Puppy Month - The Puppy Raising Formula

The Puppy Raising Formula

This is the framework for success at home. This four-step formula serves as a framework to prevent or solve all of the puppy-raising problems you could have. 

Prevent mistakes 

How can you prevent mistakes? They happen right? Absolutely, however there are ways to prevent those “bad” behaviors from being reinforced and set our puppies up for success. 

This means you have to actively supervise whenever your puppy is not on a leash or in a crate or x-pen. Meaning, 100% of your attention is on the puppy. You are training, playing, he is sleeping in your lap, or you are literally watching him with both eyes. Not multitasking, but watching the puppy. If you need to multitask, use a leash, an x-pen, or a crate. 

No one is perfect. At some point, you'll miss something or turn around for one minute, and your puppy will make a mistake. And that's okay. Don't panic when it happens. But do make every effort to prevent mistakes with good management.

Reinforce Good Behavior

How do I reinforce good behavior throughout the day? We suggest using part of the pups own kibble to use as rewards throughout the day. Keep some on you if possible, or in a container(s) around the house (out of reach). 

Rewarding our puppies for good behavior encourages them to keep doing those things we want and is a simple way to train good house manners. Rewarding things like: 

- Going potty outside
- Lying down quietly
- Coming when called

are just a few things we like to encourage on a daily basis. 

* Age appropriate exercise

The next piece of the puppy-raising framework is to provide plenty of age-appropriate physical and mental exercise - things to do and things to think about.

What physical and mental exercise is good for puppies?  

Physical

- Playing with toys.
- Playing with puppy-safe adult dogs,
- Going for walks. (We recommend using a harness on puppies for walks).

Mental

- Exploring walks, sniffing.
- Kongs.
- Food dispensing toys.

Mental exercise is just as important because learning new things actually burns calories, so it helps your puppy to be tired, and it prepares him for more advanced training later in his life.

* (You want to talk to your vet about exercise because what is considered safe and age appropriate will change depending on your puppy's age and breed.)

The right training

Early in your puppy's life, (and really all the way through adolescence), training the “right” stuff is important. Choosing your priorities is the #1 thing you can do to keep the overwhelm down and the success up.

How to decide what you should train first?
You should always start with and prioritize the things that your puppy needs to know to live in your home. Things like: 

- How will you take your puppy out for bathroom breaks and for exercise? If he must be leashed, their comfort with a harness and polite walking should be at the top of your list. Fenced-in yard? Then maybe those things can wait a week.
- Will jumping or pulling on you be a significant safety concern? Then jumping and polite walking need to be at the top of your list.

Take note of the things that are impacting your ability to live with your dog, and make those your top training priorities.

There is a lot more right?

Absolutely! That’s why My Service Dog and Me put together The Puppy Handbook. It includes all the information from these blogs, and the posts in our Facebook group: “Training your service dog with confidence (positive reinforcement training)". It’s a 44 page e-book looking at how to start life with a new service dog puppy, for only $12. 

Important tip
Does it seem like your puppy sleeps a lot? 💤 That’s because they do. Puppies can sleep between 18 - 20 hours a day. So a very important tip is they almost always need to go potty as soon as they wake up.  

🗓️ Next Week: Training Plans

Sneak peak: 

Resources

1.) "What you should train first with a new puppy?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgAqnchbTpI

2.) Come join us in our FREE Facebook group: Training with positive reinforcement (positive reinforcement training).


 
My Service Dog and Me Team