The Pet Report

Your quest to learning to how to train a puppy needs you to be organized and take copious amounts of notes. I know that sounds very “fuzzy” and lacking substance - don’t just pay it lip service, as it’s a very useful record of what has worked, and will help you identify techniques that work when teaching new tricks. These notes show exactly what works and how your puppy responds to various techniques, along with areas that either need improvement or a completely different technique. No matter what you do in life - the fundamentals are the same. And puppy training is no different - planning and preparation are paramount to getting it right a lot more frequently than doing it wrong or the hard way. You know it makes sense.

Drawing up a plan of action should really be the first thing you do when you start train a puppy, as it will make a big difference when the transition for your new puppy from his familiar surroundings to the new and strange world you are providing for him. Puppies can become very stressed and anxious during the first few days of leaving his mother and playmates, and then is suddenly moved to strange and confusing habitat where there is nothing but unfamiliar people and strange smells.

Fully grown dogs are not immune to bouts of anxiety caused by everything new that happens to them when they get relocated. An adopted adult dog has no idea of all the wonderful plans you may have in store for him; all he knows is that he is in a strange and somewhat frightening place.

If you have the time, go visit your new dog at his existing home. He’ll get to recognize your face and smell and make his move a lot less stressful. This will mean that when you start, training your puppy your training program will be more effective as he’s more comfortable with you from the start. Don’t worry if you can’t get to see your new puppy before he comes home - you can always take a piece of his current house to his new home, like maybe a piece of clothing that he’s slept on, or pretty much anything with the smell of his old home and help reassure him and survive the feeling of having nothing familiar in his life.

Without doubt, the ideal time to bring home a new dog or puppy is when you can give him several days on undivided attention. You need to be at home all day. A holiday period - a long weekend - or even take a few days off work. Please don’t move you dog in, then home him in kennels while you go on vacation. You need to have at least a couple of days at home and go a long way to beating his home sickness and stress of leaving his friends.

As humans, we prepare, decorate and equip the home for a new baby and fill the home with everything we think the baby will need for a happy and healthy start, training your puppy is just the same. Doesn’t your new four legged member of the family deserve the same.

Ideally, fence off an area of your kitchen for your new puppy. This will be his home, and will help when you start house training your puppy as well because any accidents are easier to clean off hard floors. Kitchens are great places because we spend a lot of our time in these rooms, which will make a big difference in helping your puppy get acclimatized quickly.

Your puppy had lots of friends and familiar faces at his old home. Without them, he will be lonely so you will need to take their place at least for a few days. But equally important - you must not let the puppy do whatever he chooses for the first few days then try to train him out of those habits once your training routine begins. Puppy potty training can begin with the easy techniques, but needs to start as soon as he moves in.

Letting him doing his own thing at first is unfair, simply because your rules aren’t consistent. Everything you apply to training a puppy works in the just the same way when used with adult dogs too. Adult dogs can also suffer from homesickness when you move them. It’s not only puppies. All dogs entering a new living arrangement will need discipline, patience, and comfort. Having said that, your puppy will love you for it.