Bringing a new puppy homeWhen making the transition to a new home, a puppy needs a quiet, safe place to stay when unsupervised. This can be a small room or a crate.
A comfortable crate can minimize destruction and maximize house-training efforts.
A crate also protects an unsupervised puppy from injury. The crate should be big enough to accommodate the puppy as an adult.
In large-breed dogs, it may be necessary to partition the crate initially to create a small, cozy space. This can be accomplished with cardboard or wood, which can be removed as the puppy grows.
When introducing a puppy to a crate, an owner should first use the crate as a resting and feeding spot and should always associate pleasant things with the crate. If the puppy cries at first, it should be kept in the crate until it is quiet, and then removed. The owner shouldn't leave the puppy in the crate for so long that it must eliminate in it. And the owner should avoid leaving food and water in the crate overnight.
The puppy must have plenty of opportunities to exercise and to eliminate outdoors.
A crate is not an excuse to ignore a puppy. An owner who is out of the house eight to 10 hours a day should not leave a puppy in a crate all day long.
How do owners bond with their new puppies?
As mentioned above, puppies are impressionable at this age and are willing to bond with people.
What is needed for bonding is calm, patient, and- consistent attention. Tell the owner to allow the puppy to become familiar with the routine for eating, voiding, and playing and to strive for positive interactions, not negative.
The owner should spend a lot of time with the new puppy. The puppy should see its owner as a source of affection, interaction, and comfort. Puppies deprived of human interaction for long periods will often resort to attention-getting behaviors such as jumping up, running, and play biting.
Supervision is important when introducing a puppy to other dogs already in the family.
The puppy and the other dogs should be on leashes, and the owner should organize short, supervised interactions between the dogs, separating them before they get uncomfortable.
The owner should gradually increase the time the dogs are together and reward them for good behavior.
Disciplining a puppy
Young puppies are easily intimidated, and owners need to keep this in mind when disciplining them. Harsh physical punishment is unnecessary and may frighten a puppy and make it hand-shy. Properly training puppies, as described below, minimizes the need for disciplining and establishes the owner as the leader. When discipline is required, puppies are easily corrected with noise distraction and a change in vocal intonation. Other methods of discipline used in the past have included handling exercises that mimic how dogs may physically dominate one another. If these techniques are improperly applied, they can result in resistance and possible aggression.
Promoting socialization
Socialization in dogs takes place between 4 and 12 weeks of age, when puppies are most receptive to certain stimuli. During this period, puppies easily make social attachments and learn how to interact with other dogs and species. Although socialization is lifelong, what happens during this early period can be crucial. At this age, an owner should expose a puppy to many new people (e.g. delivery persons, people wearing uniforms, children, infants, teenagers, elderly persons). These meetings should be pleasant; for example, the people could offer the puppy a biscuit or treat. The message conveyed to the puppy is, "Aren't these people nice, they feed me." It's also advantageous to expose the puppy to new things: stairs, elevators, different types of vehicles, umbrellas, bicycles-the list is endless.
By being introduced to people and things in a calm, reassuring setting, the puppy learns to handle new situations without fear.
And as an added bonus, the puppy learns to trust its owner.
During the socialization period, an owner should continue allowing the puppy to interact with adult dogs and,other puppies. One good way to accomplish this is to enroll it in a puppy class once preliminary vaccinations are given.
The minimum age for puppies to start a puppy class is usually 8 to 10 weeks. Most puppy classes have a play time that allows the puppies to run, chew, and jump on each other and learn the important social lessons of the dog world.
Training a puppy
Proper training helps ensure a puppy's successful transition to adulthood. In the first few months, an owner can teach a puppy tasks that will aid in controlling the dog and in establishing the owner's leadership .
Puppies are learning all the time, so there is no reason to delay training until a puppy is 6 months old, as was once recommended.
First, owners should teach their puppies to tolerate being handled. Owners will often need to groom or bathe their puppies, clean their ears, clip their toenails, or give them medication.
If a puppy is taught early onto tolerate and even enjoy these interactions, caring for the pet will be easier. Owners should handle their puppies daily. Incorporating praise and food treats into the routine helps keep it non threatening and enjoyable for the puppy.
At the first office visit, the veterinarian or a veterinary technician can show new pet owners how to open the pet's mouth, handle its feet, look under its tail, and examine its skin.
Recommend that all family members participate in this exercise. The best time to handle the puppy in this way is when it is calm and relaxed. Always end the session before the puppy is excited or tired.
Second, an owner should accustom his or her puppy to having its food and possessions touched (in the wild must guard their food to prevent its loss, but this is unnecessary in the home).
Petting the puppy and handling its food bowl while the dog eats helps it learn not to fee: threatened by these intrusions. The puppy will not be startled and read aggressively if something unexpected happens while it is eating.
To accustom a puppy to having its possessions handled, the owner should gently take toys from the puppy, say "thank you," and return the toys.
