Congratulations on Your New Puppy! What Comes Next?

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Congratulations on your new puppy!! You fall in love pretty much immediately with that little fluffy bundle of joy! Now is the scary part though, what comes next??

You have all the equipment, all the food, toys, crates, dog beds, treats…but somehow that still is not enough to figure out exactly how you are supposed to venture forward from here.

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At Home – New Introductions

When Grace came home the first thing I did was pick her up from the car and carry her directly to the backyard. I wanted the first place she went potty to be her yard so that she would start associating it with her space.

Anticipating some drama in what was to come next, I picked Grace up and carried her into the house…to meet the three cats…

Whiskers was the first one to come into the kitchen. He’s a BIG cat but really a softie. He also loves all other animals so I was not expecting too much trouble from him.

He got all hunched up and just stood staring at the far end of the kitchen! Poor little Grace just looked back at me, unsure of this whole situation!

Bubbles was the next one to come around. She had Nemo in the house before, so she was used to dogs. But Grace was already the size of Nemo and she had just come home! Bubbles did not seem too scared though, more curious than anything.

Now Miesha…Miesha is a special case…She is the most fearful and skittish cat I have EVER owned! If you move even an inch in her direction she is peeling off upstairs to hide. She came to see what was going on, and it was pure TERROR on her face! We did not see Miesha for about three months after that. During waking hours anyways!

Introduction To Crate and Feeding Area

The next thing I did was introduce Grace to her crate and pen area. I had set up a crate attached to a play pen in the living room area, complete with pee pads on one end and food and water on the other end.

Let The Chewing Begin!

It was pretty chaotic in the house after that initial period of calm. Grace kept to the living room area but wanted to chew EVERYTHING! My hands, feet, legs, hair, furniture, shoes…I spent a good amount of time running around picking things up only for her to turn around and find the next thing! I wish I knew about bitter apple spray at that time…

There were a lot of periods of sleep though, which were GREAT. As hard as she played, she would crash and sleep for a little while. Her naps were anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour during the day, which I used to tidy up or lie down exhausted on the couch. As they say with newborn babies…you rest when they do!

Cleaning Up Accidents

Enzymatic cleaners are something I would not be without during the early puppy days. As much as I ran that dog out to the yard, I would bring her in and she would go to the bathroom again inside as soon as I set her down! I bought a case of paper towels…Puppies have no bladder control at that young age and do not underestimate the amount of time it takes them outside to completely finish up. I think my mistake here was bringing Grace back into the house too quickly.

Nighttime

Nighttime was something I was definitely NOT looking forward to. I knew I would be up all night for at least the first week. And then there was the bedtime crate training. I put Grace into her crate, and she actually settled within the first few minutes and was fast asleep! Yay! I set my alarm for every hour through that first night, stumbling blindly down the stairs with her each time and standing out in the freezing cold January night until she did her business. It was quite pretty at that time of the night out in the yard, dark and quiet. And cold…

Start Basic Training

Grace slowly got better and I learned her habits and routines. We started training on basic commands almost immediately. She figured out “sit” within a matter of minutes. Gracie is a smart gal but with this came a level of stubbornness and attitude! SHE wanted to be the boss, and she did not let me forget it. We got into many heated arguments over the next few months as she had NO problems telling me what she thought of something I was trying to get her to do. I spent hours training her to walk and heel.

Puppy Socialization

Never underestimate the importance of proper socialization either! Puppies go through fear stages at varying levels of development, and fear in dogs can lead to aggression. I would take little Gracie out to Queen Street where she would be absolutely mobbed by people.

She met young to old, and Queen Street is a great place to see a lot of variety. She got used to loud noises and did not flinch at the garbage truck or streetcars. Grace went into as many stores as she was allowed. She is now one of the most social dogs I have ever seen! At the dog park she greets every single person in there, sitting on their feet and staring back up at them. More than one person has commented on how she wanted them to take her home…

A Different Approach To Socialization

With Covid, socialization was a VERY different experience with Benson! He came home on April 1, 2020, and we had just gone into our first lockdown. He learned a lot from Grace, and I did what I could with him but I can definitely tell the difference in how each one reacts to people and different situations.

There are still things you can do with your puppy, even in lockdown mode. I had them go out for walks twice a day with a dog walker. As soon as Benson had all his shots we went down to the dog park almost daily, where he had the opportunity to interact with other people and dogs. I sent him into the groomer even though I prefer to do it myself at home so that he would get another chance for interaction. But Benson is more aloof with people in general, preferring to be at my side. He also gets scared more easily and can require a lot of assurance.

