Puppy Training Secrets

Archive for the ‘Potty Training’ Category

If you have just gotten a new puppy or are getting one for your children as a surprise for Christmas (although not a good idea!) you will definitely need a few effective puppy training tips.  Yes, puppies are adorable, they’re fun, they have great puppy breath—but, they can also be a handful. 

Some puppies like to chew on everything, others get into anything they can find i.e. toilet paper, short bathroom trash containers, you name it, they get into it.  It is essential that you start training your puppy early, before there is time for bad habits to really set in.

Here are a few basic puppy training tips:

Begin crate training your puppy as soon as you bring the puppy home, so that the puppy will quickly learn how to have some alone time (to discourage separation anxiety), help the puppy to learn to “hold” it and not soil except outside.  Leave the puppy in the crate for only SHORT periods of time.  You must never ever leave a puppy in a crate all day long without breaks for exercise and potty time. 

Remember this general rule of thumb:  for every month a puppy is old, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they can hold their business.  This is generally speaking because there are MANY factors that need to be taken into consideration for this “time frame to be accurate”.  You must understand how to set your puppy up to succeed NOT fail by understanding the right way to train your puppy. 

Teach your new puppy the sit and the stay commands as soon as you can.  These commands come in handy no matter what kind of behavior you try to teach the puppy later on.  Give the puppy plenty of praise and reward when he obeys.  Remember little puppies can do commands, they just can’t sustain them for very long.  Keep your expectations age appropriate.

Teach your puppy not to bite.  This is especially important if you have small children, as even playful biting can hurt the little children.  If he nips during play, stop the interaction, say NO in a high pitched squeal and leave.  He will learn that when he nips/bites the thing he wants to play with goes away.  Also remember, kids and puppies are a two way street, you must teach your children to be kind to the puppy with no ear or tail pulling, no spanking etc.

Never be cruel or abusive your your new puppy,  Striking or smacking with a newspaper will only instill fear and will case a setback on anything he has learned.  The puppy will begin to associate training with punishment.

Practice patience  and set aside time each day to work on the commands you are teaching him.  Train your puppy for about 2 minutes per training time.  Always be sure to give lots of praise and some treats when your puppy does what you ask.

Be consistent and soon your adorable new puppy will behave well in your home and everyone will be happy with his good behavior. 

Jim Burwell

If you have a new puppy in your home one of the first
things you want to accomplish is potty train your puppy.
No one wants their home to smell like a kennel and
constantly cleaning up potty accidents after a puppy gets
annoying and stressful.

Most dog owners know that puppies don’t understand that
they have done anything wrong.  It is their natural
instinct to potty when they need to.  The connection
between the brain of a puppy and the bladder and bowel
doesn’t really start to mature until closer to 4 months
of age.  So puppies have to be taught potty training.
Here are some tips that will make this easier for you:

1. Be aware of how much you feed your puppy.

What does this mean? Simply this:  feed your puppy on a schedule 3 times per
day.  Give a measured amount of food at each feeding.
Pick up the food after 10 minutes whether the puppy is
done eating or not.  What does this accomplish?  You can
determine the exact amount of food the puppy has eaten,
you know when the puppy has eaten, which in turn,  will
help you determine when it’s potty time for your puppy.

2. Remember that young puppies will always have to go
potty at these times:  immediately upon waking in the
morning or waking up from a nap.  After playing and about
5 minutes or less after eating.

3. Do not scold your puppy for accidents.  It does
absolutely no good to come upon an accident, go get your
puppy, rub his nose in it then scold him.  Puppies/dogs
only understand correction or praise within 1.0 to 1.5
seconds of doing the behavior.  Rubbing their noise in it
is a confrontational move on your part and not the way
you want to train your puppy.

4. When you absolutely cannot watch your puppy, confine
him to a small gated space in your home or crate him.

What about overnight accidents?  A puppy is best kept in
a small indoor crate or pen at night until they are old
enough to hold off the need to potty for several hours at
a time.  Also, avoid feeding or having your puppy drink
lots of water right before bedtime and do not put food or
water in their crate with them at night.  Take the puppy
out immediately before crating them for the night.  And
remember the rule of thumb:  for every month old a puppy
is, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they
can hold it.  Plan on getting up during the night with
your puppy.  Yes, it’s inconvenient but it’s your
responsibility to train this puppy right.

