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I’ve had cats most of my life.  The first one was a part Persian long-hair kitten my sister acquired on the sly.  It didn’t take long for my mother to discover the source of the bleating noise in my sister’s bedroom.  Though she swore she wasn’t taking care of any animals, my mother crumbled pretty quickly.  Pierre Elliot Trudeau (it was 1967) was part of our family for 19 years.  I would like to say I helped with training him but mostly I interfered.  I was 4. 

The Carrot and The Stick

I once heard someone declare that you could only train a cat with ‘the carrot’ meaning by treats and positive reinforcement.  If you tried to use ‘the stick’ the cat would ignore you or run away.  It sounded good and I have to admit I may have repeated it a few times.  After two cat-less years, we adopted a kitten, the training process started, and I remembered that statement.   Here’s the correction:  getting a cat to do something requires ‘the carrot’, getting a cat to stop doing something does require ‘the stick’. 

For example, if you want cats to stay off of your counter tops and kitchen table, getting up on these surfaces has to be associated with something unpleasant.  The first step is to run towards them shouting one word and clapping your hands.  Please don’t start reasoning or explaining, they are not teenagers.  DOWN is my word of choice and I repeat it at top volume until they are well clear of the forbidden area.  DOWN (always shouted) becomes the word they associate with unpleasant behaviour from their human.   A spray bottle filled with water, one that isn’t used for anything else, should be employed a few times.  Getting wet added to the loud noises and agitated human reinforces the unpleasantness.  Leave the water bottle on the forbidden space until they stop going there. 

Human Training

Here’s the human training part.  Be brief.  If you chase the cat all over the house, it will just think you are a lunatic and not associate the unpleasantness with a specific area.  Be consistent.  Everyone in the household needs to follow the same routine, or the cat will learn to avoid a human (the shouter) but not an area.  And be realistic.  If you leave the butter on the counter overnight, you are sending mixed signals.  If the cat is allowed in every room of your house but not on any of the furniture, the scope of your ‘no go zone’ is too big and too complicated. 

My mother didn’t think animals belonged in the house.  Her compromise was to only allow our outdoor cat into the kitchen, where he had a bed, food and water.  It might seem like a big task to impress this territorial restriction, but it came down to one tightly focused area with one required behaviour – don’t go through this doorway.  Making that specific space unpleasant (the area just across the threshold) was simple to do.  Training the cat was easy.  The hard part was to keep us kids from carrying him to our rooms.  The cat was well aware this was forbidden.  We kids were a little slower on the uptake.

Positive Reinforcement

Getting a cat to do something you want is a little harder and only involves positive reinforcement – the carrot.  I wanted our new cat, Hamish, to come when I called him.  We live in an area rife with coyotes and missing cat posters.  I wanted to be able to call him at dusk and know he was safe in the house during the predator-filled night.  First, I taught him his name.  Name is a bit conceptual to a cat so let’s say I wanted a word he associated with himself.  I would repeat ‘Hamish’ over and over while I gave him affection, stopping the former when he’d had enough of the latter.  I never said any other words at that time.  And I did feel a bit silly.  When he started going outside, he was on a harness with a 15 metre rope.  Every time I carried him back into the house, I gave him a treat, shaking the bag vigorously and saying his name.  Soon, I just had to open the door, call him and shake the bag.  Then, I called him, didn’t shake the bag, but still gave a treat.  When this was 95% successful, the harness came off.  I called him every couple of hours just to reinforce the behaviour.  Et voila!  I have a cat that comes when called.  He still gets the occasional treat but that’s mostly because I’m soft.  The behaviour is now ingrained.

Again, it’s up to the human to be consistent and have a feel for when you can move to each step.  Just don’t make negative associations around the behaviour you want.  Don’t call the cat for a pill or a nail clipping; don’t do unpleasant tasks around the door, or within 15 or 20 minutes of coming inside.

Cat Training vs. Dog Training

Again, be realistic.  Cat’s have less capacity for non-situational behaviours than dogs.  If I went four houses down the street and called my dog, he would come to me.  If I called the cat, he would go to the house we live in, or maybe come close enough to see me but not come to the strange door.  It would be confusing and weaken the behaviour.  Cats aren’t laser-focused on their human; we are part of their ecosystem and they need consistency in that system.   If I start calling the cat from different places in the neighbourhood, the cat would have to decide if he was required to go to me or to the door he always goes to.  It’s a big decision and, oh look, there’s a squirrel… 

Another part of being realistic is limiting the number of behaviours you want to prevent or encourage.  There is a border collie in England that has demonstrated it understands 300 unique words.  Your cat is not going to compete with that.  It can’t or won’t or some of both.   Think of them as having a small amount of brain space for you and what you want, and the rest is occupied with instinct and independence. 

