What to do when your puppy arrives

When I wrote the first draft of A Year With Your Puppy (AYWYP) I didn’t include what to do when your puppy arrives, because my puppies are born in my bedroom! Of course most people don’t breed their puppy, especially first time puppy owners. Hopefully you bought your puppy from a responsible breeder, so they have already given you lots of helpful advice. Here are my thoughts.

Preparation and equipment

Before your puppy has arrived in your home, they have already made big changes to your life!  You have planned to get them, chosen them, seen them and made changes to your home.  You will have gone out and bought ‘stuff’ for them and set everything up ready.  I remember visiting a couple of people before their first dog arrived and it was laughable (for me) how they imagine their life with their dog was going to be. 

I recommend the following equipment:

• Dog crate and run
• Bedding, such as vet bed
• Collar and lead, with identity tag
• Bowls for food and water
• Dog toys
• Food and treats
• Car crate, guard or harness
• Poo bags
• Grooming equipment, shampoo and toothpaste

You can go on forever buying things for your dog, but the above are all pretty essential.  I recommend talking to the dog’s breeder about where to buy all of these from.  They will often have top tips about what to buy and may have discount codes or recommended suppliers.  My website has details about all of these things.

Making your home safe

Before your puppy arrives home you need to make it a safe space for them.  You need to decide where they will spend most of their time and prepare that area.  Check for wiring that they can get to and move this.  Remove toys, plants, shoes etc, at least for the first few months. 

You shouldn’t let your puppy go up and down stairs, so think about the best way to stop them from doing this.  You might want to section off part of the garden, so that the puppy doesn’t dig up your favourite plants, or eat the poisonous ones!

I highly recommend setting up a run, so that you have somewhere safe for the puppy to play when you go to the toilet!  Or have to get on with something.  You will quickly learn how much you can trust your dog to hang out around you and how much you need to watch and engage with them.

Introducing your puppy to the family

When the puppy arrives home, everyone will be VERY excited!  That’s understandable, but it can be overwhelming for the puppy.  Try to manage this, if possible?  Don’t invite loads of friends and family round, at least for the first few days.  Give yourself time and space to settle and get to know each other.

If you have other pets, introduce these to your puppy calmly and slowly.  Manage your expectations – they are not going to be friends straight away.  Older dogs in particular will NOT thank you for bringing home a puppy and will probably hate it for several weeks.  They should come round eventually, if you manage the interaction carefully and with respect.  Cats need to be given time and space too.  Most cats can live perfectly happily with dogs, but initially they need to be able to get away and not be hassled.  There is a section on cats and dogs for more information.

Children should learn to manage themselves around the puppy.  They should not be allowed to pester it constantly – let the puppy come to them for play and attention.  If the puppy starts biting excessively they are overtired and need a chance to rest. 

Feeding and toileting

Do not expect your puppy to be toilet trained!  It takes quite a few weeks to learn the difference between inside and outside.  They are also too young to have good bladder control, so when they need to go it will just happen!  The more effort you make to work on this the quicker it will happen, but patience is definitely required.

Similarly, your puppy may be unsettled for a few days and have an upset tummy.  This might be from travelling or just from adjusting to the new surroundings.  They may be off their food, even though it is the same food the breeder gave them.  It’s fine.  Keep offering small amounts of food.  Don’t leave it down, remove it after a few minutes and then offer again later or discard and start again.  Talk to the breeder or your vet if problems persist.

The first night

People get hung up on the trauma of a puppy going off to their new home and coping with being on their own.  If a puppy has been lovingly bred in the breeder’s home, they won’t find the transition that difficult.  They will be tired, for one thing, after travelling and exploring and playing.  They should be used to being in a crate and to being left, away from their mum. 

Once you have had a last wander around the garden and hopefully done a final wee and a poo, pop your puppy into their crate and then sit quietly nearby whilst they fall asleep.  When they are settled, leave them to it.  If the crate is covered and has a bit of bedding with a familiar smell from mum on it, the puppy should be quite content. 

Puppies are not usually ‘dry’ at night for a few more weeks, so you might need to let them out in the middle of the night.  If you set up a run, with the crate open so that they can get out and go on the newspaper, that won’t be needed and they are better off left in peace.  If you do decide to get up and toilet them, make sure it is quiet and boring.

You will need to get up early though!  Puppies do not wait until 8am to start their day – when it’s light, we get up!  Having said that, you can usually get away with getting up to toilet, have breakfast and a bit of a play, followed by another sleep.

Good luck with everything and away we go – your journey with your puppy has begun!

Weekly Focus Challenge

Have you got everything you need before your puppy comes home?  Are you managing your expectations?  How do you plan to keep your puppy safe in your home?  Where are they going to be left alone?  How are they going to travel in the car?  How much time have you set aside to look after them for the first few days and weeks?