A similar technique is to take a toy or bone and offer a food treat to help the puppy learn that when the owner takes something, it need not be negative.
These techniques send the puppy the message that it is all right for people to handle its possessions and may make it easier for the owner to take things from the dog's mouth in the future.
Third, puppies must learn bite inhibition. Puppies chew on everything, including each other and people.
One of the things they are trying to learn is how much pressure from their jaws causes pain. Without this feedback, a puppy doesn't team to inhibit the force of its bite. Because all dogs can and will bite at some time, this lesson is vital for human safety.
How is this lesson taught? Puppies start to learn bite inhibition while with their littermates. If Puppy A bites on Puppy B too hard, Puppy B will yelp. If that doesn't work, Puppy B will leave.
This sends the message to Puppy A that its bites were too hard and if it wishes to continue to play, it needs to be gentle.
Owners, however, often don't send this message to their puppies. In the beginning, owners often allow their puppies to chew on them without reprimands, and the puppies assume that the behavior is acceptable. Instead, the message owners should send is that mouthing and chewing on hands are painful. To do this, usually all that is needed is for all family members to emit a sharp "yip." This sends the message to the puppy that the bites are painful. At times, the "yip" may need to be reinforced by walking away from the puppy. When consistently administered, this technique will often stop playful biting.
Finally, by using positive reinforcement young puppies can be taught simple obedience tasks such as sitting, lying down, and standing. Puppies have short attention spans, so training sessions should be brief but frequent (several five- to 10minute sessions interspersed throughout the day).
For example, an owner can teach a puppy to sit before feeding or going outside by using a method called lure-reward training.
To teach a puppy to sit, hold a food treat over the puppy's nose, and slowly move it up and back over the puppy's head. As the puppy follows the food with its head, it will sit. As the puppy sits, say "sit," and reward the puppy with the treat. If the puppy lifts its front legs during this exercise, .the food treat is too high.
Repeat these steps until the puppy learns the meaning of "sit."
To get a puppy to lie down, lower a treat between its front paws, and say "down." The puppy will usually follow the treat and die down. If the puppy doesn't lie all the way down, slowly push the treat backward between its paws. When the puppy lies down, give it the treat, and, of course, add "good dog." If the puppy stands up, start over.
Teach a puppy to stand on commarld by moving the food treat forward and away from the pup and saying "stand." These three commands can be combined (sit, down, sit, stand, down, and so on).'° When teaching these commands, always use praise, and gradually phase out food rewards.
Next weeks post: Treating two common behavior problems in puppies
Stay tune!
Hunnanny
A comfortable crate can minimize destruction and maximize house-training efforts.
A crate also protects an unsupervised puppy from injury. The crate should be big enough to accommodate the puppy as an adult.
In large-breed dogs, it may be necessary to partition the crate initially to create a small, cozy space. This can be accomplished with cardboard or wood, which can be removed as the puppy grows.
When introducing a puppy to a crate, an owner should first use the crate as a resting and feeding spot and should always associate pleasant things with the crate. If the puppy cries at first, it should be kept in the crate until it is quiet, and then removed. The owner shouldn't leave the puppy in the crate for so long that it must eliminate in it. And the owner should avoid leaving food and water in the crate overnight.
The puppy must have plenty of opportunities to exercise and to eliminate outdoors.
A crate is not an excuse to ignore a puppy. An owner who is out of the house eight to 10 hours a day should not leave a puppy in a crate all day long.
How do owners bond with their new puppies?
As mentioned above, puppies are impressionable at this age and are willing to bond with people.
What is needed for bonding is calm, patient, and- consistent attention. Tell the owner to allow the puppy to become familiar with the routine for eating, voiding, and playing and to strive for positive interactions, not negative.
The owner should spend a lot of time with the new puppy. The puppy should see its owner as a source of affection, interaction, and comfort. Puppies deprived of human interaction for long periods will often resort to attention-getting behaviors such as jumping up, running, and play biting.
Supervision is important when introducing a puppy to other dogs already in the family.
The puppy and the other dogs should be on leashes, and the owner should organize short, supervised interactions between the dogs, separating them before they get uncomfortable.
The owner should gradually increase the time the dogs are together and reward them for good behavior.
Disciplining a puppy
Young puppies are easily intimidated, and owners need to keep this in mind when disciplining them. Harsh physical punishment is unnecessary and may frighten a puppy and make it hand-shy. Properly training puppies, as described below, minimizes the need for disciplining and establishes the owner as the leader. When discipline is required, puppies are easily corrected with noise distraction and a change in vocal intonation. Other methods of discipline used in the past have included handling exercises that mimic how dogs may physically dominate one another. If these techniques are improperly applied, they can result in resistance and possible aggression.
