Posts Tagged ‘puppy’
Wild Puppy Days
March 22nd, 2010
It always happens. A puppy who has been calm, comes when called, never chews on the wrong things, suddenly goes wild. A wild puppy can be the symptom of several things. First, it could be that your puppy is normal. Second, your puppy may need some new mental stimulation. Or three, your puppy might be ready for some structured exercise. Perhaps all three as well.
Today was that day for us, baby Blaze was a wild boy. He has been bothering Nitro all day, barking randomly, trying to chew on the rug, continually going to the back door when he doesn’t need to potty. My first inclination would be to walk him a little further than we have gone before, but Blaze has a cold so probably spreading that around the neighborhood wouldn’t be wise.
So, what to do when the wild puppy can’t exercise? Break out the old Kong. The kong if you have never seen one is like a rubber shaped snowman with a hole in the top and the bottom. You can fill it with any number of things. My personal favorites are peanut butter (all natural is best), banana, or just a few big treats that are hard to get out. The best part about this is it keeps the puppy busy for 20 to 30 minutes. As they get better at it, you have to do more difficult kong recipies but this should help your wild puppy get tired. And after all, they do say that a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy.
Another idea is to rotate your dog toys. I try to keep only a few down at a time so that as my puppy becomes bored with them, I can get new ones out. With teething just around the corner, I need to stock up on some soft toys in addition to my chew proof toys and antlers. For tonight though, I will be freezing some banana in a kong to hopefully give my puppy some more fun tomorrow that will keep him from having another wild puppy day.
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Puppy with Hacking Cough
March 20th, 2010
My husband came home and called me and said – what did you do to the puppy? He apparently was acting like he was going to throw up but he wasn’t. He said it was off and on, not persistent. I got home and heard what sounded like something being stuck in his throat. It went on all through the night, off and on of course. As I paid attention to him, he seemed to have a few other symptoms, a hoarse throat, watery eyes and nose. It dawned on me, my puppy has kennel cough!
Now, I am a believer in vaccines for dogs and humans. The puppy had his first series of bordatella vaccine a few weeks prior so I think we are lucky that this is a mild case. I can tell today he is feeling better, drinking a bit more. Every once in a while you hear that barky hoarse cough.
I did call my vet and we are going in soon to get a check up. Now he could have picked this up anywhere – a neighbors dog who had been groomed and maybe wasn’t vaccinated, puppy class, anywhere dogs go really. Either way I wont be taking him to puppy class this week so we wont infect anyone else. He’ll just get some TLC for the next few days at home.
Puppy Socialization Ideas
March 14th, 2010
As Blaze is getting older and has had a few series of shots, its time to socialize. Lots of people focus on just letting their puppy meet new dogs, so I’m going to share some puppy socialization ideas for ways you can introduce your puppy to the world.
Today I took Blaze to a local pet store. This is a great place to go simply for the sights sounds and smells, but I think most new puppy owners take their dogs here at least once. If you want a dog that can calmly go as an adult, then try taking them here once a week and just walking around, no fussing, no real obedience work – maybe a few sits now and again, but overall keep it calm.
The real puppy socialization ideas are outside of the store. First, the sliding doors that open and close. Those can be kind of scary to a puppy! Next there are shopping carts. You can have your puppy ride inside one, walk beside a moving one, or if your puppy is nervous, just meet it standing still.
I’m lucky that our pet store is near a baby store, so we got a slew of new moms, young kids, babies, and of course baby strollers! Most puppies like kids but be careful your puppy doesn’t jump on the child or bite them. I tend to stand on the leash so they can’t jump. My puppy is used to be holding his head still for kids to pet him, if you haven’t practiced that though your puppy might not enjoy it – so practice alone first.
Another thing I always try to find is someone in a wheelchair, or with crutches. We haven’t encountered anyone yet, but if you are planning on doing any type of therapy work with your puppy later in life, this is a must see.
Post your puppy socialization ideas in our comment box, we’d love to see what you all are doing!
How to pick a puppy from a litter
December 30th, 2009
We are finally getting our new puppy soon. They were born just a few days before Christmas. As they get older we will look for certain things in the personalities of the puppies to decide which is the best for our family.
When picking a new puppy from a litter you want to avoid the ones who are overly shy or who might be overly aggressive or dominant with the other puppies. Just watching them interact while you sit on the floor should tell you quite a bit about them. If the puppy is a singleton (the only puppy) then avoid getting that dog unless the breeder has put it with other dogs and puppies for appropriate socialization.
Now, all puppies in a litter will bite and jump, this is normal. One thing I like to do is squeal a bit when they bite and watch the reaction. If they are overly scared or they get more aggressive, that can tell you a bit about their personality.
Take the puppies you are interested in to a new area by themselves, love on them and then put them down. I prefer puppies who are more interested in me, but who like to explore some. If the puppy wont leave your side, that might be an issue too.
Finally I watch their tails. If its high or mid level that’s better than if its tucked between their legs which could mean they are scared.
None of this is an exact science, and a good breeder will help you. Picking a puppy from a litter is difficult but in the end if you went to a good quality breeder it shouldn’t be hard. Just don’t be tempted to bring home two if you can’t decide!
