The guidance offered below is a basic outline to considerations with a new pup.
Your breeder or Vet are the best placed to offer you any information or support in any aspects of your puppies life or welfare.
Exciting times are ahead! With lots of new experiences and things to learn!
For you, your family and your puppy!
Getting to know your pup.
One of the first aspects of getting to know your puppy is getting to know your puppy’s parents, this can give a guide to how your puppy’s personality may develop. Although every pup is an individual in their personality and you will see this develop as their confidence grows at home with you.
Understanding their personality and learning dog body language means you can tailor life and training that works best for you all.
Breed can have an influence on your puppies behaviour, allowing you to have an understanding and embrace your pups breed characteristics positively, for example:
Terriers are known to like digging.
Spaniels are known for their high energy.
Labradors are known to enjoy retrieving.
Mixed breed may take some figuring out and
may give you the best of both…or more worlds!
Working with all of a dogs natural instincts and making use of their senses will help with support and training your pup, as well as developing them into a calm, happy dog.
Guide to dog senses.
Having some understanding of dogs senses will help to understand some of their needs and drives, as well as support and build your puppy's learning and confidence.
Smell/Scent
In dogs this is many thousand times more powerful than humans.
Bear this in mind when using training or enrichment treats. Quality 'smelly' ones will
capture and keep their attention.
Be mindful of what cleaning products or air fresheners you use, especially in areas
that the dog may have contact; make sure they are pet safe.
Touch
An important sense to a dog and the first sense they are born with.
Calm stroking, with choice, allows your pup to start to become comfortable with being handled by people. You can incorporate brief, gentle lifting of ears, paws, tail or lips to start to prepare them for future health checks or vet visits. Occasionally, introducing a brush will also help with them feel happy with grooming requirements.
Always allow a choice with attention, stroke for 3-5 seconds and then stop, if your pup wants more they will let you know, if they turn or move away, allow them that.
Sight
About the same as ours, they can see slightly better in lower light.
Distance sight is improved with movement.
They can recognise colours to some extent – blue and yellow are best for toys.
Hearing
About 4 times better than ours and they have a wider frequency range. So they may hear things we are unaware of.
When getting them accustomed to sounds remember to keep volume very low when starting, to keep a calm disposition.
Using a whistle will help with recall training.
Taste
The least developed sense in a dog.
But chewing is very important to their emotional wellbeing, so consider textures in their food and always have safe chew options, not rawhide.
Softer natural chews are best for puppies developing teeth.
All toys should be inspected regularly for any signs of damage and disposed of if there are sharp edges or small pieces that could be choking hazards.
Setting a routine.
This will help your puppy settle and grow in confidence.
Listed below is a guide to the day, which you can adjust to fit in with your
family life or routine.
First thing in the morning.
Toilet opportunity - When taking out for toileting, always reward for ‘action’. Puppies do not start to get bladder or bowel control till about 12-16 weeks, and this does not become reliable until about 8 months. Never reprimand your puppy for any 'accidents'.
Once your puppy has toileted, you could introduce some playtime to use that built up energy. Games to use up energy can include throwing balls or toys, gentle tug. These games can be used as a start to training. Positively reinforcing them returning to you, will help towards recall, and relinquishing of toys with treat and praise will avoid resource guarding.
While your puppy is still growing and developing you must take care not to over exercise as this can lead to injury.
Breakfast time.
Freshen water bowl and feed.
After breakfast – an on lead walk in garden for toileting opportunity.
Collars/leads/harness’s, should be introduced throughout the day and with small, positively supported steps. This will allow your puppy to feel comfortable and confident with these items and not become over excited when they are presented for future walks.
It is very important for your dog to have a little calming down time before and after food to allow for safe digestion.
Mid morning
Toilet opportunity, play/training time and then encourage to settle with a chew. or toy.
Supporting and encouraging ‘down’ time, to rest and sleep without being disturbed is an important skill that should be built into your training programme. If they are supported to be happy and settled on their own, this will help to alleviate possible separation anxiety,
Never send your puppy to bed or shut in their crate, as 'punishment', their rest area should always be their safe haven.
Noon
Playtime/training, settle then feed, toilet opportunity, then quiet time to digest.
Consider activities which will also tire them mentally, this will also improve their confidence, for example, feeding in interesting ways rather than just a bowl - snuffle mats, puzzle feeders or dispensers, kongs, lick mats.
Setting up obstacle courses at home or just moving furniture will cause them to think a bit more, just take small steps and never push your pup into a situation that causes any signs of stress. There are lots of ideas online for games, many using household objects and not needing big investments.
Your pup should always be supervised with any enrichment, especially any home made items to avoid any risks.
Early afternoon
Could be nap time depending on age, toilet opportunity, settle and encourage self entertainment.
Later afternoon
Play/training and socialisation experiences.
Socialisation means to get puppies used to all sorts of sights, sounds, environments as well as mixing with different people and dogs (when fully vaccinated.)
Supporting your pup with all and any new experiences will build their confidence and trust in you and the world. This is crucial for their development to prevent any future negative or fearful reactions.
Before your pup is vaccinated you can take them into the world by just carrying them, sit on a bench and watch the world go by for 5 minutes, always offering positive association support. This allows them to experience traffic, people and dogs at a safe and managed distance.