Training was another area I got very lucky with Benson. With Grace, I signed her up for puppy kindergarten as soon as she was able to go. Many will allow you to enroll once they have had their second set of shots. It was a reward based training program, which Grace excelled at. In the classroom setting anyways…

Reward Based Training

A trainer also came out to the house a couple of times, but I found that the method she was using was NOT good for my dogs, who can be very sensitive souls. I did not like intimidating Grace into behaving a certain way, I wanted her to be happy to oblige. There are programs that use clickers as well, although I can say that I have NEVER seen anyone use a clicker out in public or at the dog park…

I recently came across Brain Training for Dogs. It is a rewards based training program done online. This is exactly the type of program that I would use for my dogs! And a great option to use if in-person training programs aren’t available (like here where we are in a never ending lockdown…). And the games make it fun for both you and your dog!!! Grace and Benson really excel with these types of training!

The experience I had with Grace was enough for me to train Benson. He LOVES to comply and is very, very happy to get praise from his Mom. He went through a period of testosterone brain for a few months and seemingly forgot everything I ever taught him, but now that he is neutered he has returned to his old sweet self.

Use YouTube As A Resource

General obedience classes had to be cancelled again due to Covid. I resorted to YouTube for any additional training I needed. I really wish I had known about the Brain Training program at that time! And you will find, as I did, that each puppy excels when trained in a certain way that may not necessarily conform to any one specific training type. With a little patience and experimentation you will find what fits best with your puppy.

Name Training

Name training was something that we worked hard on as well. I started saying their names to them repeatedly as soon as they came home. I would say their name and if they looked they would get a treat. You want them to learn their name as soon as possible.

Recall

Recall is another big one. You should spend a LOT of time working on this. Even if you never plan to have your puppy in an off leash situation there could be a time where they escape the house or yard, or slip their collar.

We started recall with the “touch” command. You sit your puppy next to you and tell them to “touch” while holding your hand in front of their nose. When they touch your hand with their nose, they get a treat. Gradually you can move further and further away from them and get your puppy to come to you this way.

I still use it to this day at the dog park. Benson was attacked by another (smaller) dog, and his hormone brain kicked in and I could see he was about to fight back. This would NOT have ended well for the much smaller dog. I yelled TOUCH and he spun around and came right to my side. They will both come to either “touch” or “come” and I have used it many, many times to get us out of what could have been a dangerous situation. It is never too early to start working on this command.

Make coming to you really fun. Make a game out of it. Outside of regular training, play hide and seek in your house. Get them really excited to come to you and find you. Lots of praise and treats. One thing I will caution is when your pup hits their teenager years and seemingly forgets everything. Continue to be persistent at this time with your training. It is frustrating.

Walking and Leash Training

Leash training also required a LOT of work with my bears. I spent HOURS walking Grace up and down Queen Street as she was a complete disaster in her early days on a leash. I started with regular collars, but switched to no pull harnesses after a rather disastrous walk to the vet. Someone commented “Our for your morning pull?” and that was when I knew I needed a different solution.

The no pull harness worked great for my two. They have a clip in the front and back. When you use the clip in the front, it gently pulls them to the side when they pull too hard which they don’t like the sensation of. My walks improved dramatically.

I still had to work hard with them though. Benson still pulled, and when Grace was recovering from hernia surgery I worked hard with him. Now the only time he really pulls is when he cannot resist the siren call of a nearby squirrel. I usually can tell when he is getting geared up though, and I correct and praise him for walking instead of pulling and chasing. But as with most other things, it is an ongoing process.

Dealing With Separation

The only other thing I really want to touch on here is leaving your puppy home alone. With Grace, I only had one day of downtime before I had to go back into the office so she was home alone for the day. I had a dog walker come to the house twice a day to take her out and play with her. It still was not enough though, and I noticed around 3 months that she was not doing well for the dog walker. She was depressed and didn’t want to eat or walk during the day.

I called my breeder, and decided that she needed a companion. This was how I ended up with two puppies three months apart in age! Yes, it was crazy. I was crazy. Sleep deprived. However, by the time Benson came home we were in our first lockdown. I have been working from home since, so Benson has never known me to be anywhere other than here.

Vaccines are now being administered, and the day will eventually come when we will need to go back to the office. Our pets will miss us terribly when that time comes. I have started leaving the dogs home alone for brief periods, a few hours at a time, so that they start getting used to being home alone.

A New Doggy Door!

A doggy door also went in recently. Just over three weeks to be exact. However, my dogs are VERY stubborn…I still can barely get them to use it even with treats and me holding it open for them fifty times or so a day. Grace has gone through a couple times on her own, and I am hoping that with persistence they will figure it out…After all, it is FREEDOM to go in and out as much as they want!! What dog wouldn’t want that??? Mine apparently…

Puppy stages can definitely be challenging. You have to be persistent in your training and efforts, even to beyond a year. There will be setbacks. But the unconditional love and loyal companionship makes it all worthwhile.