Training A New Puppy: The First 16 Weeks

With summer in full swing and COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, anyone and everyone is outside trying to enjoy the weather and sun. Now, I don't know if it's because more people are out and about more than ever or if people are more carefree now that COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, but I am noticing A TON of people at the parks with their dogs off-leash. Now, I am fully in favor of having my dog off-leash under the right circumstances. I have also trained, and am still in the process of training, my dog to be off-leash. Yes, you heard that right, training my dog to be off-leash. Listen, I'm here to break it to you... no matter how much you think your dog loves you and will stay by you when taken off leash, they're just not going to. As soon as you take that leash off, your dog is going to leave your side and engage in self-rewarding behaviors like exploring, sniffing, chasing birds, etc. Here's an example of an encounter I had the other day at the park: A woman pulls up to the park with her dog and gets out of the car with her dog on leash. I'm in a large grassy area working with Caos about 15 feet away from some items I had left in the grass. I continue working with Caos, but also am aware that this woman is now in the same vicinity as me, as Caos is off-leash. I watch as this woman takes her dog off-leash and the dog immediately trots off to smell the surroundings. At this point, I ask Caos to come to me and lay down, as I wait to ensure that the woman has control of her dog. As I'm watching, I notice that not only is the woman on her phone and not paying attention to her dog, but she also hasn't noticed that Caos and I are under the shade by the tree line. The woman's dog proceeds to go over to my things that I had left in the grass and begins rummaging through them. At this point, the woman finally looks up from her phone and begins yelling, "no," "come," "leave it," "stop that," "come," to which the dog doesn't even acknowledge her existence. It's not until the woman finally reaches her dog, that she's able to pull it away from my belongings. The woman then pulls her dog by the collar away from my things, releases the dog again, throws a ball and tells her dog, "go get it," to which the dog completely ignores her again and trots off the opposite way. The woman continues to yell commands at her dog as she runs after it and finally puts the leash on. Sadly, I hear the woman say to the dog, "why are you doing this to me?" "why aren't you listening to me?" I then continue my training session with Caos, all while continuing to be aware of my surroundings and this woman. I watch and listen as I hear the woman becoming increasingly frustrated as she's giving her dog commands to no avail, although now with the leash on, and hear her say, "look, that dog is being good and listening to his owner," "why aren't you listening to me", "don't you love me?" It was truly heartbreaking because I could hear the hurt in the woman's voice. But the thing is, just because your dog loves you, doesn't mean they're going to stay with you when given the opportunity to be off-leash. Your dog has to respect you and listen to you ON LEASH before you can think about taking the leash off. If your dog can't sit, down, heel, stay while on a leash how can you expect them to 1) listen to you when off-leash and 2) be called off a distraction... you can't. You need to have a solid foundation and be sure that your dog is engaged with you FIRST, then you can start to think about taking the leash off. And even then, start with a 50 foot or 100 foot long line that you can attach to your dogs collar. That way, your dog can be away from you and have the opportunity to explore, but if they don't listen, then you still have a way to correct them or pull them back to you. Now, things happen and you may be working your dog off-leash for weeks or months with 100% recall and then all of the sudden your dog fixates on something and doesn't come back when called. Figure out what went wrong and go back to the basics. Maybe you need more exposure on leash with whatever the distraction was or maybe you need to go back to using the long line. That's okay. What's not okay is continuing to take your dog off-leash when they aren't listening to you, in hopes that it's just going to click and they will all of the sudden become obedient. Because like the woman I mentioned earlier and so many others that I've come across at this park, they continue to let their dogs off-leash with no progress in their training. I have seen dogs run across the street to get a ball, run clear across the field to chase a person, and seen dogs leave their owners to run up to another dog. Any one of these scenarios could have ended in tragedy if a car was coming, if the dog attacked the person, or if either dog was aggressive. So please, be a responsible dog owner and keep your dog on a leash until they trained and have a solid recall. And if an accident does happen and your dog runs up to another person or dog, PLEASE apologize to that individual. Be smart and be responsible. As always, this is me, running with Caos.