You could introduce them gently, slowly and positively, to items at home or in the garden, such as a bike, carrying an open umbrella, carrying bags, or even just wearing a hat or sunglasses.
Regular visits to the vets, just for weighing and/or cuddling will help your pup build a positive association to the vets. Most vets have scales in the reception and staff will welcome the opportunity to get to know your pup.
Dinner time - toilet opportunity,quiet time to digest.
Evening - Good time for lots of interaction with some playtime, then relaxing petting time. Toilet opportunity.
Bedtime
On lead toilet opportunity. Calm settling with any comfort support you use, scented blanket/teddy pal etc.
Having your pup sleep in the same room as you is perfectly acceptable and very likely needed, especially in the first few weeks. Over time as their confidence and independence grows you can start to move them, in small steps to another location, if you prefer.
Health & Wellbeing
Regular check ups at the vets are important and your vet can advise on many preventative treatments such as for flea's, tick's and worm's.
Getting your puppy comfortable with being inspected and handled will allow you to be able to regularly check them for any problems, such as grass seeds in ears, thorns in paws, ticks etc., and give them confidence at vets and/or groomers.
Walks, once fully vaccinated.
First thing in the morning and late afternoon are usually best for external walks to
aid rest and relaxation during the day and at night.
Maximum of 20 minutes each time until they are about a year old, as their muscles and bones are still developing and it reduces the risk of injury.
Teaching and supporting recall will be an important skill to allow them freedom to explore, use up energy and keep them safe.
Loose lead walking is also another skill that can be first taught at home to provide a comfortable and relaxing walk for everyone.
Manage and supervise interactions with other dogs, people and environments so they or others, do not get overwhelmed, which can lead to reactive behaviour.
Walk before food and allow some time after for them to relax a little, or at least an hour after food to aid safe digestion.
Safety.
Your puppy will be naturally curious and at times this could get them into trouble.
Be proactive at spotting possible hazards. Wires or house plants safely out of
the way, personal belongings out of reach, a baby gate on the stairs or doorways.
Check your garden has secure fencing and no plants that could be toxic, tools or equipment packed away.
Behaviour.
There may be times when you feel your puppies behaviour is unacceptable:
chewing, mouthing/biting, rough play, jumping up etc.
All of this is just a puppy learning their way in the world and much of it is normal and natural behaviour. Use positive redirection and training to help them towards more suitable or acceptable behaviour, which will also help to prevent any problems in the future.
Around 8-10 months is puberty for dogs and they may become bolder and braver in their actions. Having clear support, routines and positive training in place, that all members of your household are clear & consistent on, will help.
Training.
All training needs to be positive for your dog to want to continue behaving in the way you would like or expect.
Using negative reactions or punishments will just confuse your dog and could make them become fearful and reactive.
There are many modern educated, force free trainers that can guide you how to positively train or I can provide home visits to guide and model any procedures.
Try to avoid relying on information from the internet, as much of this information can be misleading.
I would recommend you attend puppy socialisation classes and start looking into other
training or activity classes.
Your reaction and mood can have an effect on your puppy’s emotional wellbeing and
reflected in their behaviour.
Training language needs to be calm and consistent from everyone involved in
puppy's life.
Learning to recognise and understand dog body language, especially in context, will help a lot with communication and understanding. A wagging tail does not always mean they are happy, a growl or a bark does not make them aggressive and sometimes attention is unwanted. For example in the picture below - rolling over and exposing the tummy does not always mean they want a tickle, (this is where your 3-5 second rule will help), it can mean they are scared and are asking for space. This picture also shows the pup with 'whale eye', that is some of the whites of the eye are showing and is due to muscle tension in the face because of fear.
Legal.
You are legally responsible for your dogs welfare:
Health – Protection from pain, injury, suffering and disease, and to be treated if they become ill / injured.
Behaviour – Ability to behave naturally for their species eg. Play, run, dig, etc.
Companionship – to be housed with, or apart from, other animals as appropriate for the species.
Diet – A suitable diet. Feeding appropriately for the pet’s life stage and feeding a suitable amount to prevent obesity or malnourishment, as well as constant access to fresh clean water.
Environment – This should include a comfortable place to rest as well as space to exercise and explore.
Legally you must:
Get your dog microchipped and have a collar tag with your details on, whilst in public.
In public areas you are required by law to clean up after your dog’s toileting,
Dogs cannot access all public areas; some councils have restrictions in place on beaches or nature reserves.
Avoiding livestock fields is always advisable.
Sensible precautions
Your dog should be comfortably and safely restrained within a vehicle, as in the event
of an accident you or your dog could get hurt and your insurance could be invalid.
Get your dog insured, this not only covers a certain amount of possible vet costs, but
any third party liabilities, as you can be held legally responsible for any damage your
dog causes to property, people or other dogs.
As your puppy grows.
Allow for breed specific needs.
Respect your dog as an individual and allow them choices
Regular exercise/walk/play
An element of routine
On-going socialisation and training
Healthy balanced diet and regular
Health checks
Patience and learning will be required to build trust, love and a strong bond, but most of all have fun together on this exciting journey with your new family member.
Comments