Puppy education is a process that requires a lot of patience and dedication. How to train a puppy will vary greatly depending on the individual, their learning ability or the repetitions we offer them.
Even so, there are complete courses to educate a puppy, such as those on Animal Philosophy, which help you to be able to enjoy the relationship with your puppy and they offer you guidelines so that you know what you should take into account when educating a puppy dog.
In this article on our site we will detail the most important aspects to take into account when training a puppy step by step, explaining what is puppy socialization, how to teach him to urinate in a newspaper and many other important details. Do not miss it!
Before adopting a dog
Adoption is a very important process, therefore, before taking the puppy into our home, we must make sure that it is a considered decisionand approved by all members of the family unit. Likewise, we will make the necessary preparations to guarantee that the newcomer is comfortable and we can thus favor a rapid adaptation.
Let's remember that dogs are long-lived animals, which can accompany us between 15 and 20 years approximately. For this reason, we must be sure that we can take care of him throughout his life and, in the event of an accident, have a trustworthy person with whom to leave him. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Will you have time to educate him?
- Will you take him for a walk at least twice a day?
- Can you take care of him financially?
- Do all your family members agree?
- Will you be responsible for him until his last day?
If you answered yes to allquestions, you're ready to have a puppy. This step is very important to take into account, because only in this way can we prevent difficulties in their education, maintenance and even possible abandonment. The overpopulation of animals and the number of abandoned dogs worldwide is a real problem, do not let your case be one more.
How and where to adopt a puppy?
The choice of the "ideal puppy" is a complex process, since many factors must be taken into account, since they will influence the temperament of the dog in its adult stage. Therefore, if we want to have a balanced and stable adult dog, we must know what the elements of character building are: genetics, socialization and lived experiences, education being an important part of them.
The dog breeds can help us to know what the character of the dog will be like, as some breeds stand out for being especially intelligent, active or predisposed to certain behavior problems. However, in mixed dogs, we must pay attention to the temperament of the parents, since certain aspects can be transmitted to the puppies, such as fear.
On the other hand, a premature adoption, that is, before the dog has been able to socialize with its parents and siblings, can cause the appearance of behavior problems in the puppy, such as insecurity, fear or excessive vocalization. Thus, the recommended adoption age is between 2 and 3 months of life, at which time the dog is already weaned and understands canine language.
To finish, education and training will play a fundamental role in the behavior of the dog, so you must dedicate time and effort to teach him how to behaveat home and outside of it, as well as introduce him to basic canine obedience so that he responds positively to your instructions.
To teach him you must use positive reinforcement, through treats, caresses or kind words, in no case punishment, because in this stage can cause fear and bond breakage.
What does a puppy need?
It will be very important that, before the puppy arrives, we prepare all the supplies he needs:
- Bed
- Blanket and towel
- Feeder
- Drinker
- Puppy Food
- Toys
- Teeters
- Imputers
- Candies
- Brush
- Puppy Shampoo
- Adjustable harness or collar
- Fixed Strap
- Bags to collect faeces
Locate the bed in a quiet place and the bowls in an easily accessible place. Once placed, don't move them around, as the puppy will need to find them easily. Remember that it will be difficult for him to find his way around a new home, especially the first few days.
Family Unit Rules
This detail is very important and should be considered before the dog arrives at the home. Dogs are creatures of habit and in order to maintain mental stability they must always follow marked and fixed routines:
- Ride schedules
- Lunch hours
- What you can and can't do
All family members must be clear about these points and comply with them properly. For example, we must know whether or not the dog will be able to get on the sofa, if he should always sleep in the same place, if we can give him food when we are in the middle of dinner, etc. If we all follow the same dynamic of education, the dog will be more stable and mentally he althy and will also behave in a more polite way.
Another detail that we must establish will be that of education You should know that the dog is an animal that has its own autonomy: it is likely that sometimes do things that you don't like, like chewing on a piece of furniture, breaking a precious object, or urinating where it doesn't touch.
Remember that a puppy needs time and an education based on positive reinforcement. Using aggression and punishment with the dog will only lead to behavior problems in the future such as reactivity or fear. Instead of punishing him for getting on the couch, reinforce him for getting down.
Finally we encourage you to look for your new dog in an animal shelter to give shelter to a rescued puppy who didn't have a chance in a real home, don't you think?
The arrival of the puppy at home
On the first day of the dog's arrival at home we must maintain a very positive and relaxed attitude to convey confidence to our new dog, probably our puppy will do some mischief, we should not take it into account.
Usually dogs when they suffer a sudden change of life tend to have an "adaptation period" in which they are shy, introverted and insecure. It lasts about a day or two, then they'll start to show their true personality.