So, why even bother?  It seems like a lot of work!  In my case, I wanted to protect Hamish from danger and myself from worry.  Years ago, we lived on a busier road and our cat was trained to stay away from it.  It involved lots of shouting ‘CAR MONSTER’ every time a vehicle went by during the outside training time, and we truly looked like idiots, jumping around on the sidewalk, but that cat died of old age.   It’s worth trying keeping them safe.

Why can’t a cat just be left to do whatever it wants, especially an indoor cat?  Well, it’s still an arrangement where I provide a lot of benefits for some adjustments on the cat’s part.  I want to be comfortable with housing this animal and for me that means, my food preparation area is cat-free.   For someone else, it’s being able to sit on a fur-free sofa.   I want visitors to be comfortable in my house, and not have a cat jump on their dinner plate.  When a non-cat person (there are some) sees that this isn’t a frighteningly unpredictable wild animal, that there is some relationship and communication between human and feline, and that their food is free of fur, they soften a little.  And that’s not a bad thing.

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This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  By making your purchases through the links on this website HIGP may make a small percentage at no direct cost to you. HIGP only promotes products we use & truly believe in. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my Privacy and Disclosures for further information. HIGP thanks you for your support!

The Dream

You think to yourself (as I did), a doggie door sounds like a dream! Letting my dogs in and out what feels like hundreds (billions…) of times a day is tiring. Particularly in the winter…and then Benson. Oh Benson. He LOVES banging on the door to go out, then banging on it repeatedly when outside…Only for me to open the door and have him look at me blankly and stand there…

I think he is trying to see if anyone wants to go out and join him! I am also worried that the big brute will end up breaking the glass on the sliding door one day…

In and Out…And Back In and Out

In the winter the dogs, being Bernese Mountain dogs, lovers of snow and cold, want to go out constantly. I open that door so much that my heating bill makes me wince upon showing up in my inbox.

Thinking longingly of the freedom that a dog door would provide to my pets (and myself! Maybe I could actually finish a movie without having to get up several times!!!) I turned to the internet.

There are no shortage of options out there…You can find about a billion results for pet doors with the flaps, in a multitude of sizes and colors.

My line of thought was that the neighbourhood raccoons and rats would also have no trouble figuring out how to use a door with a flap so I kept looking. There has to be a better solution!

Plexidor

When I came across Plexidor I was impressed with their offering. Their doors are a saloon style door that opens in both directions. It can be installed in doors, walls and even into glass! It comes in several sizes (including one large enough for my beasts!) They also have an electronic option! The frames are heavy duty aluminum, the panels are shatterproof and each panel has weather stripping. This was it. This was the door for me!

Finding a contractor to install the door was a feat in itself! I thought I wanted it put into my sliding glass door that leads out onto the deck and I FINALLY found someone who could do it! When he came in to take a look and give me a quote, he recommended I actually get it put in on the side door. I put in my order!

Time passed. Still no door. With Covid timing on these things can vary dramatically. I cursed every time I heard that bang on the door! My daughter would say “Mom when is that door coming?!?” as she also let them in and out many, many times during the day. Benson seems to have a bit of a witching hour after supper when it is NONSTOP.

It’s Here!

Finally the day came when the door was going in! I was SO excited! Freedom! Although I was getting a good number of steps in…

After waiting for so long, I was ready to tackle the training! Little did I know…Some dogs I am sure get the hang of it very quickly when they realize they can go in and out to their heart’s content. NOT MINE!

My daughter and I crawled through that door multiple times as soon as the silicon around it was dry. The dogs just looked at it blankly, just having NO idea what to do with it! One of us was on either side holding the door and coaxing them in and out with treats. Very hesitantly they finally, slowly, made their way through.

Let The Training Begin!

As they started to get more comfortable with the idea of being able to go in and out I started to let the door gently close on them so they would get used to the sensation of it. The one thing you do NOT want to do is have them get scared of it and never go near it again!

Benson is getting really good at going through if I toss treats out first and hold it open. I have had limited success so far with leaving one flap closed and getting him to push through. Some days he will do it, some days he won’t.

Grace is another story altogether! I have mentioned it in other posts, but it is worth repeating that she is the most STUBBORN dog. She would come to the door sometimes when I was working with Benson just to get treats but refused to go through. She seems to be figuring out the flaps a little better than Benson though as she has gone through a few times completely on her own. But often she will just sit at the glass door glaring at me, not even coming for the treats…

Finally Getting Some Results!

