Posts Tagged ‘puppy training’
101 Ideas for Puppy Socialization
March 19th, 2010
Well, after having a new puppy in my life for a few weeks, I thought I would post my 101 ideas for socialization. Feel free to add yours! The point of all of these are to introduce your dog in a positive way to anything they may encounter in their lives.
- A large dog
- A small dog
- A fluffy dog (ever seen a dog freak out at a newfie?)
- Kids
- Babies
- Bikes
- Skateboards
- Boxes
- Agility Tunnels
- Wire crates
- Airline crates
- Lawn Mower
- Leaf Blower
- School buses
- Garbage trucks
- Kids in helmets
- People in large coats
- People with disabilities
- Wheelchairs
- Sliding opening doors
- Mirrors
- Men with beards
- People wearing baseball hats and glasses
- Fireworks (carefully people!)
- Gunfire – especially if you want to hunt your dog, again, CAREFULLY!
- Gravel
- Grass
- Pet Stores
- Dog Parks
- Swings
- Slides
- Stairs
- Deck material
- Water (safely)
- Bath tubs
- Balloons
- Bubble Wrap
- Eat out of Plastic bowls
- Eat out of ceramic bowls
- The vets office
- The vet
- Training facility
- Sand
- The beach
- Different types of brushes
- A friends house
- Elevators
- Joggers
- Cats
- Farm animals
- Party hats
- Harnesses
- Different types of leashes
- Gentle leader ( I think every dog should learn to wear one – its good for handling their faces)
- Nail clippers
- Dremel
- Dog day care – every puppy should go once or twice
- Being held by a stranger
- Having a friend hold their lead while you walk away
- Shopping carts
- Little shopping carts (that kids can push)
- Hair dryer
- Remote control cars
- Baby toys
- Toys that make noise
- Different shapes of toys
- Kongs
- Rope toys
- Tags on their collar
- Socks on their feet
- Bandanna around their neck
- Visit to the groomer
- Touching their teeth
- Rubbing their gums
- Brushing their teeth
- Walk by a barking dog (always reward your puppy for being quiet!)
- Wobble board
- Weave poles
- Go under a table
- Go under a chair
- Eat from a buster cube
- Eat from a tug a jug
- Pop some balloons
- Have their ears cleaned with baby wipes or tissues (carefully)
- Kids in costumes
- Doorbell ringing (ignore the puppy early on so they dont get doorbell barky for attention!)
- A pizza person
- A mail person
- A UPS person
- Vacuum cleaner
- A large broom
- Short jumps
- Go under a bar of some kind
- Kids running and screaming
- Kids playing a sport
- Honking cars
- Car alarms
- Standing on tables (like at the vets office)
- Elderly People
- Someone with a “different” voice
- Girls wearing long flowy dresses
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Puppy Refuses to Walk on Leash
March 10th, 2010
When little Blaze is tired, he is a puppy that refuses to walk on leash. He plants himself, lays down, and just wont move. I suspect we did the wrong thing when he was younger and simply carried him where we wanted to go. Well, he is 20 pounds and carrying him just isn’t much of an option anymore.
If your puppy refuses to walk on leash, here are a few things you can do. First, make sure he is used to the leash. If its still an issue, start with yarn or string and let him wear it while you are in the house and have it drag. He will get used to it pretty quick.
When the puppy plants himself down, say lets go in a happy voice, pat your thigh and if he pops up give a little piece of kibble. If he doesn’t move, just start walking, dont be mean about it, dont correct him, just walk – he’ll get up and go with you. If he catches up or starts walking, say “yes” or great job and give a little reward.
I’ve never seen a 6 month old dog that wasn’t excited for a walk, so I’m sure this will pass if you stay consistent with rewarding the walking behavior. If you are trying to go for a long walk, remember, if they are babies (under 4-5 months) they might be tired and you can damage their bodies by pushing them. Keep it short and fun. You can also use toys and praise instead of food if your puppy likes that.
House Training Blaze
March 7th, 2010
Blaze is 10.5 weeks old, and is doing well with his house training. Our big problem is that he goes to the door and sits to let us know he needs to potty. If we aren’t watching, we dont know that he needs to go out! Enter the poochie bells, potty training system.
Poochie Bells are potty training bells you hang from your door knob and teach your dog to ring them as a cue to let you know its time to go out. You can make your own but in my experience they aren’t loud enough. I like these bells because they are well made, have several snaps so you can lengthen or shorten your bells. They are very reasonably priced too.
Click here to purchase a poochie bell
In order to train this behavior, I pulled out the bells, showed them to Blaze and said “yes” and gave him a piece of kibble every time he nudged the bells making noise. From here on out I am hanging the bells and when its time to go potty, I am asking him to do the same behavior by holding the bells up slightly and rewarding him for nudging them with a piece of food and letting him out to potty. As he starts to do it more on his own, the treat will no longer be needed as most dogs love to go outside and that is reward enough.
How much should I feed my puppy
March 7th, 2010
When I brought home my puppy, this was my first question, how much should I feed my puppy. The breeder told me what she was feeding and what kind, so I knew what to start with, but puppies grow quickly and their dietary requirements change. I think puppies are a lot like children where they need more food and have growth spurts, and the it cuts back some too.
Some puppies will eat and not stop – this is common in the retrievers. There are other puppies that are more finicky and refuse to eat. with smaller dogs, this can be a big cause for concern.
Here are some tips on how I decide how much I should feed my puppy.
1. Read the requirements on the bag
This is a guideline, not a hard fast rule. But it does give you a good range. It will also tell you based on their current weight and how old they are.
2. Watch their stools
Completely soft means too much food or the wrong type of food for your puppy. Hard then soft means slightly too much food.
3. Increase the food slowly.
If you need to increase it, do so slowly, dont just dump an extra cup in the bowl.
If you puppy is acting hungry, he may just be. You will likely need to play with amounts until you find the right balance and remember to increase it until they are done growing. Follow the recommendation of the bag you are feeding, feed a high quality food and always check with your vet if you aren’t sure.
Puppy Training Blaze Week 1
February 27th, 2010
Well, our first full week is over, and I have a 9.5 week old puppy. He is very cuddly and really likes to watch me at all times. I am hopeful for his little obedience career. I am reminded at how many things I have told clients over the years and just how many times I have violated my very sayings, its just hard work to be effective 100% of the time. Here are some key points I a walking away with.
- Socialization is an all day every day thing. Each day I try to find something new that little Blaze hasn’t seen before and I work hard to make it a positive experience. Its very easy to create fear in a puppy or to make something unpleasant.
- House training a puppy takes time and patience. Unfortunately Blaze isn’t an out of the box, know how to potty outside puppy – dare i say he is normal? I watch when he drinks and eats, and watch for sniffing. I reward him with food when he potties outside and if he goes inside, I pick him up and carry him out, still rewarding if he goes outside. I crate him when he can’t be watched.
- Puppies are like kids, the more tired they are, the more hyper they get. He needs to be put to bed when he is wild so he can settle down.
- Ignore the night time crying. He can hold it.
- Rotate out the toys, they can become bored of the same thing
- Invest in deer antlers, they work well with puppies! As do ice cubes.
Next week we will start some real training and puppy kindergarten. I will continue to introduce him to new sights, sounds, smells, textures, things to walk on, things to play with and of course dogs and kids.