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Learn your name

This week I ‘got’ my puppy. Or rather, I kept my puppy. The 7th puppy Chris and I have had. My mum taught me that there are only two words a puppy needs to know: his name and ‘NO!’ These days we are a bit more progressive and try to focus on the positive behaviour we do want. So I want to teach him ‘Yes!’ rather than no, but the latter will inevitably be said as well!

When I have all the puppies, I do try using their names as much as possible, but if I call one, they all come! So as soon as I had just him, I started to make sure I called him.

I call out ‘Quin’ then when he looks, (or appears) I call ‘Quin come’ in a stupidly high-pitched voice. When he comes, I ‘draw him in’ with my hands, until he is sitting at my feet looking up at me. Then I say ‘yes!’ and give him a treat. I try to give him two tiny bits of treat, one from each hand. Jackpot!

Practice makes perfect

How often do you think I do this? Once a day? Every now and then? Possibly 10-20 times PER DAY. EVERY SINGLE DAY. The more I do it, the more likely he is to respond.

Is it OK to call him without treats? Er no. What I’m going for is developing a ‘Pavlovian response’. If I describe a pizza to you, with oozing cheese and juicy tomato sauce, on a crispy dough base, will your mouth start watering? Mine did! I have that response because I have eaten enough pizza to be able to imagine eating it again.

I want to create that response in my puppy. I want him to hear his name and imagine he is getting a treat! I need it to happen enough times that he makes that instant link. The more practice we do, the stronger his response to his name will be.

Tasty treats

It’s no good just giving him a bit of his ordinary food for this. He needs sweeties! Not too big, he’s only a baby! Not to rich, or too sweet, too crumbly for you to manage. They must be easy to hold and feed. Personally, I use ‘Wagg’s Training Treats‘, because the dogs love them, they are easy to handle and they are cheap and easy to buy. You can also use cheese, or sausage, or liver cake, or bits of chicken, or any one of a million tasty bits of food, as long as they are safe for puppies.

Play away

I have also taught Quin to play with me this week, using a tuggy toy. I think I’ll talk more about that next week though. If you have a puppy and you practice recall 100 times this week, that is a good start!

I also want to mention that you do need time to spend with your puppy, away from distractions and especially away from other dogs. If you have other young dogs and they spend hours playing every day, that’s lovely. But you may then find the puppy is too tired to concentrate when you want to spend time training.

A puppy can only concentrate for 5 minutes, but you do need them to be alert enough to do that. So make sure they have some down time before you ask them to focus.

Older dogs

Finally, I just want to give some love for our older dogs, who may be struggling with the very annoying puppy! Aura has found this week hard, because she is so sweet that she hates telling off the puppy. Even when he is jumping in her face. This makes her stressed and miserable.

I’ve spent some time focusing on just her today, practising our agility moves, making a fuss of her and taking her away from the puppy, but with me. All of which have improved her mood no end.

It’s hard to know what age is ideal when introducing a second dog. Too young and they can become very focused on each other, which can make them harder to manage. Too old and they can feel miserable and neglected. Being aware of the issues helps, of course.

Weekly Focus Challenge

Call your puppy!  Say ‘Name, come!’ in the same excited way.  Practice keeping it consistent.  Do NOT just say their name over and over again.  Give them a chance to respond.  If you had someone just repeating your name over and over again, you wouldn’t rush to respond.  So try and stay calm and clear.  When they get to you, say ‘Yes!’ and give them a treat.  Then wait for them to wander off and do it again.

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

The importance of play

I’m pretty old, so I remember a time when ‘playing’ with your dog wasn’t really something you did. We might have thrown sticks for our dogs on walks or in the garden (now a big no no!) Not that we really walked our dogs that much. We certainly didn’t train them! Play is modern concept – times change, thank goodness.

Likewise, dogs played with each other if they lived together, or met on a walk. They might have got into a fight, but that wasn’t that big a deal. Even 30 years ago, a family dog would regularly get into scraps with other dogs, but it wasn’t considered a crime.

How far we have come! Nowadays, we value our dogs so much more. Well we pay a lot more for them to start with! We expect them to be a loved family member and we don’t want them being beaten up by other dogs when we are out. Unfortunately, whilst our expectations for our dogs have changed massively, our ability to manage them hasn’t quite kept up.

Engaging with your dog

We are starting to appreciate that in order to manage our dog, we need to engage with him. I first learnt about ‘play’ with my dog only a few years ago. When doing agility, I have always been taught to reward their training, usually with by throwing a toy. Some dogs don’t really respond to this as a reward and need to have a treat instead.

I have gradually learnt that the best way to reward your dog is to teach them to properly play with you. This means getting a toy and playing ‘tug’ with you. Watching my puppies, I have discovered that they naturally do this. It is clearly a way to get the best bits of food. It’s rather grisly, but puppies will fight over entrails and when you watch them with a toy you can see this behaviour.

What this play does is make your puppy think you are fun. This is the key. They then know that you are the source of happiness! Fantastic! Your puppy will then know that coming to you is a great idea. This is how you get the best and quickest recall.