One of the times going through on her own was when my daughter and her friend went into the backyard from the gate. All of a sudden she was just out! Another time she went through was when we were having a playful tickle match just on the other side and then a piggy back ride! For whatever reason Grace can’t STAND it when I give piggyback rides! She gets really worked up if we just hug sometimes even…Silly girl.

Having to get up to let the dogs in and out of the dog door every time really defeated the purpose of actually getting that door! I am ready to try with a new tactic though. I will be armed with hopefully irresistible hot dogs! We will pick a time every day to spend 10-15 minutes with them and be diligent. It has been three weeks and this has not been the success story I had hoped! But I am determined…they WILL use that door!!!!

Stay tuned…

Update

May 26th update!!! Well, hot dogs really didn’t do the trick where the dog door was concerned…if anything all it did was give the dogs diarrhea!! Ew. That was the end of THAT trick.

However, I have come across something that is starting to work it seems! I figured out how to prop those doors open using some twigs from the yard! Grace tries to chew them off…BUT I have noticed with the doors open that they are actually using them to go in and out!!!

My daughter and I are also using that door when going in and out as the idea is to get the dogs to associate outside with that door instead of the sliding door…I figure I will leave it open for them during the day for a while and gradually move towards full time use when they are closed! It isn’t much but I’ll take it! And in the meantime buy a flyswatter…

The post Teaching Your Dog to Use a Dog Door first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.

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.

This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  By making your purchases through the links on this website HIGP may make a small percentage at no direct cost to you. HIGP only promotes products we use & truly believe in. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my Privacy and Disclosures for further information. HIGP thanks you for your support!

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.

The post Congratulations on Your New Puppy! What Comes Next? first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.

But when that little fluffy bundle of joy gets through your front door somehow you still manage to be completely surprised by a few things unless you have had a puppy in your life very recently!

This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  By making your purchases through the links on this website HIGP may make a small percentage at no direct cost to you. HIGP only promotes products we use & truly believe in. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my Privacy and Disclosures for further information. HIGP thanks you for your support!

Baby Sharks!

The first thing I wish I had thought of would be that they are like little sharks with those sharp little baby teeth! I should have known right from the moment I picked up Grace and put her in the car that would be the case.

Even as I snapped a cute picture of her chewing on the bottom of my jacket it didn’t even hit me…I was far too overcome by the joy and emotions of my new little bundle of fluff.

The euphoria wore off soon after getting in the house. She chewed EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. In addition to body parts, she would even get up and chew on your hair! So my daughter quickly learned to tie her hair back before any kind of interaction with Grace!

I chased Grace around for a few weeks trying to keep her from chewing. And she would get to our hands, legs, feet or any other body part. We desperately tried offering her treats and toys which worked for a few minutes at least…

Bitter Apple Spray

A trainer came into the house, and the first thing she said to me was bitter apple spray. And importantly, not bitter cherry or any other flavor. Only bitter apple. As a result I hopped onto Amazon to take a look, and ordered the biggest bottle of Grannicks Bitter Apple spray I could find!

I filled up multiple little spray bottles with it and had them in all my pockets and in every room. This. This worked better than I ever could have imagined!! Consequently I sprayed it on anything and everything under three feet of height. And it saved our shoes, slippers, furniture!

If she was going after our hands, one spritz did the trick. When she was already latched on, a little rub on the inside of her gums or spray sure got her to detach in a hurry! Also, the one catch with this is that it does tend to wear off after a couple of days so you need to stay diligent in your spritzing!

Eventually as she grew and learned we were able to put the bitter apple spray away. As a result, I now gift it to other new puppy parents who are having the same problem.

Housebreaking

The next thing I wish I really had figured out was the housebreaking. Sure, it is a part of the deal with a new puppy. But it had been many years since the last time I found myself faced with an eight week old puppy. And I knew I was in for piddles.

What I didn’t count on was how often they really need to go. In reality those little tiny bladders have almost no control. Consequently I was constantly falling behind. So one mess would be cleaned only to turn around to another one. And I was trying to run her outside as much as I could and somehow I still couldn’t manage to keep up with her!

I was going crazy, calling all my animals by different names and completely frazzled. And one major mistake I made was not using her crate and play pen area during the day when I was home.

Feeling bad putting her in there during the day and when I was busy I didn’t do it as often as I should have…it resulted in me sitting on the bathroom floor to get ready for work so I could keep an eye on her. But still managing to make messes, to make a long story short I needed to rip up and throw away the carpet in the upstairs hallway.