Promoting socialization
Socialization in dogs takes place between 4 and 12 weeks of age, when puppies are most receptive to certain stimuli. During this period, puppies easily make social attachments and learn how to interact with other dogs and species. Although socialization is lifelong, what happens during this early period can be crucial. At this age, an owner should expose a puppy to many new people (e.g. delivery persons, people wearing uniforms, children, infants, teenagers, elderly persons). These meetings should be pleasant; for example, the people could offer the puppy a biscuit or treat. The message conveyed to the puppy is, "Aren't these people nice, they feed me." It's also advantageous to expose the puppy to new things: stairs, elevators, different types of vehicles, umbrellas, bicycles-the list is endless.
By being introduced to people and things in a calm, reassuring setting, the puppy learns to handle new situations without fear.
And as an added bonus, the puppy learns to trust its owner.
During the socialization period, an owner should continue allowing the puppy to interact with adult dogs and,other puppies. One good way to accomplish this is to enroll it in a puppy class once preliminary vaccinations are given.
The minimum age for puppies to start a puppy class is usually 8 to 10 weeks. Most puppy classes have a play time that allows the puppies to run, chew, and jump on each other and learn the important social lessons of the dog world.
Training a puppy
Proper training helps ensure a puppy's successful transition to adulthood. In the first few months, an owner can teach a puppy tasks that will aid in controlling the dog and in establishing the owner's leadership .
Puppies are learning all the time, so there is no reason to delay training until a puppy is 6 months old, as was once recommended.
First, owners should teach their puppies to tolerate being handled. Owners will often need to groom or bathe their puppies, clean their ears, clip their toenails, or give them medication.
If a puppy is taught early onto tolerate and even enjoy these interactions, caring for the pet will be easier. Owners should handle their puppies daily. Incorporating praise and food treats into the routine helps keep it non threatening and enjoyable for the puppy.
At the first office visit, the veterinarian or a veterinary technician can show new pet owners how to open the pet's mouth, handle its feet, look under its tail, and examine its skin.
Recommend that all family members participate in this exercise. The best time to handle the puppy in this way is when it is calm and relaxed. Always end the session before the puppy is excited or tired.
Second, an owner should accustom his or her puppy to having its food and possessions touched (in the wild must guard their food to prevent its loss, but this is unnecessary in the home).
Petting the puppy and handling its food bowl while the dog eats helps it learn not to fee: threatened by these intrusions. The puppy will not be startled and read aggressively if something unexpected happens while it is eating.
To accustom a puppy to having its possessions handled, the owner should gently take toys from the puppy, say "thank you," and return the toys.
A similar technique is to take a toy or bone and offer a food treat to help the puppy learn that when the owner takes something, it need not be negative.
These techniques send the puppy the message that it is all right for people to handle its possessions and may make it easier for the owner to take things from the dog's mouth in the future.
Third, puppies must learn bite inhibition. Puppies chew on everything, including each other and people.
One of the things they are trying to learn is how much pressure from their jaws causes pain. Without this feedback, a puppy doesn't team to inhibit the force of its bite. Because all dogs can and will bite at some time, this lesson is vital for human safety.
How is this lesson taught? Puppies start to learn bite inhibition while with their littermates. If Puppy A bites on Puppy B too hard, Puppy B will yelp. If that doesn't work, Puppy B will leave.
This sends the message to Puppy A that its bites were too hard and if it wishes to continue to play, it needs to be gentle.
Owners, however, often don't send this message to their puppies. In the beginning, owners often allow their puppies to chew on them without reprimands, and the puppies assume that the behavior is acceptable. Instead, the message owners should send is that mouthing and chewing on hands are painful. To do this, usually all that is needed is for all family members to emit a sharp "yip." This sends the message to the puppy that the bites are painful. At times, the "yip" may need to be reinforced by walking away from the puppy. When consistently administered, this technique will often stop playful biting.
Finally, by using positive reinforcement young puppies can be taught simple obedience tasks such as sitting, lying down, and standing. Puppies have short attention spans, so training sessions should be brief but frequent (several five- to 10minute sessions interspersed throughout the day).
For example, an owner can teach a puppy to sit before feeding or going outside by using a method called lure-reward training.
To teach a puppy to sit, hold a food treat over the puppy's nose, and slowly move it up and back over the puppy's head. As the puppy follows the food with its head, it will sit. As the puppy sits, say "sit," and reward the puppy with the treat. If the puppy lifts its front legs during this exercise, .the food treat is too high.
Repeat these steps until the puppy learns the meaning of "sit."
To get a puppy to lie down, lower a treat between its front paws, and say "down." The puppy will usually follow the treat and die down. If the puppy doesn't lie all the way down, slowly push the treat backward between its paws. When the puppy lies down, give it the treat, and, of course, add "good dog." If the puppy stands up, start over.
Teach a puppy to stand on commarld by moving the food treat forward and away from the pup and saying "stand." These three commands can be combined (sit, down, sit, stand, down, and so on).'° When teaching these commands, always use praise, and gradually phase out food rewards.
Next weeks post: Treating two common behavior problems in puppies
Stay tune!
Hunnanny
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