Reward the recall

It’s not quite enough to play with your puppy. You also need to provide tasty treats. Call them, reward, then play. Play, then call them and reward. I have noticed that if I want Quin to give up the toy, I need to let go, then call and reward with a treat. He will usually drop the toy to take the food.

Remember to wait! You need to be patient. It takes time for puppies to process the instructions. Don’t always expect instant reactions.

DO NOT keep on calling! Don’t call their name repeatedly. If you keep saying their name, it just becomes white noise. Blah blah blah.

“Quin come.” Wait. Here he comes. Hands together between your legs. Bring your hands up so he sits. Say “YES!” nice and clearly. Give a treat. Well, a bit of a treat.

Train when hungry

My top tip for training your puppy: make sure he is hungry. Don’t try and train him straight after his meal. Equally, don’t train him when he is tired.

Play with other dogs

This brings me to another key point: play with other dogs. I don’t do much training when I have more than one puppy, because they are just too busy and too focused on each other. It’s lovely to see dogs playing happily, but it does need managing. If you a young dog (1-3 years old) and a puppy, chances are they will play all day! That’s lovely, but you won’t get much concentration from the puppy unless you keep them apart for some of the time.

DO NOT assume that your puppy MUST play with every other dog it sees! On the contrary, teach your puppy that YOU are the most exciting thing on the walk. I’ll talk about that more in my next post..

Weekly Focus Challenge

Play with your puppy.  Try engaging him with a toy, playing a game of tug?  Watch out for your fingers!  A few minutes of play, then give him a treat and some praise.  Then a bit more play.  Do this every day.  Ideally after they have come to you.  Reward the recall, then play!

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Puppy biting is such a problem, isn’t it?

Puppies have VERY sharp teeth – everyone knows that! When they first arrive home at 8 weeks of age, they can be really bitey. Children soon go off their cute, fluffy puppy when it nips their ankles and chews their fingers. How do we deal with the biting?

I see so much about people being exasperated with their puppies biting so much. Now I have a confession to make: I have never been bothered by a biting puppy! I’ve been pondering about why this might be and have come up with a few reasons. Here goes..

1. Don’t let your puppy become overtired. My puppies have a pretty calm life. I do play with them and I do make sure I spend some time every day training them. Apart from that, nothing much happens in our house. Even when my sons were small, we were not a household full of shouting and running around. It’s hardly ever hectic. So my puppies don’t get to that ‘overtired’ stage, where they just don’t know what to do with themselves. That’s when they can’t control their biting and it gets much more frequent and harder!
2. Tell your puppy that it hurts! When puppies play with each other, or with adult dogs, they do occasionally hurt each other. You always hear a yelp when this happens. They then stop playing and look at each other. Then the play starts up again. So when a puppy accidentally bites me too hard, I yelp. Or at least, I say ‘Ow!’ Well that seems reasonable, doesn’t it?
3. Let them know it is not acceptable. If my puppies are behaving in a way that is annoying, I say ‘No!’ and then call them away. I might even give them a tap on their nose if they are really getting carried away. Or just push them off and leave them alone for a minute. Again, this is the same way the adult dogs behave. Puppies are quick to learn.

Teething

Of course puppies do need to chew and bite, especially when they start to lose their baby teeth and replace them with adult teeth. Again, I’ve never particularly found this difficult. My top tip: provide plenty of things to chew! Frozen carrot sticks are supposed to be good. Or food put into a frozen ‘Kong‘. Equally good can be alternatives to bones. We don’t give our dogs bones or sticks these days, because there is a risk of choking. (That doesn’t mean they won’t eat sticks from the garden if they can!)

Give it up!

I’ve noticed that Quin is very good at finding things in the garden that he then doesn’t want to give up. He will run away from me if I try to get it off him.

DON’T CHASE HIM! He’ll love that game! I have to call him, standing still, with a treat in my hand. If he thinks what he has is particularly fantastic, I might need an extra tasty treat – a bit of cheese. I offer him the treat and make sure I am being positive and exciting. He drops the bit of mud/hair/stick and comes to see me. I then slide round him to pick up the discarded yuck. Nice!

It’s worth remembering to limit access to the garden at this age. It’s a whole world out there, full of mischief to make! Holes to be dug, plants to be chewed, poo to be eaten. Of course it’s tempting to leave the door open, so that he can go to the toilet when he needs to, but it’s just not worth it.

Toileting – getting there

Trying to cover one topic per week is clearly hopeless – there is so much to deal with! Quin is being really good with his toileting, on the whole. When he wakes up, I take him out and then give him loads of praise for going. I also have to remember to do this after he’s been playing for a while. And after he’s eaten of course. But the good news is that he can hold on for a while. He isn’t going to the toilet indoors most of the time, with just an occasional accident (not usually on my watch :p)

Finally..

A quick training update – we have been practising our ‘down’ command. Every day, a few times. Then a few more times. I start by bringing him down with my hand, holding a treat. Then I try using the hand action without a treat, then giving the treat once he is down. You need to start without really saying anything, then add the word ‘down’. Say it in the same voice every time, if you can.