Signs They’re About To Go!

Keeping a close eye on Grace and learning very fast what signals to watch for I was able to get her out quick! So at any sign of sniffing, hunching or circling it was right out to the yard! And it was the middle of winter so I kept slippers at the back door and a jacket in my bedroom allowing me to get up, throw on the jacket and pick up the puppy and get the slippers on at the door very quickly.

If I could go back and do it over again, I wouldn’t hesitate to put her in her crate here and there.

Crate Training

In terms of the crate itself, I ended up getting a small one to start and then a big one when she started to outgrow it. Now I know I should have just gotten the big one to begin with and had a barrier to adjust the size. Instead, I ended up buying more than I needed to, and that little crate was only used for a few short months until she outgrew it.

She ended up loving her crate, and she will still find a small spot to curl up in between my bed and the wall after I took it down. And if I could have kept it up I would have but I was tired of having to crawl over it every day and push it around to get my clothes!

Grooming

I’m going to touch a bit on grooming here. If you have read anything on your new puppy, you know that you should be handling your puppy and getting it used to being touched all over. They go over this a bit in most puppy kindergarten classes.

It is very important though if you want them to be comfortable with grooming. As a result I cannot stress enough the importance of touching and gently squeezing your new puppy’s feet whenever you have a chance. And lifting their gums to take a look at their teeth. Similarly, it is important to touch their tail, look inside their ears and brush them regularly.

I still do this with mine every day and they are now more than a year old. Benson still gives me a hard time about it! It really just makes grooming that much more of a comfortable experience for everyone involved!

Bath Tips

The one thing I wanted to add here though is do not underestimate the importance of a good non-slip bath mat. So even if you are planning on taking your pup to the groomer for baths, there will be that inevitable time they roll in mud. Or poop…I had this happen several times. You will want to get them into a bath pronto!!!

I had been putting a towel down in the bottom of the bath tub to prevent slipping but it was still a major hassle. Then one day it came to me: get a bathmat. Wow, what a difference! Now the dogs are now a lot more comfortable standing in there. And it makes it a lot safer so you don’t end up with some chipped teeth (or worse). In addition it also makes cleanup easier.

Training

Training is a must with every new puppy. Further, it is an ongoing process. Benson, who is now almost 14 months old, is intact still and a walking hormone! Which has basically has him forgetting most of his training! I have to work with him diligently again on his walking, recall and jumping. Not very fun for people to have a 115lb dog run and jump at you.

While some people like to have a bit of a wait period, you can start training your puppy the day it comes home. But they are little sponges at that age. Grace was sitting almost immediately! However, their attention span is relatively short at that age. So watch your dog for signs that they have had enough and end the training session.

Puppy Kindergarten!

I got Grace into puppy kindergarten class as soon as I was allowed. Most will let you join after having their second set of shots. And living for the structure of the classes, it was very important in terms of Grace learning how to socialize with other dogs. Benson luckily had Grace to look to for cues, as we were in full lockdown when he first came home and I did his training completely on my own.

Since I had two puppies only three months apart in age, I had a dog walker come to take Grace out for walks twice a day. And that was when I worked separately with Benson. In addition, I had a special training collar and he would get super excited to see it! And the separate training was important as I did not want them to develop littermate syndrome. This is when they bonded more with each other than their owner which can cause a multitude of problems. So it was a LOT of work!

Food

Food seems to be another issue that many have questions about when they first bring home their puppy. If you think about it, your puppy is going through a massive change. They are in a new environment, with new people, and without their littermates and parents. Everything about their world has changed.

This is why keeping them on the food that my breeder had them on for several months was important while adjusting to their new living conditions. And they still both ended up with diarrhea. But if you think about everything they are going through this is relatively normal. Note that it should correct once they start adjusting to their new environment. Your vet will also likely check them for worms to make sure this is not the culprit.

Your breeder has a good reason for using the food they do. In addition, my breeder even gave me the choice if I would like them to be on raw or dry for when they came home. After several months, and research, I ended up gradually switching them over to another food. If you do it slowly enough it should not be an issue. And I am now in the process of switching them from puppy to adult kibble.

Treats

We all want to spoil our new bundles of fluff with lots of treats! And you can find almost any kind imaginable out there and the choice can be overwhelming. Also, reward based training with treats can be very effective (unless you are like the one unlucky family in puppy training class that had a dog that did not like treats, good luck to them). And the high value treats are amazing to gain your pup’s attention, I found liver treats were like gold.

