Tips For Raising A New Puppy

Congratulations! You have a new puppy! There are some important things to keep in mind to keep your little rascal safe.

1. Make sure that you never let the pup out of your sight. The longer the pup is doing something that you do not want him doing, the harder it will be to put a stop to the behavior.

2. It's not a good idea to swamp it with toys. If there are always toys lying around, your pup will get bored of them and start looking for something else (furniture) to chew on.

3. You might want to think of buying a crate for the dog. (Night time, quiet time, anytime the dog is sleeping he should sleep in the crate. After meals, pups will generally want to sleep.

For house braking,

Instead of plastering the floor with newspaper and rewarding the dog when he goes on the paper, just get whomever is watching him to take him outside every 30 mins. to one hour. (immediately after eating, or drinking.) By rewarding the dog for going to the bathroom on paper, you are confusing him. You are teaching him that it is ok to go on newspaper and as well as outside. For a dog that is a lot of info, just choose the yard method, it'll save you time in the end.

Most important thing of all: Do not punish your dog for something that he does not know is wrong! This is certainly a bad habit to get into. I know having a pup can be very frustrating at times, remember they do not know what is right and what is wrong, therefore just be patient and attentive.

Make sure that you praise your dog when he does something worth being praised for, ie, going to the bathroom outside or being quiet in his crate.

If you need to punish your puppy one very effective way to do this is:

Place one hand over the muzzle and the other over the back of the neck. This mimics the mother grabbing the pup. Gently exert pressure while uttering "no" in a meaningful voice.

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