In this article, I discuss seven things about raising the perfect puppy. Follow these seven principles, and you will have great results.
Build Your Relationship From the First Day You Bring Your Puppy Home
This is a relationship based on leadership. I'm not talking about dominance and overpowering your puppy. Your job as the new puppy owner is to teach your puppy. This is a vital role that you're playing. Instead of controlling your puppy all the time or overpowering them, you need to teach them how to live with you and make decisions so that you don't have to tell them what to do all the time.
Nothing is worse than being nagged; your puppy doesn't like it either. Nagging your puppy and giving them commands all the time is not going to help your puppy learn, and it's also not going to help your puppy relax and chill out with you when you want to watch TV at night. They're going to be distracted and get into trouble. You don't want that to happen. Build your relationship with your puppy from the first day, and you will have no problems.
When I brought Dixie home, I taught her to lie on her bed and stay in the living room the first day. That was her place. She could not go in the bedroom because there was carpet, and that’s an easy target for a potty accident. I even have a video still on my phone from four and a half years ago that I show my clients, and they get amazed at how I got Dixie, the very first day at 10 weeks old, to go to her bed, lie down, stay, and not move.
When she wanted to enter the bedroom, I moved her back towards the bed using spatial pressure, no commands, and no touching. When she returned to her bed and laid down, I said, "Good girl.” That's how you build an effective relationship with your puppy.
Set Your Puppy Up For Success
I can't stress this enough. Your only job as the puppy owner is to set them up for success. You want to avoid setting them up for failure. When you set them up for failure, they'll get into trouble by having potty accidents in the house, chewing everything in the house, barking all the time, jumping on guests when they come over, and getting into serious trouble. Then, you get frustrated and start yelling at them. “No, stop. Don't do that. Knock it off”. Then you put them in the crate, and nobody's happy. When you set your puppy up for success, you must teach them exactly what you want them to do.
In the last point, I mentioned building your relationship with your puppy. With Dixie, I taught her to lie down and stay on her bed from the very first day, and I never had a problem with her. In addition, Her teeth have never touched anybody's skin. She's never barked in the house. She's never had any issues with greeting people and being overstimulated by them. When they come over, she always obeys the rules in the house, and this is how you set your puppy up for success from the very first day. Teach them what you want them to do.
Set Clear Rules and Boundaries
Again, just like the example where I told you that I had Dixie learn to go to her bed, lay down, and stay, that was a boundary for her.
She could not move from that spot if she wanted to roam around the house. I had her on a leash and collar so she could only move a little. Then, when she started to leave me, I grabbed the leash, brought her back to me, and asked her to lie down. When she laid down, I gave her a bully stick, treats, or something to chew on. So she had something to do, but she knew quickly that she had rules. She had boundaries.
The rules were simple:
She could not bark in the house.
She could not run to the door when somebody knocked.
She could not play bite on anybody, especially me.
She could only get on furniture if she were invited.
The boundaries were simple:
She was only permitted in the living room and nowhere else.
She could not go into the kitchen, any bedrooms, the bathrooms, or the hallway leading to the front door.
She was only allowed in the living room, and I kept her there.
She learned very quickly as I took the leash off of her that this was her space and that she had no problems with it. To this day, at four and a half years old.
Socialize Your Puppy Early
She was ten weeks old when I got Dixie on May 5th, 2020. I had her meet 50 new people that day. These people lived in my apartment community. I went to everybody's front door and said, “Hey, here's my new puppy.” And they were glad to see her. I was holding her, they petted her, or I put her on the ground on a leash, and they could get down with her and pet her. She learned to interact with 50 new people on the first day I had her.
Shortly after that, I introduced her to a lot more people and other dogs from a distance until she had all of her vaccines. When she got all of her vaccines at 16 weeks, she was at daycare, learning to socialize with dogs and people and be independent, away from me, and not rely on me all the time. So, socializing your puppy is very, very important from the very first day you get them.
Don't Overuse Corrections
Many people comment on Dixie’s good behavior in public. I accomplished this by never giving her a correction. I never tell her no. I never ask her to stop. I never tell her that she can't do anything. I never ask her to knock it off. I never give her corrections. When I work with her and with all the puppies I train, I focus on what I want the puppy to do, not on what I want the puppy to stop doing.
Focus on What You Want the Puppy To Do
Teach them what you want. I can't stress this enough. If the puppy jumps on people and you don't like it jumping, teach it to greet people and lie down. How can it jump if it's lying down? A puppy or a dog can't multitask.
If a puppy is counter surfing on your coffee table or going into your kitchen, getting on that table, and trying to get food off the counter, don't allow them access to those areas. Block them off with a gate. Have the leash on them. Teach them their boundaries. Set them up for success.
Do you see how this works? Each one of these points feeds into the other. Don't focus on what you don't want. Teach the puppy what you want it to do.
Never Punish, Yell, or Get Mad at Your Puppy
Harsh punishments will challenge your relationship with your puppy. Remember, in point number one, I said to build your relationship from the first day. The opposite of building your relationship based on leadership is building your relationship based on fear. Don't punish, yell, or get mad at your puppy; they will be happy living with you and will respect you.
Puppies are making mistakes. They're not going to be perfect right away, but they are working towards being ideal for you, and that's what you want. You want them to be perfect to live with you. They're not going to do every command precisely right. They might have a few potty accidents. They will not walk on a leash perfectly right from the get-go. You have to work with them. You have to be patient with them. You have to have some frustration tolerance of your own, and you have to have some impulse control as well. Be patient with your puppy and follow these seven steps.
Conclusion
Build your relationship from the first day
Set the puppy up for success
Set clear rules and boundaries
Socialize your puppy early
Don’t overuse corrections
Don’t focus on what you don’t want - Teach the puppy what you want it to do.
Don’t punish, yell, or get mad at your puppy
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