The final stage is to give the command and wait. Don’t move! See if he knows what you’re on about. If not, use your hand. Then try again. If he isn’t getting it, move him a bit and try again. The video is not great, but we’re getting there. Clever boy!

Weekly Focus Challenge

When and why is your puppy is biting you or other family members?  Monitor times it occurs and think about how you could reduce this.  Make a note of when he is sleeping more and make sure he is getting plenty of sleep in a quiet, secure space.

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Time for that first walk!

It’s a day you look forward to, but also secretly dread. How will your puppy behave when they go out into the world for their first walk? What will happen? Will you be able to manage?

Quin is my 8th dog. I remember taking one puppy out for their first time on lead, 35 years ago and being amazed at how they danced around and dangled on the end of the lead! Coping with the lead is very much the first battle. Nowadays I make sure that puppies have met their collar and lead well before their first walk.

Vaccination restrictions

As a breeder, I don’t vaccinate my puppies before they go to their new homes. This is because each veterinary practice has a different brand of vaccine and a different regime for giving these. My vet gives the first vaccine at 8 weeks and the second one three weeks later. The puppy can go out straight away after this, although not swimming in lakes and rivers for another month.

Please make sure you follow the guidance given by your vet and respect their regime.

Going out out

Just because the puppy can’t go out for a walk, does not mean they cannot go out! Of course I have taken them out for microchipping, hearing and eye tests and their school visits! Then they travel to their new home.

I hope that my puppy owners have taken their puppies out for visits to friends’ houses. Or carried them along to meet people at the school gates. They might even go out for a walk in a puppy sling. (I can’t do that with Quin – he’s too heavy already :p).

Finally though, the day is here and they are ready to go out out for their first walk.

Off lead – surely not?

I ask my potential puppy owners when they should let their puppy off lead. Sometimes people say ‘Six months?’ A six month old puppy is fully grown. They can run – fast! Even a small toy breed can shoot across the ground at that age. So you’ve got absolutely no chance of catching it.

When you take your dog out for their first walk, you are their whole world! You are their comfort blanket, their familiar, loving, caring food provider. You should also be their fun playmate.

If you really don’t believe they will come back to you – get a longline. Then you can let them wander away from you, but still have some control. You can gently tug the line as you call them. If all else fails, you can hang onto the end and go and get them.

You shouldn’t need to do that though. If you have done the practice recall around the house and garden, and played with them, you should be able to go for it!

How long should the first walk be?

When you take your puppy out for their first walk, 15 minutes is long enough. It’s an intense experience for a dog. There are so many smells! So much to look at! All that noise! Added to which you are making them think about coming back to you.

Do not imagine you need to ‘tire out’ a puppy. They will play all day long, unless they are asleep! Puppies are extremely active, but also sleep for long stretches. They must be able to regulate this activity level themselves. Enforced activity can do untold damage to joints. Not to mention the more you force a dog to exercise, the fitter they will get.

You wouldn’t take a 2 year old child on a 3 mile run, would you? Well don’t do it to a puppy either :(. Keep it short and sweet. A positive experience for you all. Then do it again tomorrow.

Weekly Focus Challenge

Take your puppy out for their first walk!  How did it go?  Were you brave enough to go for it and let them off?  Did you manage to practise a recall?  Did the puppy cope with being on the lead?  Did you remember to take plenty of rewards?

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

How do you start socialisation?

When you meet someone, do you rush up to them shouting ‘Play with me’? Do you insist that everyone you meet talks to you and gives you a hug? Or do you calmly walk up and look at the person to see if they are interested in talking? Let’s think about how dogs need to learn to say hello, otherwise known as socialisation.

If your small dog runs up to my tiny puppy and chases it, do you think ‘how sweet they’re playing’? I don’t think that. My puppy is frightened. He doesn’t know your dog, so why would he want to play with it? What will happen when Quin grows into a big dog (the size of a lab) and your dog runs up to him and chases him? He might turn round and say ‘go away’ and snap his teeth, which might catch your dog and draw blood. Who’s fault will this be? You taught him that dogs are scary and rude. 

Call your dog. Get it under control. Walk calmly towards me and say hello to me. If I stop to chat, your dog and mine will say hello. They might even play!  I teach my dogs to ignore everything they pass, as a starting point. But if I say hello to someone, they can say hello. Calmly. It’s not that I’m an anti-social bitch who never talks to anyone. It’s that I want a calm, relaxing walk, with no stress, shouting or running away. I don’t want barking or lunging, pulling on the lead, or lying down until other dogs go past and then leaping at them.

How to socialise your dog

Teach them to be calm and focus on you. Like this:

Other dogs just aren’t that interesting. There is no need to panic and run away. Nor is there any need to bark or lunge. This other dog is not a playmate, I am exciting and will play with you! One of the crucial parts of this process is how I behave with my dog. I MUST stay calm and positive. If I am nervous, particularly if my dog is on lead, my dog will know straight away and that will impact on how he reacts.

