning process.  Make sure you present the puppy the new diet of puppy food at regular times.  Around five months of age, your puppy dog’s diet should decrease to only two feeding time’s per day.  By this time, you should establish a specific quantity of food per day to ensure a healthy diet and weight for your dog.

Talk to your vet about how much to feed your new puppy.  All puppies look cute, round and cuddly at some point during their first few months.  It can be difficult to know when your puppy is overweight.  Your veterinarian will help to advise you on this issue.  It is a good idea to open up the door of communication between you and your vet now.  Both vet and owner only want what is best for the new puppy.

Feeding your new puppy a healthy diet does not have to be difficult.  Talk to your vet for advice and information.  Always choose a quality food as the main source of nutrition in your puppy dog’s diet.  A healthy diet for your puppy will set the stage for a healthy dog in the years to come.