Some tips are:
- Let your puppy smell the environment to get to know it and get used to it: it can happen in slightly older or younger puppies, they urinate a little to "mark" his new territory, it's normal, don't scold him.
- Do not overwhelm him with excessive petting, yelling and nervousness: your puppy needs to rest and to be comfortable in his new environment. Giving him a feeling of calm, security and well-being will be very positive for your dog and will promote a good adaptation. There will be time to know things, let's go step by step.
On the other hand, the veterinarian should give your puppy the vaccinationsrelevant to his age, properly following the vaccination schedule for dogs Until they have administered all the ones he should receive you will not be able to take the puppy for a walk If you did, he could suffer from a mild cold to more serious illnesses, and due to his young age he might not get over it.
How to potty train a puppy?
That's why you should teach your dog to urinate on the newspaper. To teach your dog to pee on the newspaper follow this simple step-by-step:
- The puppy usually urinates and defecates about 20 or 30 minutes after eating: we can stimulate him by stroking his belly, "cleaning" his bottom with wet wipes or we can simply wait until you feel like it.
- If your puppy has urinated before at home he will probably have a preferred areaso to speak: he puts several layers in that corner
- Maybe he decides to go to the newspaper or not: either way, if your puppy decides to urinate somewhere else, you should pick him up and take him quickly towards the newspaper. Once finished, congratulate him and fill him with praise, caresses and snacks. What comes to mind.
- Little by little you will identify your puppy's urge to urinate: some sniff the ground, others circle non-stop and others show themselves nervous. When you notice your dog's urge to urinate, quickly take him to the newspaper.
- Always we will congratulate you and reward you: It will probably take a while to connect congratulations, newspaper and pee, but at some point your pup will understand what is going on and will deal with it on his own. Don't despair if you need more than 20 reps, it's normal, he's a puppy
Now that you know how to potty train a 2-month-old puppy, let's see what we can do to make him respond to our call.
How to teach a puppy to come when called?
How to train my puppy to respond to my call? At this stage of his life, we must stimulate the puppy's mind actively and daily so that he is a very intelligent dog and we can work with him on positive education and effective.
Since your puppy can't leave the house yet, we recommend you start with intelligence games inside the house, whether they are bought or homemade, it doesn't matter. Stimulating your dog mentally and physically is very important so that in the future he has quick thinking and allows himself to be manipulated without problems.
Remember that at this time in his life the puppy will need to rest a lot. However, when he is awake, we will practice with him using various toys: teethers, stuffed animals, Kong or bones.
Offering, taking away, and reoffering a toy is a great way to prevent our dog from being possessive in the future. It is also a very good trick to give food directly from the hand, in this way our dog will not be possessive of food and will understand that we are the ones who offer him food. This is a key point.
We can also start training our dog to obey indoors, for example, teaching him to come here. To achieve this follow this step by step:
- Get dog treats.
- Move a little away from your puppy (1-2 meters), call him by his name and say "come here".
- Use words of affection to encourage him to get closer to you.
- When he gets to where you are, offer him a small prize.
- Move around and repeat this exercise around the room for about 10 minutes.
Once he has learned to come here you can move on to the next exercise, for example teaching him to sit. Every time you learn a new exercise you should set aside a "review" day or two to re-practice what you've already learned. Never exceed 10 minutes a day with a puppy.
How to teach a puppy to relieve itself outside?
Once your puppy has received all his vaccinationshe will be ready to go outsidefor a walk. This moment is very important for the life of the dog, in fact, the behavior of his adult life will depend directly on this precise stage of his life.
We will start by teaching him to urinate in the street To do this, you will follow this step by step, very similar to the previous one in which your dog will learn to relieve himself away from home:
- Probably by now you will be able to identify perfectly when your dog wants to urinate, after eating is usually the most appropriate time: now it's time to put him in a harness, a leash, grab a newspaper and go outside.
- Take this process easy very easy: it will take him a little while to learn that now he has to urinate in the street instead of inside home.
- If your puppy identifies the newspaper with urine you have a lot of work done: when you go down to the street with him you must put a newspaper next to a treeand wait calmly for him to relieve himself there.
- If you see that he is not urinating, walk a little further and put a newspaper on the next tree.
- Because it is a new environment for him, he will probably He will feel overwhelmed: If he doesn't do as he should, don't despair, he needs more time.
- Every time he urinates in the street (whether or not near a tree) congratulate him with high praise, caresses or snacks: the positive reinforcement is undoubtedly the most effective training.
After urinating you should continue walking a little longer, always without forcing him, remember that he is a puppy and that active exercise is not indicated for him.