Ignore it, it’s boring

Here is some more training to ignore. With a bit of recall thrown in at the start:

You can see in this video that there is a lot of feeding of treats – in this case, cheese! Look how small he is though! Such a baby still. I am not going to feed him this much indefinitely, but at this point, I need to get commitment from him. NB: I feed my dogs treats as rewards for the whole of their life!

The next step

When you are confident that your dog is calm and feeling happy, you can try a bit of greeting:

You can see in this clip that he is not that confident. He thinks about running away, but is reassured by me standing calmly. Quin then comes through my legs, so nice and close to me. He enjoys saying hello. So much in fact he jumps up! He nearly gets rewarded for that, but fortunately he remembers he’s not supposed to do that so is rewarded for sitting down.

Look at how he is with the other dog. He doesn’t really want to engage with it. The other dog would like to sniff him, but it is on lead, so can’t get there without pulling. Because he’s pulling, he can’t reach Quin and Quin isn’t interested in talking to him (perhaps because he is pulling?) So then we calmly walk away.

What is socialisation? Why do we need it?

What is the ultimate goal here? I am aiming to teach my dogs to calmly pass other dogs on their walks. But I also want to be able to have them walk alongside other dogs, if I meet up with friends.

If you only have one dog, these issues are bigger and more difficult to overcome. If you have a breed of dog (or a mix of breeds) that are not particularly confident, such as a poodle, or a toy dog, you will find these issues more challenging to train, which means socialisation is even more important.

Border Collies want to learn and to please. They are more intelligent than other breeds and will pick up training more quickly. But that doesn’t mean you can’t train other dogs – of course you can. You just might need more time, more effort and maybe some professional help from a good dog trainer.

Other training progress

I’ve started teaching Quin to ‘wait’. This takes a long time, but is an essential command, one that I use every day.

I will be adding time, distance and distraction over the next few months.

Finally, I am very pleased with his on-lead walking. I don’t walk him on lead very much, but is vital that he is able to do so.

Weekly Focus Challenge

How are you going to react when you see other dogs whilst you are out?  Make yourself stay calm.  Try to get your puppy’s attention and give them lots of treats whilst people go past, then play!  Be interesting, rewarding and exciting.  Think about what you are enjoying with your puppy’s walks?  What still needs working on?

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Stop jumping up!

A dog that jumps up at people is annoying. Fact. People rarely like it. Unless of course it is their dog, when they might actively encourage it. Which is a bit of a shame, because it makes training a lot more difficult. Jumping up is not a desirable trait.

If you are out walking your dog though, chances are you do NOT want them rushing up to strangers and leaping into their faces. So why do they do that? And what can we do about it?

Why dogs jump up

With this litter, my tenth, I finally realised why dogs jump up. When they were just a few weeks old, the mum is not with them all the time. She arrives into the den or run and they rush to greet her. Initially this is just for milk. They scrabble around to get onto a teat and when they are too big to fit lying down, she will stand so they can get into position underneath her.

A few weeks later, they have started to eat solid food. In the wild, this consists of her regurgitating food for them. The puppies all rush to her mouth and ‘kiss’ her, licking and pawing at her.

Steps to stop jumping up

It is perfectly possible to stop your puppy from jumping up at you. But it takes CONSISTENCY and you must be PERSISTENT. Here are the steps:

1. Sit down with all members of your household and agree that this is a behaviour you want to stop. You can have plenty of cuddles with your dog, without letting them jump up when they see you.
2. When you come into the room with your puppy, DO NOT give attention if they jump up at you. Say nothing. No eye contact.
3. If they persist in jumping, turn away from them. Walk away from them, ignoring them completely.
4. When they stop jumping up, bend down and give lots of praise and fuss. Ideally, say ‘yes!’ as you do this. You are rewarding the correct behaviour. Great.
5. Model this behaviour for your family and friends. Ask them to copy you.

Out on walks

Ideally, you then need to continue this good practice when you are out and about. You should initially stop your puppy from greeting people on walks. Call your dog to you and reward their attention. Then when they are calm and still, the person you meet can bend down and make a fuss of them. Perfect!

What is rewarding?

There are various things that your dog finds rewarding:

• Praise – your dog loves you and anything you say in a positive voice is rewarding to them
• Patting – a gentle fuss around their head or ears is tremendously rewarding
• Play – activity with a toy is great fun!
• Food – (can’t think of a way to say food beginning with p). Of course food is a great reward. Tiny amounts though.

If you push your dog off you when it jumps up, you are rewarding it with ‘patting’. If you shout at it, you are rewarding it with ‘praise’ by speaking to it. Have a look at my ‘fun quiz‘ for more ideas about how not to reward your dog…

Managing visitors to your house

Of course not everyone you know will understand the importance of good dog behaviour and they may be really pleased to meet your dogs. But some visitors may be quite nervous around dogs and definitely don’t want to be leapt on!

