What A Magical Day!

Nipping

Your puppy has had the best start possible and you will want to continue that level of care. When your puppy comes home he may want to nip and bite as he was doing with his littermates.  Never allow him to do this with you. It may be cute now, but when he is full-grown that will not be the case and it will be much harder to stop at that time. If you push him away he will think that is the new game! Instead, give him a loud “OUCH!” (or some recommend “YIPE”) and turn your back for 15-20 seconds.  If you have children in the family, you can call this “acting like a tree”.

Crate Training

Your puppy may cry the first few nights at home.  He will arrive with a toy or cloth that has his mother’s and litter mates’ scent on it, but still he will feel all alone when night arrives and he is in his crate. Don’t worry he will adjust and you will have your sleep restored! Don’t reinforce the crying by taking him out to cuddle, just sput your hand in for him to sniff and touch, then remove it. If he needs to go to the bathroom, take him out with very little talking and no time to play.  By the third night he should be well into sleeping on his own.

Potty Training

If you want to house train your puppy in the fastest and easiest way possible (and who wouldn’t want to do that?) you need to follow this simple rule. AT ALL TIMES your puppy should be:

1. Actively engaged with you playing or training….this does not mean, you watching him play from afar while you do something else. This means hands on and eye to eye contact in whatever activity you are engaged in with your puppy.
2. Your puppy should be tethered to you by a leash. This is easy, just slip one end of the leash through your belt loop and clip the other end to your puppy and then go on about your routine. If you are laying on the couch watching TV, the puppy is on the floor by your side. If you are sitting at the desk answering emails, the puppy is by your side. If the phone rings and you jump up to get it, the puppy comes too, and will quickly learn to stay tuned to you and your movements. Tethering accomplishes a couple of things. Most importantly with regards to house training, it never allows your puppy to make a mistake and potty on a rug, behind the sofa, around the corner….It can’t happen. Remember, the puppy needs to potty after ever time he eats and every time he wakes up. If he falls asleep by your side and wakes up to then take two steps to go potty, you know it instantly and can prevent it from happening. As a bonus, It teaches the puppy to focus on you, rather than the other way around, it makes leash training much easier, as he knows to follow you and, it teaches him that you are the Alpha pack leader.
3. And the last condition…., if you are not actively engaged playing/training, or tethered to the puppy, he should be in his crate. Those are the only three scenarios.