Bringing Your Puppy Home – Part B- The First Days

                                                                                         

Your Perfect Puppy has made its Grand Entrance! Part A covered the exciting event of bringing new puppy home, with critical introductions and methodologies. Let's assume now that your puppy was introduced properly to the other household pets outside, taught to follow you inside, awarded with affection, bathed and dried with your other dog's or a family member's towel, welcomed by your children, and definitely loved on.

Both the children and puppy are in high gear, with a mixture of over-excitement and uncertainty which you are trying to control, as you seek to present as calm, secure, and comforting an environment as possible. Wisely, you acclimated your children to other dogs prior to bringing your puppy home. You made sure they understand about the little one's vulnerability, treatment and care. They appreciate that dogs are NOT toys, but are live creatures deserving of respect, and which feel pain the same as any other person or animal.

NOW WHAT?

There are TWO IMPORTANT KEYS for the dog to see the child as a superior:

(1) Have the child feed the dog, and teach the child how to make the dog wait.

(2) Have the child involved in the training and do whatever the child is capable of doing. For example, even a two-year-old can tell the dog to leave the ball. We are talking simple stuff.

WHERE to keep the pup? Be sure that you have an established, confined area for your puppy. Here he will feel secure and will begin to understand boundaries. He needs to stay in a confined, safe space always -- until he learns to respect boundaries, and unless you are actively working with him at the time. Your belongings would thank you if they could, and you will love yourself for it!

Allow the puppy to be with other dogs and children only under supervision until it is clear that everybody is acclimated, comfortable with one another, and acting properly. Do not panic if the pup is nipped or even pinned to the ground by your other dog, for this is a normal dog pack ritual in response to the pup's cheeky behavior. It is part of establishing the pack pecking order and letting the pup know what the rules are.

Do not discipline the puppy for growling. Puppies growl in play, they growl protectively, and they growl at children when they have had enough. It is instinctive and is a valuable warning. Without the growl, they could bite without notice. You do not want to discourage the warning!

For the first week the pup is home, you will want to feed his first few pieces of food by hand. This builds respect and lets him know that YOU own the food. This helps avoid the development of food aggression.

Unless you want a persistent, annoying beggar, do NOT feed the puppy from the table. If you wish to give him a scrap, wait until no activity is in the kitchen and put it in his dish. If you feed him while cooking (which is tempting to most chefs), he will beg every time you go in, and may get underfoot and trip you. It is both an annoyance and a safety issue.

On the pup's first nights, take him outside to go potty, then place him in a narrowly confined space. (Kennels are great for this.) Be sure he has water, and do NOT give in to his whining! The pup is like a new baby. He will try to get your attention to get his way. But he will learn, and after about three nights, the whining should essentially stop. Only take him out for bathroom purposes.

Know that young puppies, like babies, urinate frequently. An eight-week-old puppy will need to be whisked outside about every two hours. Otherwise, the puppy will learn to urinate in the house and make puppy house training more difficult. Instinctively, he will not want to mess where he sleeps, so a small sleeping space with towel, blanket, cushion, or dog bedding is most desirable.

Rather than mess there, he will learn to cry when he has a need, and you need to respond immediately by whisking him outside. If you delay or put him down to walk out by himself, his little bladder will leak (or flood).

It also helps to use kennel training from the beginning. Cover the kennel with a cloth of some sort (all but the door) so that it is more like a den. That both decreases distractions and increases the puppy's sense of security, while also making the cage more attractive in your home. Also leave two or three toys in with him, but no more. He will then learn to love his private space, to respect it and not to mess it unless he is in dire straits, and will generally be quiet except when notifying you that he has a bathroom need.

So – Now you have achieved Step One with your new guy -- bringing puppy home. If you chose right, introduced him correctly to the family and other pets when bringing your puppy home, and followed these First Days Tips, you should have a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. Congratulations!

About the author:
GET HELP WITH YOUR PUPPY from Dog Obedience Trainer - Dog Behaviorist, Rena Murray. Growing up with the Horse Whisper, avid wolf pack studies, Pit Bull and other dog training, Rena solves "impossible" situations - e.g., teaching an old dog new tricks, solving dog dominance and dog destructive behavior, even stopping a Doberman attack in mid-launch! Available for Consultations, Rena blends the best of the Dog Whisper and other techniques to each specific situation and will bring fresh insight to yours. See her BLOG - http://www.pawpersuasion.com/blog , find Expert Articles on Puppies and Dogs, and subscribe to Rena's FREE Newsletter at http://www.PawPersuasion.com

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