I bought my puppy home, what is the first thing I should teach them?
So, you finally brought your new puppy home; you have their bed, crate, some new toys, chews, treats, a nice harness and lead but what next? You can’t take them for walks or training classes until they are fully vaccinated so you may want to delay starting their training until they are old enough to go out. Guess what, you can start now!
I believe that it is never too early to start training your puppy, training should be fun for you and your puppy, it helps to strengthen that human-animal bond and gives you the perfect foundation for further training.
There are a few things you can focus on after bringing your puppy home. The first one and probably the most important one is teaching them to settle down and introducing them to their crate/bed. Did you know that young puppies need between 18-20 hours of sleep every day? If they don’t get that, you are likely to face some unwanted behaviours from them. Puppies can sometimes be like toddlers and will struggle to settle down on their own, instead, they will start chewing furniture, hands and feet. We need to help them by encouraging them to settle down. This can be done through several ways:
Ensure all their needs are met
If your puppy’s biological needs are not met, you will struggle with any type of training. It is very important that your puppy is not hungry or thirsty, needs the toilet, has been adequately exercised and is not in pain or discomfort before you begin any training. Just like us, our dogs have needs that go beyond biological needs, they also need their emotional needs to be met by providing them with consistency, love, trust and security. If your puppy fears you or the environment they are in, they are a lot less likely to settle. So, training using kind and ethical methods only is crucial.
Give them a safety space
This could be a crate with a blanket inside and over the top or a cosy dog bed. It’s very important that it is out of the way and the puppy feels safe in it, so avoid putting it in busy areas of your house. Make sure that if you have other pets in the house, they have their own safe spaces to avoid any conflict, sleep spaces are resources which can be guarded by many dogs. You also want to make sure that their sleeping spot is comfortable for them, so add in blankets in case they get cold, sometimes putting in a large stuffed teddy might help as puppies like to lay on them as if they were their sibling.
Create positive associations
Your puppy won’t naturally know that the sleeping space you chose for them is where they should be going if they get tired. You need to help them out! Dogs learn through associations so if they experience something nice, like a tasty treat, they are likely to repeat that behaviour to get the treat again. Start off by simply doing nice things with your puppy around the area. Play the ‘in and out’ game by luring your puppy into the crate/bed and then luring them off using a tasty treat and repeating this 10 times. You can also do a ‘treat bomb’ in the crate/d by simply throwing a handful of dog treats on their bed and letting them find it (with crate doors still open if you use a crate). Giving your puppy a chew in their bed is also a great idea, chewing is one of self-soothing behaviours that dogs do, and it can help them to relax. Never leave your puppy unattended with a chew.
Did you know, young puppies need between 18-20 hours of sleep a day!
Practice the ‘settle’ exercise
This is one of the very first things you will learn at most puppy classes, and this is because it is so important. The settle exercise can be used in different environments such as the cafe, pub, your home or if you are visiting you friends/family. Below are steps on how to teach a dog to settle:
Grab a blanket or mat, something that can fit in a bag and that you are happy to take with you whenever you take your puppy out
Have some tasty treats ready
Make sure you are relaxed during this exercise, so sometimes it helps if you are doing this sat down
Encourage your puppy on the mat by throwing some treats on the mat, as soon as all four of their feet touch the mat, give them plenty of verbal praise throw more treats to encourage them to sniff and stay on the mat.
If your puppy looks up at you or tries to jump up, ignore them, if they are not stopping, encourage them on the mat with another treat.
After a while, your puppy will start to settle down, this is when you can add in a verbal cue ‘settle’
If your puppy knows the ‘down’ cue, you can ask them for a down and place a treat by one of their flanks, so they have to ‘flip’ their hips to get it. When they lay to one side, they are more likely to settle.
Whenever they come off the mat, repeat step 4.
Make sure you give your puppy plenty of breaks when you practice this, they get tired very quickly! They probably need a break every 5 minutes at this age.
Remember, if your puppy is not settling down or not sleeping throughout the night, there is a reason for it. If you are still struggling with your puppy, contact your local accredited dog trainer who will be happy to help you. You can find the list of accredited dog trainers here.
Marta Stec
BSc (Hons), PG-Cert, APDT M01587, ABTC
Registered Animal Training Instructor