For your dog to learn to urinate in the street correctly, you must be very attentive and be very constant on walks. We will remove the newspaper from inside the home and we will only use it on walks. At this learning moment you should go out with him to walk very often to prevent him from urinating at home.
We will always take short walks that do not tire him. If you urinate inside the home, do not scold him, remember that you taught him to do it there before. After a while, your dog will understand that his "bathroom" is now out.
Puppy socialization
The puppy socialization process, which occurs between 3 and 12 weeks of life, is key to forging the character of the dog and it will depend on it that in his adult stage he is balanced and sociable.
Socialization consists of introducing our puppy to the world around him. When walking down the street, he will find other dogs to interact with, humans, and he will observe the world around him: cars, noises, bicycles… It is very important that you get your puppy used to all these stimuli in a constant and regular, always ensuring that meetings are positive.
Do not bring your dog close to any dog or person, before you should always ask if the other pet is sociable or not, or if the person you approach wants to caress him. If your puppy suffers a negative encounter and they end up biting him, probably in the future, he will show insecurity and fear when interacting with other dogs.
If every day your dog interacts with different people and pets, you will be educating him to be a social and affectionate dog, without fear and accustomed to the behavior of their kind.
Obviously you should not bring your puppy near reactive dogs that may bite him, however, if you notice another dog growling at him (and even marking him without harm) you should allow it. Dogs communicate through growling to indicate that they don't like something.
For your dog to understand canine behavior and to be able to relate well with other dogs, you must allow small conflicts to arise. Older dogs "educate" and teach smaller ones how to behave. Your puppy needs to learn to behave through other adult dogs since he has been separated from her parents.
How to teach my puppy not to bite?
This is also a time of canine tooth development and your dog will begin to bite objects to relieve himself as they often feel discomfort. Teaching your puppy to bite properly is very important, for this we recommend you buy various types of teethers that will not only help relieve pain, but also help They will teach that objects to bite on are toys.
Don't let your dog use your hand for practice. Stand back and offer him your teether. If you notice that he does not use it and that he prefers your hands, encourage him by moving the toy and shaking it, your dog is telling you that he wants to play. On the other hand, he remembers the importance of properly cleaning his teeth so that they remain he althy for many years. You can choose to give him cleaning snacks or using tricks to clean the dog's teeth.
Finally, if your dog is tremendously tireless and seems to have no end in his eagerness to bite everything, we recommend that you get a Kong, a great tool that is also an intelligence toy.
How and how long to walk a puppy?
For your dog to be mentally he althy and happy, it should walk an average of two or three times a day, adapting the dog walks to the real needs of your dog If you notice that he urinates very often, you can opt for shorter walks but little by little you should help him adapt to you and your schedule.
During walks it is always recommended that your dog can enjoy being free for a while without a leash. Remember the great importance of the chip and identification plate in case you lose it. Go to a fenced pipi-can to avoid leaks or accidents.
On the other hand, and to finish with the subject of walks, we recommend you visit our post to discover the most frequent mistakes of the walk, such as not letting it sniff. Remember that dogs receive information from the environment in which they are sniffing and that this helps them to relax. If your dog is vaccinated, don't worry, he won't get sick
How to train a puppy?
Now that your dog is constantly going outside and is starting to be young, you should start educating him in dog training for him to be obedient. You should know that obedience goes beyond simple tricks like shaking the paw or playing dead, your dog must learn to behave and pay attention to you at all times, especially outside the home.
It is essential for your safety and that of other dogs and people. The basic training commands that consist of sit, come here, stay still or lie down. Teach your dog important training commands that help him in his day to day. To do this, do not forget to review our post to learn 5 tricks that will help you in training.
On the other hand, don't forget that positive reinforcement is the key to making your dog love and trust you. Rule out using punishment methods, spiked collars or other techniques. Common training mistakes can be avoided and if you need it you should always go to a professional, never follow advice on behavior problems that are not verified by professionals such as dog trainers, educators and ethologists.
How to teach a puppy to stay alone?
Finally and to finish with the education of the puppy, you will have to teach your dog to stay alone at home. It is very important that you carry out this process in a gradual and positive way so that your dog understands that nothing happens because you leave for a while.
All this aims to prevent separation anxiety in dogs, a problem that affects many dogs that feel desperate when they are alone.
To teach your dog to stay alone at home we must first do small tests inside the house, moving from one room to another without that the puppy has access to us. We should not go if he cries or scratches the door, otherwise he will understand that we will come if he tries to get our attention
After the movements inside the house we are going to start making short outings, of between 5 and 10 minutes, in which the dog is going to be left completely alone. Then we will gradually increase the time. To make him feel comfortable and less aware of your movement, you can get the Kong, one of the safest toys out there. The Kong for treating separation anxiety is a perfect tool.
