PUPPY 101: THE BASICS
Housetraining is started the day you bring pup home, or as soon as you read this. You also should immediately start the Playbiting and Chew Training exercises daily. These three items are far more important than any obedience training at this point, and all are much, much easier to train at this young age than they will be next month. Start today.
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| Housetraining should start the day you bring your pup home. |
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HOUSETRAINING
Properly housetraining your puppy will save his life.
That’s not a joke. Many dogs are surrendered at shelters mainly because they aren’t properly housetrained -- by very well-meaning, kind owners just like you.
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| Early and proactive socialization is at least as important as basic obedience training. |
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SOCIALIZATION
Properly socializing your pup is the most important thing you can do during the first few months of his life. Why?
Reason #1: A well-socialized dog can pay attention to you when you give him a command in the presence of other people or dogs; an under-socialized one is too distracted by (or fearful of) the people and dogs to even hear you. Regular socialization is therefore the most effective long-term obedience training tool, more so than any class, video, or book — even this one!
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CAN'T FIND YOUR SOLUTION ON THIS PAGE?
Go to Dear Suzydog, write in with the details of your dog's particular problem, and I'll email you back with a fully individualized and comprehensive solution -- within 3 days.
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| Puppy proof your home if you haven't already. |
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PUPPY-PROOF YOUR HOME
Ah, the joys of owning a new pup: The warmth, the fuzz, the licks. The cute playbiting. The middle of the night potty calls. The discovery that your new bundle of sweetness can completely destroy your house in less than an hour.
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| It's up to you to teach your dog what to chew. |
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CHEWING AND DESTRUCTION
It's a mistake to think that just because your puppy isn't destroying the house when he's 3 months old, he won't need to be Chew Trained. Many pups don't start chewing and destroying until they are well into their first year of life.
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| Pups playbite to learn how to inhibit their bite pressure. |
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PLAYBITING/BITE INHIBITION
If you watch a litter of puppies playing, you’ll notice that they spend much of their time biting and mouthing each other. Because your pup has very sharp teeth (but a weak jaw), his harder bites or mouthing hurt his littermates - this causes them to yelp and refuse to play with him for a few minutes. Very quickly, the pup learns that his pals won’t play with him when he bites too hard.
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| Submissive urination is not fixed by housetraining. |
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SUBMISSIVE URINATION
NOT A HOUSETRAINING PROBLEM
Q. My dog is housebroken and crate trained, but he’s still having accidents all over the house! He pees when we come home from work, when we pet him, when we have guests, when he’s excited, when he’s scolded, and sometimes even when he’s just given a simple command or a reward. He never has an accident in his crate or when we’re gone. What can we do?
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| Exercise is crucial. |
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ADEQUATE EXERCISE
All dogs need vigorous daily exercise after 4-5 months of age. They need a lot of it, and they need it daily.
Most breeds do pretty well with 2 full hours of running daily but many breeds require 4 hours or more, especially as they enter adolescence (6-18 months old).
If you currently take 2-3 daily runs or long brisk walks, this won’t be a problem for you. But if your life is more sedentary, or you’re a “weekend warrior”, be advised that you must either change your lifestyle or be prepared for your pup to develop serious behavioral problems within a few months. Read more>>
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