Potty Training. An often frustrating aspect of training a puppy. No one wants to deal with accidents and the constant in and out for multiple potty breaks, but we all have to do it. Surprisingly, constant accidents and unsuccessful potty training is a huge reason why so many dogs wind up in shelters. First and foremost, potty training begins the moment you walk through your front door with your new puppy, so you need to do some research in advance so that you can decide how you are going to potty train your puppy. Now what do I mean when I say you need to be prepared? Well, you need to determine by what means you will be potty training your puppy. Do you live in a house and you will be utilizing your backyard from the beginning? Do you live in an apartment with easy and quick access to grass? Are you going to use puppy potty pads or something similar? Will you be using a training bell on the door to teach your puppy to alert you when they need to go out? Whatever method you decide to use to potty train your puppy, remember these 3 points: Consistency is key. Patience is a virtue. Potty training won't happen overnight. Positive reinforcement will create good habits and strengthen the bond between you and your puppy. Timing is Everything Now, for a GENERAL rule of thumb, a puppy can hold its bladder for 1 hour for every month old they are. For example, if your puppy is 5 months old then they should be able to hold their bladder for about 5 hours. Remember, however, that this is a general rule and some puppies have smaller bladders. Puppies need to be taken out A LOT! For a frame of reference, you're going to need to take your puppy out: First thing when he/she wakes up in the morning After every meal After they drink water After they wake up from a nap After playtime Right before bed When taking your puppy outside, always go out the same door and go to the same spot in the grass/yard. Your puppy thrives on routine and consistency and will begin to correlate the actions you take, with knowing it's time to go potty. Also, be sure to keep in mind that if you do live in an apartment complex, there are multiple other dogs using the same grass your puppy will be using and you don't know if they are sick, have been vaccinated, or are carrying any parasites or diseases. Until a puppy is fully vaccinated, it is extremely important to keep puppies away from areas where other dogs have used the bathroom. As a rule of thumb, if you see poop or traces in the grass, go somewhere else. Before I brought Caos home, I knew I would have a difficult time taking Caos to the same spot to potty every time, due to the amount of dogs at my apartment complex and the fact that people don't pick up after their dogs (this still baffles me, there's poop stations all over for the owners convenience and it's part of a dog owners responsibility.. but I digress). So, I decided to purchase a Doggie Lawn. Doggie Lawn is a great company that sends owners REAL grass swatches that can be left outside, or inside with a tray, and deodorizes all odors because it's real grass. This allowed me to take Caos outside, to the same grass area every time, where I could ensure he would be safe from catching any parasites or diseases from other dogs. I would highly recommend checking them out if you live in an apartment complex or simply want more peace of mind! Now, Let's Talk Accidents Accidents will happen.. and it's your fault, not your puppy's. So how do we minimize accidents? Don't deviate from your routine. Have your leashes, collars, shoes, flashlight, umbrella, and treats by the door. If accidents are going to happen, they're going to happen in the moment where you can't find your shoes or your puppy's leash. So designate a spot to store everything you may need to take your puppy outside to potty and make sure you always return those items to that same spot. Now, when an accident happens there are two things you can do: 1) If you catch them in the act, firmly say no, pick the puppy up, and take them outside to their potty spot. If they finish going outside, praise them like you would normally, and return inside. 2) If you find the accident after it's happened, you CANNOT punish your puppy. I repeat, you CANNOT punish your puppy if you don't catch them actively going potty inside. Do not rub your puppy's nose in the accident. Your puppy is not able to distinguish that the act of going potty in the house is what he/she is being punished for. Clean up the accident and determine why the accident happened. Is the area for your puppy too big? Were you not watching them? Determine what happened and move on. Have a plan, stick to your schedule, and remember that timing is everything. Potty training doesn't have to be a nightmare, and as long as you're consistent, potty training will be a breeze. As always, thanks so much for reading! This is me, running with Caos.