My puppies seemed to have chronic diarrhea off and on though, with no health reasons behind it. And then it was like a lightbulb went off and I though about how many treats they were getting during the day! So as an experiment I cut back on the amount and starting substituting kibble for a good amount of their training, and voila! Guess what, normal poops! It really can be quite funny how a normal poop from your puppy can make your day!

I found that my dogs absolutely love dental kibble. So now I mix it in with their regular kibble, and also use it almost exclusively for treats. As a result we almost never have poop issues! And I am also going to be experimenting with making my own treats so that I can control the ingredients going into them, so stay tuned for our reviews of different recipes!

Collars and Leashes

Collars, harnesses and leash choices can seem a bit overwhelming when you are picking out goodies for your new puppy! I know I have been through several of each already before finding what works best for me and my pack. When Grace came home I started with your typical collar. Then looking at the leashes I picked out a basic six foot lead (thinking that it was cruel to only give them four feet on a for walking!).

No Pull Harnesses

The collars were working well for a while and were recommended at the pet store as the sales person told me that harnesses encouraged pulling. However, Bernese Mountain Dogs were bred as working dogs, and I found that they were pulling with the collar and I did not want them to do any damage to themselves by pulling too hard (this was during the training process).

I ended up switching them to no pull harnesses with a clip in the front and on the back. The idea behind these is that when you clip them in the front and they pull it pulls them gently to the side, which they do not like the sensation of, which leads to less pulling. In fact, these have been a MIRACLE for us and our walks. Their behaviour changed immediately!

We are still using these types of harnesses. In terms of the leash, I switched from the good old regular leashes to extendible ones. Only do this if you want to throw all your leash training right out the window! They were unruly on them, it was far too much freedom and it was crazy! As a result I ended up switching back to their regular ones recently. And the shorter four feet leads I found were better than the six feet ones. In reality you have much greater control with these and I like the short ones as I can keep my dogs closer to my side in a busy city environment.

Sleep

Another thing most new puppy parents do not realize is that puppies sleep. A LOT. They are growing rapidly (in my case 100lbs in a year!) and their little bodies need the downtime to grow. So make sure that you let them sleep and consider setting aside a certain time of the day for quiet time in their crate or safe spot. In addition, some people find that a blanket over the crate can help.

Mine were good about self regulating their sleep. Grace has a favorite place on the cool tile at the front door that she will crash out on (it is where she is right now while I am writing this actually), and Benson just flops where he is standing when he gets tired. The sound of a big dog hitting the floor like a bag of bricks is quite something!

Dog Beds

I have dog beds spread through the house for them too if they feel the need for more comfort. When they were babies I had the dog beds, but ended up picking them up for a while. However, Grace used them as chew toys and Benson for whatever reason thought they were the ideal place to go to the bathroom!

If you want to give them more comfort you can try putting some blankets down in their crate or in a cozy place on the floor, they are a LOT easier to clean than dog beds!! As a test I would put them away and take them out every few weeks to see if they were ready for them. However, it was many months before I could leave them out.

Exercise

As with sleep, you also need to watch how much you are exercising small puppies. Too much exercise at a young age may not be good for them and you can end up with injuries. The same goes for dog parks, as many puppies can get injured by larger or more active dogs.

Walks, while important, should not be overly long. I have seen many sites advocate for 1 minute of walking per week of age (so if you have a 10 week old puppy a 10 minute walk should be sufficient). Also, if you walk them for too long or exercising them too vigorously it can lead to joint problems as well, particularly in large breed dogs.

Stairs

Stairs need to be supervised! With mine, as they are large dogs prone to hip and joint problems, I put up gates at the stairs and carried them until I physically was not able to anymore (did not take long though, I think I made it to around 4 months with each of them).

Jumping onto and off couches and beds should also be discouraged. And do not think that you need to walk them every single day. And yes, you can play with them as a way to burn off energy! I found tug quite effective at tiring both them and myself out!. It should be noted that training is also very tiring for a young puppy. So be sure to let them rest after doing a training session!

Now that my dogs are getting older, I find myself missing the good old puppy days! And we have learned a lot together and are still learning every single day. However, I do wish that I had thought of some of these things ahead of time and been better prepared for some of it as it would have made things a little easier on all of us. But when I find myself in a giant pile of puppy fluff in the evening it makes it all worthwhile.

Are there any other things that you wish you knew before bringing your puppy home? Comment below!

The post Unusual Things You Need To Know For A New Puppy first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.