When people arrive, put your dog away. Every home should have a separate space, even if it is just a bathroom. Ideally, it should be a room that the dog is used to being in on its own, so that it doesn’t try and wreck it if left for a few minutes.

Greet your guests, bring them in. Ideally, you want to get them seated and settled before you bring the dogs in. Then calmly let the puppy in. If people are sitting down there is less chance of them being jumped on and it is easier for the visitor to bend down to stroke them.

If the puppy jumps up, try calling them away. Calm them down, then let them try again. If they get too excited, take them away. Do this by calling them, not dragging them. Put them away again, preferably with a treat.

Good manners cost nothing

It’s just a bit of time and effort. You want other people to love your dog, so try to teach it to behave politely? I did train Ounce not to jump up, more or less. Here is the post of her progress at around this age.

Weekly Focus Challenge

How are you going to stop your puppy from jumping up?  Be aware of your behaviour when you come into the house.  Talk to family and friends about what you plan to do to stop the jumping up and why that is important to you.  Reward your puppy for not jumping up.

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Puppy travelling – how can you get them used to the car?

This post is about putting your dog in the car, not about going on holiday, or travelling abroad. One day we will do those things, but not today…

Like so many things in life, getting a puppy used to travelling by car takes practice. It’s as simple as that. Lots of dogs do not like going in the car to start with. When I take my puppies to the vet’s for their microchips, or to the specialist vet’s for their hearing and eye tests, they often cry for most of the journey. Some of them are usually sick.

When they go off to their new homes, they are still small enough to be cuddled. They are usually happy travelling on a lap, curled up on a blanket or towel. In a crate, in the boot, they are very often frightened and stressed. Even covering the crate doesn’t necessarily help. Earplugs might be needed!

Travelling in crates

Dogs must be secure when travelling in cars – it is a legal requirement. The most common way of achieving this is by having a dog guard fitted between the back seat and the boot area. The advantage of this is that it is inexpensive and easy to fit or remove. It should not impact the sale of your car in the future (although the mud and dog hair might!)

However, if you are planning on leaving your dog in your car, where they might chew, you might be better off getting a crate to go into the boot. This can be a free-standing crate that just sits in the boot (see above), or it could be a structure that is specially fitted. When you have multiple dogs, people normally find that a van is the best option.

One of the key advantages of this option if you plan to go to any events or shows with your dog is that the dogs can be safely left inside the cage, with the car boot or doors open. It’s also brilliant if you are taking the dogs away with you, as they have plenty of room.

Other travel options

Some people don’t like using crates, or they don’t feel they have space in their car. You can use a harness to keep the dog secure on the back seat. Personally I feel that a dog is likely to chew through a harness. I also feel that a crate gives a dog more opportunity to change position and stand up, if it wants to. You can also put a water bowl in a crate.

How can we help?

As I’ve said, the main thing in getting a dog used to travelling is to take your dog out and about. Don’t make the only time they are in the car be when they go to the vet! Take them out for short journeys to different walks. This has the advantage of being a really positive experience for your dog. It also gives you the chance of a change of scenery.

I tend to walk from home for only around half my walks. The rest of the time I go off to woods or fields. I park in places where my dogs can go straight out from the van, with no lead walking at all. Lovely!

If your dog is really stressed by the car, try feeding them in the boot, with the engine off. If that is too stressful, start with giving treats next to the car. Gradually increase the time in the car. Turn the engine on and sit quietly, with the dog in their crate. Then start to go for short journeys, without stopping or getting out.

Quin’s other news

Walking around other dogs continues to be a challenge. The other day I had two dogs, including a greyhound, run over to us, causing Quin to run away from me. The owner called them, but it was a bit of a challenge and I had to go and fetch Quin from where he had run to hide under the van.

Fortunately, some dogs are polite and don’t rush at us. Quin is happy to sit by me whilst they go past, or even cope while they sniff him. We have managed to walk alongside a few other dogs, which is great.

This morning someone remarked “What a well behaved puppy!” That’s lovely, but really, I’m not doing much. It’s a slow, steady process. Keeping on doing it, every day. We do a few recalls, a bit of a wait. On lead, off lead (mainly off lead). Playing with my puppy. Engaging with him. He’s a happy boy, loving his life. Which reminds me to go and check what he’s eating..

Weekly Focus Challenge

Take your puppy out regularly in the car.  Make sure they are secure.  Reward them for getting themself into the into the car.  Go on short journeys every day, preferably with a positive experience at the end of the trip.  Watch out for your puppy jumping out of the car, as this may stress their joints unnecessarily.

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

Socialisation – part 2: meeting a friend

This post is really about recall, but it’s also about socialisation. On my post two weeks ago about socialisation, I talked about training your dog to ignore other dogs, to be calm and not lunge or bark. I wanted to be able to stay relaxed and calm as other dogs walk past. One of the best ways to do this is to arrange a playdate.

