What a wonderful addition to your family. But make sure that you will not be one of those terrible people who after a few weeks give the dog away ‘to a good home’.
few simple techniques will help you in the early days so that your dog becomes the best dog anyone could ever have.
Ignore all unwanted behaviour as far as possible, and only reward things you want to happen.
And on that note the first thing to tackle is going pee and poop. They way you handle this will affect your future relationship with your dog. I cannot stress too much that punishing your dog for going pee or poop in the house will only teach your dog that it is better to hide when he needs to go….so in the bedroom or behind the couch will be a place he is likely to choose. Take your pup out every 2 hours and if he/she goes then reward with a high value treat and lots of praise within 3 seconds of them finishing. This means going out with them on the leash, not standing at the door. During the time in the house the pup needs to be watched, 100% of the time. If you are unable to do this ( like when the phone rings, or you are cooking) then the pup should be put in a kennel/crate.
A word here about crates, they are not cruel and in fact most dogs will choose to retreat to a small enclosed area for resting. In the wild dogs live in a den. Easily defendable, they feel secure in a small space.
You must let the pup out at least every two hours. The crate should be in your bedroom, so that if the pup wakes up in the night needing to relive himself you will hear. A crate at the other end of the house will mean the crate will get soiled and becomes a place of discomfort. Your pup has to hang on till he cannot hang on any longer, then has to lie on soiled bedding until you come to let him out.
If you feed at the same time and restrict water to an hour after meals then the pup will go pee and poop at the same time every day, once you discover this time then you can adjust the feeding schedule to suit your timetable. These simple actions will have a pup trained within a couple of weeks. And most will either go to the door or start whining when they need to relive themselves. Continue to reward outside for a month or two.
In my next blog I will tackle what to do when you have done things wrong and now have a confirmed in the house bathroom goer.
