Preparing To Train Your Puppy
Saturday, October 25th, 2008
The first thing you need to get organized before you start to train your puppy is in preparing for your puppy’s arrival. You will not be able to train your puppy effectively if he is not comfortable and relaxed in his new home, and the first step towards being relaxed is being comfortable about where you live.
Once you have decided where your dog will initially spend most of his time, you have to think about making that place as comfortable and appealing to him as possible, whether the place you have chosen is a playpen or a corner of the kitchen.
Although you may plan on giving your dog access to the entire house at some point, do not do so at first. You need to train your puppy to understand that he is only allowed in certain areas of the house to start with.
Even a dog that is entirely housetrained and completely accustomed to staying home alone in one place has to learn the lay of the land, so to speak, in his new residence. Where to go out, how to go out, what furniture is off limits – these are all things that even the best-trained house dog in the world has to learn. That first week is usually one filled with lots of “Okays” and “Nos!”
Crates
Inside the fenced-off area, playpen, or room you have selected for your new dog, there should be a crate for him to sleep in. Buy a crate that will be big enough to accommodate your dog’s adult size. However, if this is too large for a tiny puppy, there are partitions available that adjust the space to fit the puppy’s current size.
The value of the use of the crate in training your puppy is discussed in other articles on this site. Save yourself time, aggravation, and a lot of cleanup by adding this item to your list of necessities.
Bedding
Once your dog is thoroughly housetrained and you decide that his crate is not elegant enough, the two of you can go shopping for a doggy bed that will accommodate your pal and satisfy your aesthetic bent.
When you arrive at this point, you may decide that you want your dog to sleep in your bedroom but not on your bed. In that case, you can purchase a doggy bed made expressly for that purpose. I have seen some custom-designed beds that royalty, were they of a diminutive size, would have been delighted to sleep in.
Water Dish and Feeding Bowl
These are available in many different materials. Choose something that is non-breakable and not easy to tip over. A rambunctious puppy will very quickly learn to upset the water bowl and relish turning his entire living area into a swimming pool! Stainless steel bowls are recommended because they eliminate the worry of the toxic content in some plastics, and dogs and puppies are not beyond chewing (and trying to digest!) plastic bowls. I’d also recommend getting a raised feeding station if possible, as it helps your dogs digestive system.
So there’s quite a lot to do before you start training your puppy, but all this will be very worthwhile when you see how relaxed and happy your puppy will become with his new surroundings, and that will show through in his ability to learn and respond favorably to your puppy training techniques.
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