Life would be pretty boring if we never talked to anyone else! I definitely like seeing friends and I love walking my dogs with other people. So how would Quin react to meeting up with another puppy his age? And would he ever come back to me? Would the playdate be a success?

Meeting another dog on a playdate

This morning I met up with a friend, who has a five-and-a-half-month-old Border Collie puppy. We had both pups on lead to start with and managed the distance between them and the way they said hello. It was interesting, because Quin immediately knew the puppy was a friend. He recognised his breed and the age of the other dog, not surprisingly. His behaviour was far more confident and he straight away asked if Isla would play with him.

When dogs meet, they ask to play with a ‘play bow’. This means ‘Hello, I’m friendly. I would like to play with you’. Your dog will do this to you, but you might not realise. Obviously they know you, so to you they are saying ‘you are my family and I love you. Now give me food/walk/play!’ It’s their way of saying ‘please’.

Off they go!

When we got to the field, we immediately let the puppies off lead. They can’t play together if they are on lead. It was so lovely to see that they ran around together straight away. They roared about, up and down, probably going a bit further than Quin would go from me.

Then they stopped. After just a few minutes they had a pause. Take a breath, then go! That is the ideal point to do a quick recall, to get them to check in with you.

Recall away from distractions

It’s very exciting, being around another dog! So much fun, being chased and chasing. So don’t expect a miracle? I bet if you call your other half, they aren’t there in a second, are they? What about your children, do they respond immediately when you call them? And if someone calls you and you are busy on your phone, do you say ‘Coming!’ but actually take a while to actually go?

Get a grip. Your puppy will not come back to you straight away. But IF you have done your training, practising that recall again and again, you will find that they DO come back to you, even when they are playing. Well, they will in a minute…

Always reward

Don’t forget the reward. YOU MUST REWARD EVERY TIME! And be pleased to see them, even if it has taken longer than normal. Have good, tasty rewards. Grab their collar and stroke their neck and ears. Use a toy to engage them if you can.

Don’t keep calling

If you say your dog’s name, over and over again, it just becomes white noise. Blah, blah, blah. Boring. So try to just say clearly ‘Quin come’. Wait. Then wait a bit longer. Of course in a really distracting situation like this, it’s incredibly difficult not to keep on saying his name. Panic sets in! But patience is rewarded.

In the clip, you can see I call him and he turns to come. Then Isla runs past him and he decides that’s much more fun. But he does turn towards me and then does come over. I get his attention with an ‘Oi!’ rather than repeatedly calling. I laugh, because I am being realistic about how hard this is for him. He comes. I am thrilled! I am hopeless in this clip, but it is my first time with such a BIG distraction!

Manage it

Don’t overdo, especially when they are still so young. We were out for around 20 minutes. They were off lead for around half that time. That’s it, it was enough to tire them out. And I wouldn’t want to do that every day. Now and again is fine. Lovely to have friends though. Thanks Ruth, a great playdate.

Weekly Focus Challenge

Arrange to go for a walk with a friend, preferably with a young dog.  Hold your breath, then let them off lead.  I know it’s a challenge, but it will be fine.  Let them play and give them space. Then call them back.  Be exciting!  DO NOT keep on saying their name.  If they ignore you, give it a minute, breathe, then try again.  If they really don’t want to come, run away, preferably squeaking a toy and calling in a positive, high-pitched voice!   Then make sure you let them go again. It’s fine.  What do you think your puppy gained from this experience?

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.

How to house train your puppy – toileting

I’ve left this to week 9 to talk about because although you need to get started in week 1, you will probably find by week 9 you are getting sick of clearing up the puddles!  It’s not too late, you will get on top of it.  Don’t despair! I recently received an enquiry asking me if the puppies I produce are sent to their new homes fully toilet trained. Er, no. At 8 weeks of age, puppies are still babies and do not have full bladder control. Toileting takes time.

Over the years, as I have had litters of puppies and watched them grow, I have realised that they will try and toilet away from their bed almost before they can walk. Their mother cleans them up completely for the first few weeks and you rarely see any mess in that time. Then they stagger and stumble away from where they are feeding, feeling a different texture underfoot and toileting there.

As they grow, puppies become weeing and pooing monsters! It’s one of the hardest parts of having a litter of puppies in your home – it’s a constant mess. Once they are up and about, they will toilet anywhere. I have newspaper in the run, which I change regularly. Other people use different materials. Many puppies are kept on sawdust or straw, in outside runs, or sheds, simply to help manage the mess.

Dogs don’t care

Dogs do have very different toileting behaviours to us. Because they are ruled by their noses, they use their urine to scent, or mark where they have been. They also urinate on top of where other dogs have been. Once one dog has urinated in one place, every other dog in the world will want to go there! So if you have a male dog who marks something, you must expect every other male to also add their scent. Beware cleaning with normal household cleaners – they are likely to make the problem worse, as the ammonia just smells like wee to a dog! And they can still smell traces of wee for years – trust me.

Dogs will also poo in particular places. My dogs do toilet in the garden, which I clear every day. I know that each dog has one or two places they go, every day.