Puppy Training Basics
December 14th, 2009
Puppy Training Basics
1. Teach the puppy his name.
Use it a lot, and say "Yes" whenever he responds by looking at you. Give the puppy a big hug and lots of smiles as his "treat" following the "Yes." We want to establish several primary reinforcers as early as possible, so that he doesn’t become dependent on food. We’ll save food treats for more formal training. Make sure that your "Yes" sounds different from your everyday, conversational "Yes." Make it a bright-sounding utterance.
2. Build really strong eye contact.
Make eye contact his permission-seeking behavior for anything he wants: getting out of the crate, going out the door (you can wait for the puppy to sit and give you eye contact at the door), eating a meal, etc. No verbal cues. Just put yourself in a position where he can easily make eye contact (like kneeling in front of the puppy), and then reinforce the eye contact with a "Yes") – and then give the puppy the primary reinforcer which is whatever he wants at that moment (e.g., getting out of the crate, going out the door, eating, etc.)
3. Condition the meaning of the clicker by doing a few very short sessions of freebies every day: click, treat, click, treat, and so on. All you’re teaching the puppy at this point is that the click predicts the treat (the primary reinforcer). Later, he’ll learn that his own behavior can make you click, and that’s when the operant conditioning begins. After a few days of conditioning the clicker, you can start to alternate the click with the "Yes" to work on name and eye contact.
4. Work on housetraining.
If you are absolutely religious about this, you can get the bulk (so to speak!) of it done within just a couple of weeks. After that, expect occasional "accidents" until his bladder and sphincter control improve (i.e., till he’s about 6 months old). Figure out the most likely times when he’ll need to eliminate – basically, after anything he does (eat, wake up, play, etc.). The rule of thumb is that an 8 week old puppy can hold for 1 hour (while he’s awake). After that, add 1 hour for each month of age. So, at 12 weeks/3 months, he can hold for 2 hours while awake.
I don’t use clicker training for housetraining. I do try to teach a cue, and here’s how to do that. Just as he’s starting to squat, say your cue quietly (so as not to startle the puppy). You are classically conditioning the cue. Before he’s finished eliminating, give the puppy a few quiet praise words.
He should be able to get through a 6-7 hour night within a week or so, especially if you’re careful to make clear to the puppy when we go to sleep at night. And, of course, make sure he’s empty at that time (withhold water after about 7 p.m. to help the puppy).
When you’re not watching the puppy, he should be confined to a crate or x-pen, so that he can’t make a mistake. You might also feed the puppy in his crate – partly to establish the crate as a wonderful place, and partly to protect your other dogs (and their food, which the puppy might think he can eat!) and to give them a little peace and quiet occasionally. I would also have the puppy ride crated in the car – mostly for safety and also to prevent carsickness.
5. Teach the puppy to play.
My preference is that all play is interactive with humans. I do not leave a million toys lying around but just one chew toy (like a Nylabone). The chew toy is not an interactive toy but just something to teach the puppy to chew on something approved (rather than the furniture). It will also be helpful when he starts teething, at about 4 months. Play can be with interactive toys (tug, fetch games – as long as you get the toy back – and so on) and also gentle body games ("Gotcha!", push-pull games, etc.)
6. Teach the puppy to relinquish a toy by doing exchanges, like this:
Give the puppy a toy (holding on to it if necessary to prevent his running off with it). Then show the puppy a wonderful treat in your other hand (close to his face, so that he can’t miss it!). The instant he opens his mouth to give up the toy, say "Yes" and give the puppy the treat (hiding the toy behind your back). Do a few of these exchanges each time. After a few days, you’ll be able to add a cue like "Give" (which will also be his Retrieve cue to relinquish the dumbbell). Say "Give" as he’s opening his mouth, then say "Yes," and then give the treat. Pretty soon, you won’t need to present the treat, once he knows the verbal cue. At that point, continue the "Yes" and treat (from behind your back), and then start building distance. This whole process will take about a week or so, though it won’t be absolute – especially when the thing in his mouth is just toooooo reinforcing in itself!
7. Socialize the puppy like crazy!
He’ll need exposure to all kinds of things, people, and places. You can carry the puppy in places that are not yet safe for the puppy to touch the ground in (where other dogs have been). He also needs time with you alone, without your other dogs present, so that he bonds more strongly with you than with them.
8. What To Do About Unwanted Behavior
Remember that your puppy is just doing what comes naturally – even if it’s not what you want! There are three important principles to follow with these unwanted behaviors: prevention, distraction, and interruption.
Prevention: Do everything possible to make unwanted behavior impossible!
For example, make sure there are no tempting electric cords in full view.
Distraction : When the puppy is doing something you don’t want,
divert his attention away from it to something more interesting.
For example, when the puppy starts to move towards your shoes, wiggle
a toy in front of his nose and playfully draw the puppy away.
Interruption: When your puppy is doing something you don’t like
and you can’t distract the puppy easily or quickly enough, interrupt the
behavior with a loud sound (hand clap, or slap on hard surface).
When he responds to the sound by startling, immediately ask the puppy
to do something you like that he knows how to do, and, when he does
it, c/t.
Dani Weinberg
Albuquerque, New Mexico
daniw@earthlink.net
Posted in New Puppy, Puppy Mouthing | 
Tags: dog training, House Training, puppy, puppy training | 
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