A Step By Step Guide

Coming soon, a week by week guide of what we have been learning in our classes and individual training.

Weeks 1-8

Weeks 8-10

Dos
  • take 1-2 weeks off of work to teach and bond with your dog
  • work on potty training - take out immediately after waking, immediately after exercise or play and 15 minutes after eating or drinking (use a kitchen timer, see my supplies page)
  • introduce to crating and indoor fencing (see my supplies page)
  • start working on basic command training such as sit, down, coming when called and responding to their name.
  • play lots of games including tugging and fetch
  • immediately withdraw from puppy when nipping occurs exclaiming “Yipe” like another puppy would have done in his litter
  • put your puppys collar on the minute you get him home. he shouldnt focus on the collar too much because the new environment will keep him rather occupied
  • let your puppy drag his leash around the house
  • prior to going back to work full time, make sure you have your work area properly equipped. you dont want to start that first day at even more at a disadvantage than you will already have
  • introduce your puppy to his vest. while holding a treat put one hand in the area where his head is supposed to go and guide him into the vest with the treat. always make the vest a great thing to have on.
Donts
  • do not go outside and walk your dog until you are sure that the immunity to their shots has completely developed
  • do not UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES leave your dog unattended without being crated
  • do not leave your dog unsupervised with his leash on. he can get tangled in it and strangle himself or ingest it
  • do not leave them alone with anything in their crate - puppys can easily destroy toys and swallow small part of them

Weeks 10-12

Dos
  • keep working on the items listed in weeks 8-10
  • take a daily walk along a fairly busy street. if your dog has no interest in following you, coat a small stick with peanut butter and hold it at his level while you walk
  • start taking puppy socialization classes
  • take your puppy outside to go to the bathroom every 2 hours. you may withhold access to water to 10 minutes prior to your potty breaks while at work to help prevent accidents. if your puppy does not go to the bathroom immediately after going outside, walk around for a few minutes. this will stimulate his system and he will go wherever nature calls
  • while at work, do not allow people to even acknowledge the presence of your dog. you do not want your dog to think that its OK to go up and seek attention from people
Donts
  • dont walk for more than 10 minute chunks. you can damage his little developing bones by walking them too much
  • do not withhold access to fresh water all day as a means of assisting in potty training
  • dont walk on foreign grass (any grass outside of your back yard) if you can help it. communicable diseases survive longer on grass than concrete.

Weeks 8-20

  • positively expose your dog to at least 2 new things each day. since their brains are so pliable at this stage in their life you need to take advantage of that as much as possible. if you follow the above suggestion, it will be the equivalent of exposing your dog to 90 different things each month for the first year of his life.

Weeks 12-16

Dos
  • keep working on that potty training. remember, if your dog has an accident, its your fault. liame was not reliably potty trained until at least 5 months old.
  • take advantage of your puppys lack of fear, start exposing your dog to everything any anything you can - examples include: people in coats/hats, children, babies, grates on the sidewalk, skateboarders, cyclists, people in wheel chairs, riding on a boat, shopping carts, people walking with crutches, old people, cats, birds, walking on gravel, walking in puddles, people of different races, automatically opening doors, elevators, riding the bus, etc. make sure each new experience is positive.
  • carry your treat bag around your waist everywhere you go to ensure you dont miss any training opportunities.
  • keep doing everything advised in the previous weeks
Donts
  • if at all possible dont let your dog have any negative experiences or you may spend the rest of his puppyhood fixing the problem