When
you bring a new puppy into your
home there will be a period
of adjustment. Your goals are
to help your puppy to quickly
bond to its new family, and
to minimize the stress associated
with leaving its mother, littermates,
and former home. If there are
already dogs in the new home
the transition may be a little
easier as the puppy is able
to identify with its own kind.
Obtaining two puppies would
be another option. However,
most puppies, especially those
obtained before 12 weeks of
age, will form attachments almost
immediately to the people and
any other pets in the new home,
provided that there are no unpleasant
consequences associated with
each new person and experience.
How
do I prevent my puppy from doing
damage or getting into mischief?
The
rule of thumb for dog training
is "set the dog up for
success". Supervise the
puppy at all times until it
has learned what it is allowed
to chew, and where it is supposed
to eliminate. Keeping the puppy
on a 10 foot remote leash is
an excellent way to keep it
in sight, and to train it not
to wander off. This is particularly
helpful with a highly investigative
puppy or for a very busy household.
At
any time that the puppy cannot
be supervised, such as throughout
the night or when you need to
go out, house it in a secure
area. An escape-proof kennel,
a dog run, or collapsible pen
are simple, highly effective,
and most important, safe. The
puppy could also be confined
to a room that has been carefully
dog-proofed. When selecting
your dog's confinement
area it is useful to consider
a number of factors. The dog
will adapt fastest to the new
area if it is associated with
rewards. Have the puppy enter
the area for all its treats,
toys, and perhaps food and water.
The area should have some warm,
dry, comfortable bedding, and
should never be used for punishment
(although it can, and should,
be used to prevent problems).
Housing the puppy in isolated
areas where there is minimal
human contact, such as in a
laundry room or basement, should
be avoided. In fact, often the
best area is a kitchen (so that
this can also be the dog's
feeding area) or a bedroom (so
that it becomes the dog's
sleeping area.
Each time the
puppy needs to be confined,
it should first be well exercised
and given an opportunity to
eliminate. Another consideration
in selecting the type of confinement
area is how long you may need
to leave the dog alone. You
must provide an area for elimination
anytime the puppy will be left
alone for longer than it can
control its elimination. A room
or collapsible pen with a paper-covered
area would be needed. A cage
or kennel could be used for
owners that do not have to leave
their puppies confined for longer
than 2 or 3 hours.
What
is the best way to punish my
puppy for misbehavior?
Every
effort should be made to avoid
punishment for new puppies as
it is generally unnecessary
and can lead to avoidance of
family members, at a time when
bonding and attachment is critical.
By preventing problems through
confinement or supervision,
providing for all of the puppy's
needs, and setting up the environment
for success, little or no punishment
should ever be required. If
a reprimand is needed, a verbal
"no" or a loud noise
is usually sufficient to distract
a puppy so that you can then
redirect the puppy to the correct
behavior. Puppies that are supervised
with a remote leash can be immediately
interrupted with a pull on the
leash. (See our handout on ‘Punishment'
for further details).
How
can I prevent problems?
Supervise
the puppy at all times that
it is not confined to ensure
that the puppy does not get
itself into mischief, or cause
damage to itself or the home.
Leaving a remote leash attached
is all that is usually needed
to prevent or interrupt inappropriate
behavior such as garbage raiding,
chewing on household items,
house-soiling, or wandering
off into rooms or areas that
are out of bounds. If the leash
is attached to a head halter
you can quickly correct other
problems that might arise, such
as nipping, play biting, and
jumping up. When the puppy cannot
be supervised, confinement (discussed
above) will be necessary.
What
must I do to provide for my
puppy's needs?
Chewing,
play, exercise, exploration,
feeding, social contact and
elimination are basic requirements
of all puppies. By providing
appropriate outlets for each
of these needs, few problems
are likely to emerge. Puppies
should be given chew toys that
interest them and occupy their
time. When supervised, the owner
can allow the puppy to investigate
and explore its new environment
and can direct the puppy to
the appropriate chew toys (and
away from inappropriate areas).
Play, exercise, affection, training,
and handling must all be part
of the daily routine. New tasks,
new routines, new people and
new forms of handling can be
associated with rewards to ensure
success. And, of course, the
puppy will need to be provided
with an acceptable area for
elimination, and will need guidance
until it learns to use this
area.
How
do I house-train my puppy?
All
it requires are a few basic
rules to house-train puppies
within a few days. This does
not mean that the puppy will
be able to be trusted to wander
throughout the home without
eliminating. What the puppy
should quickly learn is where
it should eliminate, and the
consequences of eliminating
indoors when the owner is supervising.
A.
Puppies have a strong
urge to eliminate after sleeping,
playing, feeding and drinking.