Again, whatever you do, never resort to physical
punishment when your puppy has an accident.  Puppies
haven’t learned a good potty routine yet and they
wouldn’t know why they are being punished.  What they
will know, is you’re not safe.

These tips will help reduce the number of accidents in
your home over a short period of time.  The most
important thing to remember is to start training your
puppy as soon as you bring him home.  Behaviors are much
easier to change when a puppy is still young.

For more great information on how to start off on the
right paw with your puppy, please visit:

http://www.puppytrainingsecretsrevealed.com

Puppy  Training from “nose to tail”

House training your new puppy doesn’t need to be complicated. I recently got an emergency call from an owner who was frantic about her new puppy peeing in the house “all the time”.

On my first visit I discovered that she was giving her new puppy free access to water and free access to unlimited play in the family room and kitchen, thinking she would just “watch her closely”. As the morning would progress, the owner would become increasingly busy with chores only to find out that the puppy was having accidents all over the family room. She couldn’t seem to catch her in the act.

Like I said, house training your new puppy doesn’t need to be complicated. This is what we did.  So as not to dehydrate the puppy, we allowed the puppy to have as much water during meal times, but limited (2-3 other times during the day) access to water coupled with frequent potty trips.  When in the house, the puppy was kept on a line or leash attached to the owner, which required the owner to pay close attention to her puppy. When she didn’t have time to watch her puppy, she simply crated her puppy after taking the puppy outside to go potty.

Problem solved.  See not complicated at all.  Just always remember to set your puppy up to be successful at house training and don’t set them up to fail.

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children.  And remember, “Opportunity Barks!”

If you have a new puppy in your home one of the first things you want to accomplish is potty train your puppy.  No one wants their home to smell like a kennel and constantly cleaning up potty accidents after a puppy gets annoying and stressful.

Most dog owners know that puppies don’t understand that they have done anything wrong.  It is their natural instinct to potty when they need to.  The connection between the brain of a puppy and the bladder and bowel doesn’t really start to mature until closer to 4 months of age.  So puppies have to be taught potty training.  Here are some tips that will make this easier for you:

1. Do not free feed your puppy.  What does this mean?  Simply this:  feed your puppy on a schedule 3 times per day.  Give a measured amount of food at each feeding.  Pick up the food after 10 minutes whether the puppy is done eating or not.  What does this accomplish?  You can  determine the exact amount of food the puppy has eaten, you know when the puppy has eaten, which in turn,  will help you determine when it’s potty time for your puppy. 
2. Remember that young puppies will always have to go potty at these times:  immediately upon waking in the morning or waking up from a nap.  After playing and about 5 minutes or less after eating. 
3. Do not scold your puppy for accidents.  It does absolutely no good to come upon an accident, go get your puppy, rub his nose in it then scold him.  Puppies/dogs only understand correction or praise within 1.0 to 1.5 seconds of doing the behavior.  Rubbing their noise in it is a confrontational move on your part and not the way you want to train your puppy. 
4. When you absolutely cannot watch your puppy, confine him to a small gated space in your home or crate him.

What about overnight accidents?  A puppy is best kept in a small indoor crate or pen at night until they are old enough to hold off the need to potty for several hours at a time.  Also, avoid feeding or having your puppy drink lots of water right before bedtime and do not put food or water in their crate with them at night.  Take the puppy out immediately before crating them for the night.  And remember the rule of thumb:  for every month old a puppy is, generally speaking, that’s the number of hours they can hold it.  Plan on getting up during the night with your puppy.  Yes, it’s inconvenient but it’s your responsibility to train this puppy right.

Again, whatever you do, never resort to physical punishment when your puppy has an accident.  Puppies haven’t learned a good potty routine yet and they wouldn’t know why they are being punished.  What they will know, is you’re not safe.

These tips will help reduce the number of accidents in your home over a short period of time.  The most important thing to remember is to start training your puppy as soon as you bring him home.  Behaviors are much easier to change when a puppy is still young.

Be as comfortable with the trainer of your dog as you are the teacher of your children, and remember “Opportunity Barks!”