I am so excited to announce that at the end of this month I will be bringing home a new puppy, an obnoxiously adorable nine-week old Groenendael.
As a professional dog trainer, I have helped families raise their puppies more times than I can count. I have seen the good, bad, and ugly of puppyhood, along with all the mistakes people make when it comes to raising their puppies. While this list could be endless, here are five simple things I am doing to prepare for my puppy’s arrival.
1. Putting Away All of My Rugs. In the early weeks with a new puppy in your home, it’s common to have a few potty accidents. The main issue that develops is that one potty accident can easily turn into several potty accidents due to the smell of urine or feces being stuck on a rug or carpeted area. A puppy can have an accident inside the home and quickly forget about it, moving on to being successful at going potty outside. However, if puppies are continuously smelling urine or feces on a carpeted area, they may be encouraged to continue going potty in that area by the smell alone. It can be really really hard to fully remove the smell of urine or feces from a rug or carpet. While you might not be able to smell anything anymore, your puppies surely can with their strong sense of smell! My best advice is to remove your rugs and/or gate off carpeted areas of your home until your puppy is 100 percent potty trained and has not had an accident for several months. This is one of the easiest and most simple ways to set your puppy up for success when it comes to pottying habits.
2. Setting up a Designated Potty Area in My Yard. Puppies have short attention spans and can easily get distracted, especially in big backyards filled with lots of exciting stimuli. When we take them out to potty, they get distracted by the exciting outdoor world and struggle to focus enough to potty. After some time waiting for our puppies to potty outside and they don’t, we finally bring them back inside and give up. But now that they are in a less distracting environment, they remember they need to go potty and have an accident inside. An easy way to combat this is by creating a designated gated off area in your yard where the puppy goes to potty. Most people use some type of an X pen right outside their door. When the puppy needs to go potty, the first thing they do is put the puppy in the X pen. Wait for the puppy to go potty successfully in this area prior to letting it explore the rest of the distracting backyard area. Furthermore, having a designated potty area helps the puppy differentiate between potty time and play time when it comes to going outside. This provides clarity and direction, aiding the puppy in the potty training process.
3. Taking Time Off Work to Focus on Socialization and Training. If you are a client of mine, you already know that I am going on what I am calling “pupternity leave” for the first five weeks of my new puppy being home. One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new puppy parent is being too busy with work or other obligations to focus enough on socialization when your puppy is young. Lack of proper socialization can be detrimental and can lead to lifelong fear and sensitivities. Socialization needs to happen while the puppy is under 16 weeks of age, ideally within the ages of 5-12 weeks. In other words, the first month your puppy is home is a crucial period for socialization. Teaching new tricks and training new behaviors can come at a later age, socialization must come first. So, if you’re bringing home a new puppy, clear out your calendar, take time off work, and dial in to giving your puppy what it really needs during its primary socialization period.
4) Batch Prepping Enrichment. Before my puppy enters my home, there will be a freezer full of various types of prepped enrichment, such as frozen licky toys, frozen filled bones, and shreddy boxes. The first month with a new puppy can be emotionally and physically exhausting. Knowing that I will have a few weeks worth of prepped enrichment ready to go is taking a huge weight off my shoulders. When my puppy needs something to do, all I will have to do is reach in the freezer and pick something out for it. It can’t get easier than that!
5) Shifting My Brain into a Respond Instead of React Mindset. There will be many moments with my new puppy where I may feel frustrated, conflicted, upset, or even angry. Puppies are sensitive and easily startled. One of the last things I would want to do is accidentally scare my puppy by having a reaction. Emotional reactions also have a 0 percent chance of changing the outcome of the situation, so it’s not only pointless to react, but it also can lead to your puppy forming a negative association with you or a situation that led to your outburst. Instead of acting out emotionally when things go wrong, instead react with an action that may improve the situation and guide the puppy towards better behaviors or choices. Always pause, take a breath, and respond appropriately instead of having a knee-jerk emotional reaction.
Puppyhood doesn’t last long at all. It is really a drop in the bucket of a dog’s entire life. While puppyhood is short, puppies carry their experiences from puppyhood with them their entire life. The best thing we can do is treat this time as special and magical as it really is. Whether you plan to bring a puppy home tomorrow or in 10 years, I hope these simple tips give you some better insight and direction on how to set yourself and your puppy up for success.
Jenna Pellerito is the Owner and Head Trainer at Columbia
K9 Training & Behavior, www.thefutureisforcefree.com
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