The Puppy Learns Its Name

The first thing your puppy has to learn is to answer to its name. If its breeder has already gotten it used to the name, the puppy will know its name when it joins your household. If not, always say its name in connection with something positive – when you pet it, for example, or when you feed it. In this way, it will learn to respond to its name.

Housebreaking

The next learning objective is housebreaking your pet.

Basically, a puppy usually has to relieve itself after every meal, every time it wakes up, and while it is playing. Keep a close eye on the puppy, and take it outside as soon as you notice that

• it is walking around sniffing at the floor, or
• turning around in a circle while it looks for a likely spot.

Once it has relieved itself outdoors, shower it with praise.

If you consistently observe the puppy and always manage to get it outside in time, your little dog will be housebroken within about two weeks.

Never rub the puppy’s nose in exercise or urine. The puppy won’t understand what you’re doing, and in addition, you’ll have to wash it. Furthermore, you should never strike a puppy, for any reason, but certainly not for messing in your house. Swatting a puppy will do nothing but make the youngster fear and resent you. Shouting at a puppy is also futile. You can break the puppy’s concentration by clapping your hands and you can let it know it isn’t doing the right thing by saying “No” in a firm, authoritarian (alpha male) voice.

My tips: Make it a habit to say the same thing – “Hurry up,” for example – every time the dog defecates. Then you can succeed in getting the dog to d its business almost on command.

Note: If you pet does have an accident in your home, don’t punish it. Remove all traces of the mishap as described above.

In addition to planned feeding times and regular relief outings, you can help your puppy through housebreaking in several other ways:

• Always emphasize with praise the times your pup does what it should, where it should.
• Feed a high-quality puppy food with good digestibility. The stool from this type of food will be smaller and firmer, type of food will be smaller and firmer, an added benefit if an inside mistake does occur, and much easier for a young dog to hold than a loose, runny stool.
• Never feed table scraps. Not only are they nutritionally unbalancing but they may actually bring on diarrhea and/or vomiting.
• Do not leave food out for your pup all day long; your youngster will actually do better on three to four small meals a day.
• Never put food items (biscuits, edible treats, etc.) in the dog’s house or on its pillow. The puppy will not be able to keep its den area clean if bits of food are always present.
• Discourage messes by thoroughly cleaning up any that do occur. Deodorize an accident spot on the floor to prevent your puppy from catching its scent and repeating the act.

EDUCATING YOUR DOG WITH LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING, KATHARINA SCHLEGL-KOFLER