So they do care where they go. But they don’t care what you think about where they go! In other words, in makes no real difference to them if it is inside or outside, on a walk or in the garden.

Dogs won’t go to the toilet in their bed, if they can help it. But a bit of wee doesn’t really bother them and they will happily lie in it if they have to. They also eat poo! The Kennel Club recently produced this great article: Why does my dog eat poo? We might find it disgusting, but for them, it’s no big deal.

Getting started

I think understanding toileting from a dog’s point of view does help us to manage their behaviour. As I’ve said, I know that dogs move off their bed (usually) to toilet from a very young age and I do try to keep their run clean.

When they are up and about, I ensure they can go outside as soon as possible. They have access to grass, which they much prefer to poo on. I also start to take them all outside to wee as soon as they wake up, or after they have eaten, or after they have been playing… I call them, “Puppy, puppy, puppy” and they all come running! Of course I can’t do that all day every day; six week old puppies are particularly trying!

When they go off to their new homes, this is how you get started – every hour, after a sleep, after food, after play, go out with them. Go onto the grass and say “Do you want a wee?” Or “Be quick!” or “Be clean”. It’s up to you what you say, but then as soon as they have toileted, REWARD!

Reward every time

It’s really about consistency. The more effort you make, the less ‘accidents’ you will have to clear up. If you can’t be bothered to be with your puppy and pay attention to its behaviour, you can expect to step in the odd wee!

Naturally we can’t be with our dogs every second of every day. When we get a puppy at 8 weeks of age, they will need to toilet at least every hour during the day. They can’t go through the night without needing to toilet. They poo four times or more.

For me, I prefer to give my dogs space to toilet, in a run either outside or inside.

Dry at night

Puppies can usually last all night from around ten weeks of age. They can then go into a crate, to stop them rampaging, playing and chewing all night long! Crates are a great way of helping them to learn bladder control and managing when and where they do toilet.

You may still have accidents in the crate, if you leave them in there too long, or if they get an upset tummy. Border Collies are a breed that are prone to sensitive digestion, so you need to feed them something consistently.

Keep going with toileting

If you get your puppy in the summer, it’s tempting to just leave the door open and let them find their way outside. Dogs prefer to toilet on a soft surface, so if you don’t have any rugs or mats, they should go outside.

However, if you do that, your puppy might then be confused when it gets colder and you shut the door! So you might then be back to square one. Go out with them, wait for them to go. REWARD! If they find the garden too exciting and rush around playing and exploring, you need to put them on a lead and just stand with them and wait.

Of course they might not always want to go when you want to take them. This is when is good if you can be around your puppy for a while. If they are wandering around a bit restlessly, that is probably what they want. Some puppies are kind enough to stand by the door and wait for you to open it, but they won’t wait for long! You can teach them to ring a bell on the door, with time and patience. Be careful though, or your dog will have you at their beck and call, ringing every five minutes just to go into the garden and play!

Should you tell them off?

In the old days (a very long time ago) we used to show our dogs their wee or poo and shout at them (I won’t mention rubbing their noses in it). Thankfully we don’t do that any more. But it’s not unreasonable to say ‘NO!’ sharply if you catch your dog in the act of toileting in the house. They can understand when you’re not happy, it just needs to be very clear what it is for.

Above all, praise them for toileting in the right place. If you keep going, patiently and consistently, you’ll get there in the end. I’m writing this post when Quin is over four months old. He’s pretty good, on the whole. We caught him digging a hole in the lawn the other day and got cross, so he came in the house and weed everywhere. Silly us! And he tends to leak a bit if we don’t let him out when he needs to go.

Excited wees

When you greet a puppy, it wees. They just can’t help being excited and they don’t have enough control. This usually sorts itself out by the time they are six months old. You can help by being less exciting, or by letting them out before you greet people. Or by saying hello to them outside, when it doesn’t matter so much.

Toilet training your puppy is a challenge. Like everything else relating to your dog, it requires effort, patience and persistence. Oh and don’t forget the REWARDS!

Weekly Focus Challenge

All day long, take your puppy outside, wait for them to toilet and reward them for going.  Go out with them, even if it’s the middle of the night or it’s cold and raining.  Watch them.  Wait for them.  Give them a verbal prompt, before and after.  Again and again.  And again.  It’s hard work and takes effort.  The more you do it, the better they will be.  If you can’t be bothered, they won’t be bothered.  You can’t tell them off for your lack of effort.  NB: If they start playing in the garden, you will have to put them on lead to help manage their behaviour.  You cannot leave them unsupervised and expect them to perform.  They are also likely to then come back into the house and toilet.

Please share your thoughts and a photo? You can do this in the AYWYP Facebook group, or buy the workbook to keep your own record. Details below.

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. It was written and designed to be a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely!

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.  If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME, by filling in your email address below?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

NB: I am not a dog trainer, or a dog behaviourist, just a dog breeder and owner. I can only offer my opinion, based on my experience.