housetraining tips for puppy owners
housetraining tips for puppy owners
How to Housebreak a Puppy By Dr. Maya Bringing home a new puppy, is a very exciting and very challenging time for most folks and families. The average breeder has weaned and begun to let puppies leave for their new homes at about 8 weeks of age. This is very much like tending a baby, as dogs this young not only have very small bladders, they are for the most part unable to have much control over bladder and bowel functions. They require much care, and almost constant supervision at this age. Many folks do not understand how immature a puppy is at this age, and assume when house breaking problems arise, the puppy is stupid, or difficult to train. During the first weeks with the mother, she teaches her pups that the bedroom is off limits, and shows them the appropriate place for elimination. One of the quickest and easiest ways to begin housetraining is to take advantage of these early lessons, and the pups instinct for cleanliness, and keep him in a crate when you are not able to supervise. These come in all different shapes and sizes, and should be big enough for him when he is grown. The full grown dog should be able to stand, and turn around. Although many come with a divider panel, to use for the young pup, if yours doesn t you can use plastic to divide his crate. The theory on this is if he has too much room, he will assume on his own, that half is for sleeping, and the other half is for elimination. So make sure the crate is small enough inside, that he can t make that assumption. How much and how often? A puppy between the ages of 8 weeks until about 4 months, has very little self control. They will be having about 4 bowel movements a day, and will need to urinate approximately every 45 minutes, also after napping, playing, and eating. During this period, housetraining is more of avoiding accidents, by constant supervision, and no puppy under the age of 4 months should be scolded for accidents. It would be like expecting an 8 month old baby to use the toilet, it is completely unrealistic. So, take your puppy to the designated area outside, every 45 minutes, and each time they are successful praise and you can also reward with a dog treat. If you decide to use a reward system, break dog or puppy biscuits into very small pieces, so that you are not over feeding, or jeopardizing her weight. This is the hardest, and the most time consuming part of owning an inside pet. I have on an average, 4 -7 dogs living in my home at any given moment, and most of them came here as young puppies around 8 weeks of age. I rarely have any accidents, not because my dogs are smarter, or I have some magic trick I use, it s because this is the ONLY way to train, you MUST take her out about 15 times during the day, and then say about 10 pm, then around 2am, and then again when she wakes somewhere between 5-7am. At around 4 months of age, your dog should begin to understand what you are asking. I begin to taper off about this age. Most puppies if they are taken outside late enough, can go through the night, meaning last out at 10pm, sleep till around 5 or 6 am. I am now taking them out about every hour and a half, after they wake from a nap, after eating, and after any play or training session. If my dog has an accident, before the age of 4 months, I do not react, I ignore the fact and clean it up. Once the puppy is 4 months, if I catch them in the act I clap my hands loudly run and grab them and head outside immediately. If they are able to finish outside they are praised Rubbing his face in it, smacking with newspaper or hand, any type of physical punishment does not work, in fact, I have worked with many clients who use this approach and it only backfires, the puppy associates the punishment with the act of elimination, not the WHERE of it. At around 6 -8 months of age, your dog should begin to understand, that there are specific places for elimination. You should begin to observe your dog attempting to notify you when they need to go outside. Sniffing around, circling, looking behind, crying, barking, whining, scratching at the door, these are all clues that he needs to relieve himself. All animals are going to make mistakes, if you have been consistent, and your dog has reached a point where HE is consistent, ignore the occasional accident, most times this is caused by our busy schedule, and not taking note of his need. Never, ever punish an animal that is sick. Just like us, they have digestive upsets that cause sometimes a temporary loss of control. So good luck and congratulations on your new friend. Remember to keep your expectations realistic. If you have problems, and you have followed this guide, make sure to consult a vet first to rule out any physical problems or disease. I am available for consultations, and would be happy to work with you and your pet until we achieve the desired goal. And although it can be done, it is much more difficult to re-train an who is consistently having accidents, than to take the time and patience to do it correctly from the beginning. So . Confine the puppy when he can t be supervised Take him out at least every 45 minutes, after naps, after play, and after meals Don t scold or punish for accidents Watch for his signals and respond quickly if he needs to go Take advantage of his mothers first teachings, and his den instinct, and crate him Be willing to get up every night those first several months Reward him with praise or bits of puppy biscuits when he is successful This excerpt is based in part on Dr. Maya s book, The Secret Life Of Dogs all materials copyright protected. Using her system, reward, remove, redirect, restrict. Maya has been communicating with animals through images and touch for more than twenty years. She has used her gifts to help owners solve countless behaviour issues, and has currently released her latest book, The Secret Life Of Dogs
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Expert Advise About Every Things Do To With Raising Your Dog
Those that follow my articles and blog post know that I usually write about healthy dog food choices, but today I’m going deeper into what it is to be a good dog parent . .There isn’t a day that goes by that some dog owner wishes they had an answer to simple questions like how to get their dog to sit, or how to prepare their dog for a trip I know because of my dog’s health problems I wanted to know if there was a more natural way of protecting him from ticks and fleas without using chemicals . . .Some people might think I’m crazy for the amount of hours I spend researching a cure for my Beagles seizures, but I have also been well educated about everything to do with being the best parent to him as I possible can . .The biggest problem is weeding out the facts from the myths, or should I say the experts from the scams artist To say the least this has been a change, after all we want to know that we will be helping our dog before we make changes to their care . .Just think how nice it would be to be able to call and expert in whatever fields you had a question? Maybe you could call your vet and ask them, but do you think they would continue to give you free advice? . .Most vets are not experts in things like training your dog, so they can’t give you good advice on this and many other question you’ll have . .The truth is good dog parenting starts even before you bring the dog home You need good information on how to select the best breed for your family . .Because it is so difficult to find good answers to pet problems, dog parents usually just do the best that they can, this sometimes works out, but often it ends up being bad for both them and their dogs . .Sadly many reason people turn their dogs over to pet shelters is because they either picked the wrong breed for their family, or some other problem they didn’t know how to find answers to correct . .The good thing about all my research is the fact that I have found recorded expert interviews for most any question you might have on becoming a better pet owner .
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