Prepare to take your puppy to
its selected elimination area
within 30 minutes of each of
these activities. In addition,
although some puppies can control
themselves through the entire
night, most puppies need to
eliminate every 3 to 4 hours
during the daytime. With each
passing month, you can expect
your puppy to control itself
a little longer between elimination
times. The puppy should be taken
to its elimination area, given
a word or two of verbal encouragement
(e.g. ‘Hurry up')
and as soon as elimination is
completed, lavishly praised
and patted. A few tasty food
treats can also be given the
first few times the puppy eliminates
in the right spot, and then
intermittently thereafter. This
teaches the puppy the proper
place to eliminate, and that
elimination in that location
is associated with rewards.
Some puppies may learn to eliminate
when they hear the cue words
(‘Hurry up'). Always
go outdoors with your puppy
to ensure that it has eliminated
and so that rewards can be given
immediately upon completion,
and not when the dog comes back
indoors (too late!).
B.
When indoors the puppy
must be supervised so that you
can see when it needs to eliminate
and immediately take it outdoors
to its elimination area. Should
pre-elimination signs (circling,
squatting, sneaking-off, heading
to the door) occur, immediately
take the dog to its elimination
site, give the cue words, and
reward the puppy for elimination.
If the puppy begins to eliminate
indoors, use a verbal reprimand
or shake can, and immediately
take the puppy outdoors to its
proper site, so that it can
complete the act. Rather than
using punishment, it is best
to always supervise your puppy.
One of the best techniques is
to leave a remote lead attached.
C.
When you are not available
to supervise, the puppy should
be confined to its confinement
area (see our handout on ‘House-safety
and kennel training').
Be certain that your puppy has
had a chance to eliminate, and
has had sufficient play and
exercise before any lengthy
confinement. If the area is
small enough, such as a pen
or kennel, many puppies will
have sufficient control to keep
this area clean. This means
that when you come to release
the puppy from confinement,
it must be taken directly to
its elimination area. If the
area is too large for the puppy
to keep clean, or the puppy
is left alone too long for it
to control itself, the entire
area, except for the puppies
bed and feeding spot, should
be covered with paper for elimination.
Once the puppy starts to limit
its elimination to some selected
areas, unused areas of the paper
can be taken up. For owners
that intend to continue to use
paper for training, even when
home, the puppy should be supervised
when released from confinement,
and then returned to this area
when pre-elimination signs are
seen.
Why
does my puppy refuse to eliminate
in my presence, even when outdoors?
Puppies
that are not supervised and
rewarded for outdoor elimination,
but are constantly being disciplined
and punished for indoor elimination,
may soon begin to fear to eliminate
in all locations in your presence.
These puppies do not associate
the punishment with indoor elimination;
they associate the punishment
with the presence of the owners.
What
do I do if I find some stool
or urine in an inappropriate
spot?
There
is no point in punishing or
even pointing out the problem
to the puppy. Only if the puppy
is in the act of elimination
will it understand the consequences
(rewards or punishment). In
fact, it is not the puppy that
has erred, it is the owner who
has erred by not properly supervising.
How
can I teach my puppy to signal
that it needs to go out to eliminate?
By
regularly taking the dog outdoors,
through the same door, to the
same site, and providing rewards
for proper elimination, the
puppy should soon learn to head
for the door each time it has
to eliminate. If you recognize
the signs of impending elimination
and praise the puppy whenever
it heads for the doorway, the
behavior can be further encouraged.
Puppies that have been interrupted
or reprimanded on one or more
occasions as they begin to eliminate
indoors, may begin to try to
sneak away, whine or show some
form of anxiety, when they feel
the urge to eliminate, but cannot
escape from the owner's
sight. If you can pick up on
these cues, and take the puppy
directly to the outdoors for
elimination and reward, the
puppy may consistently begin
to show these signals when he
or she needs to eliminate, and
may even begin to take you to
the exit door.
When
will I be able to trust my puppy
to wander loose throughout the
home?
Generally
you will want your dog to have
been error free around the house
for about a month before you
can begin to decrease your confinement
and supervision. The first time
you leave the puppy unsupervised
should be just after taking
the dog outdoors for elimination.
Gradually increase the length
of time that your dog is allowed
to roam through the home without
supervision. If the dog has
been able to go unsupervised
for a couple of hours without
an "accident", it
might then be possible to begin
going out for short periods
of time. Of course, if the dog
still investigates and chews,
then confinement and supervision
may still be necessary.
This client
information sheet is based on
material written by Debra Horwitz,
DVM, DACVB and
Gary Landsberg, DVM, DACVB.
© Copyright 2002 Lifelearn
Inc. Used with permission under
license. March 11, 2004.
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