Preparing for your new puppy.
Puppy Proofing your home:
Puppies are very curious, and they don’t yet know your house rules. Remember, if a puppy can get something in its mouth - it is going to CHEW and try to SWALLOW the object. We’ve heard too many stories about pups who have died or been severely injured in this way.
Get down to “puppy level” on your hands and knees, and take a look around the rooms of your home. This will help you spot potential dangers that are easy for your puppy to access.
Store all chemicals, cleaners, medications, and other toxic substances securely in cabinets with doors, preferably up high.
Electrical cords are very dangerous and tempting to pups. Tie cords up, use cord covers like these, and block off access to outlets if possible.
Puppies love anything that smells like you. Clothing items such as socks, t-shirts, underpants, bras, etc. are often ingested by puppies with fatal results. Shoes are especially tempting to many puppies. Keep all shoes in a closed closet. If you don’t want your pup to chew it, you must keep it picked up and put it out of reach.
Put all sharp items out of reach. Pups don’t understand the concept of “sharp” objects and will chew a knife, razor, or pair of scissors without realizing the damage they are causing to themselves.
Toilet lids should be kept closed, along with doors and windows, trash cans should be secured and impossible for pup to access.
Limit where your puppy can go at first. Puppy’s need limitations on their space in order to recognize where they are supposed to eat, sleep, play, and eliminate. To a puppy, even a small house or apartment seems huge! So, keep your puppy confined to one or two rooms at first.
Be aware of foods that are toxic to dogs. Here are five of the most common human foods that are dangerous for your pup.
Examine your backyard for hazards. For example, look for holes in the fence or toxic plants.
Don’t put your puppy up on a high surface. If you are carrying the pup - HOLD ON SECURELY. You puppy’s bones, ligaments and tendons are still forming and growing. Their joints are still lax (by nature’s design) and a fall from even a short height can cause a lot of damage.
Do NOT over-exercise your pup. Short, fun sessions of training, walking, playing are fantastic and healthy for your new pup. However, don’t expect your puppy to walk for miles or jog with you for its first year of life. Long, repetitive exercise has been proven to cause irreparable damage to joints in growing puppies.
Training Your Puppy:
There are many philosophies and techniques for training your puppy. At Honeystone, we use the Science-Based Model - but we are always open to reading and learning more as science helps us figure out what works best. Here’s a very good article on modern dog training that is balanced and fair.
Our puppies all begin their training with Puppy Culture (It starts on Day 1, and we think it’s a fantastic, holistic approach)
Other Basics on Raising a Great Dog:
Remember that, for the most part, it is People who need to be trained - not the Pup. By nature, dogs want to live with humans in harmony. We just need to communicate our expectations and boundaries in a way dogs can understand and master. It’s like learning a new language - and, once you start communicating successfully, there is almost no limit to what you can teach your super-smart pup.
Rough play/tug-of-war/wrestling is NOT a good activity for your young pup: Too many people (particularly children and teenagers) think it’s adorable to play aggressively with a little puppy. They think it’s cute when the puppy growls, barks, or even nips at them during the play. Very soon, the puppy becomes an adolescent, and suddenly - it’s not adorable anymore. It’s now dangerous. Consider how UNFAIR this is to the dog, who has been taught to interact with humans in an inappropriate way - and now is considered a “bad” or “problem” dog because it is doing EXACTLY what it has been taught and conditioned to do.
*MOST KIDS ARE FANTASTIC at training dogs. Whenever possible, we prefer that children do a big part of pup training. Because, when given the right information and techniques, children seem to “get it” faster than adults. They know how to be emotionally open and present, and pups respond to that kind of connection. Here’s a great article about how to prepare the family for your puppy:
Don’t feed from the table - Especially not while your dog is a puppy. **Please Note: We are not opposed to giving your dogs safe, tasty human-food treats. (Our dogs get them every day.) But, it’s completely unfair to expect a puppy to comprehend table manners before they have mastered the basics of living in your home. Also, your pup’s digestive system is still growing - and you don’t want to do anything to cause an upset tummy (which will stress your pup and complicate house-training.) When your pup is older, you can teach them the subtleties of when it is (and is not) okay to politely enjoy a treat.