Worried about training my puppy.

katie1234

Hi everyone,

Thanks to the advice of many of you a few months back my new puppy is arriving in 2 weeks but i am very worried already! shes a KCspaniel and my worry is that i will be awful training her. shes my first dog by myself (other dogs were always when i lived at home with parents) however i did help train most of the family pets. My last dog had awful problems with submissiveness including submissive urination (which she still does only if i call round!) which was completely my fault i understand now. Im just wondering how do i prevent this with my new puppy? Im scared il go the completely opposite way and end up with a dog that thinks theyre boss! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also the breeder feeds her Royal Canin dry food. Is this one of the better foods or what better one could she be weaned onto?

Thanks so much for reading.

Frugalista

katie1234 wrote: »

Also the breeder feeds her Royal Canin dry food. Is this one of the better foods or what better one could she be weaned onto?

You haven't even got your pup yet and you're already contemplating changing her diet??? :eek::eek:. Talk to the breeder about your concerns - she is in the best position to know what your pup will do well on - not a bunch of anonymous "internet experts".

There are multiple threads on here about different dog foods and everybody has different opinions on them for a variety of different reasons. For what it's worth, I believe Royal Canin is definately one of the better foods on the market - but, no doubt, someone will be along soon to disagree :cool:.

What everyone will agree on is that you should not mess about with a pups diet when they are so young and at such a crucial stage in their growth and development.

Please discuss your concerns with the pups breeder before you start messing about with her diet.

Sagaris

Have you got any dog training classes in your area? We are taking our 5 year old rescue to classes, the trainer has been invaluable, as well as the classes she keeps in contact via text and Facebook, and sends us links to training videos she does on YouTube.

Someone posted a link to this website http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ which makes interesting reading - our dog was on Wagg when we got her - the trainer recommended Orijen which is considerably more expensive! But the change in our dog has been remarkable - she's a lot calmer on the Orijen and a lot easier to handle.

Good luck with your new puppy! This board is a wealth of information and help and full of nice people.

sarabe

The breeder should give you some food to be going on with. Don't fret about what to feed her. Stick with what she is on for a bit and then do your own research at your pace with regard to diet.

Important things with pups are the toilet training, sleeping arrangements and play.

To toilet train you simply have to make sure that the pup is outside when she needs to go. So take her out when she wakes, when she has eaten, before bed etc and at least every ten minutes when she is active. Don't nag her or distract her but just stay out there until she goes. Once she goes have a game out there or come back in, whatever suits. Don't be tempted to put paper down or puppy pads as this just teaches a pup to pee indoors.

Over night she will need the toilet so best to have her sleeping in a crate beside your bed and then when she wakes you can take her out and then straight back to bed. By having her with you she is less likely to get distressed or to associate bed time and her crate with anything other than sleeping.

Play is the best way to form a bond with your pup and a lot of your training can be done during play. Use a tug toy, tie some string to it so that you can make it exciting and encourage your pup to play tug with you. Then use the tug game as a reward for sitting or waiting or anything else that you want to teach in addition to using food. I usually start with food rewards to teach but quickly move to toy rewards to get them keener.

Oh and don't worry about who is boss. Neither of you need to be the boss.

http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/why-wont-dominance-die

hethmar

The book, Perfect Puppy (amazon have it, or buy it second hand from abe books) would be useful for you.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+Perfect+puppy&x=0&y=0

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=Gwen+Bailey&bi=0&bx=off&ds=30&recentlyadded=all&sortby=17&sts=t&tn=The+Perfect+Puppy&x=25&y=8


Royal canin is one of the better foods.

carefullycautious

To stop urination when you come back from leaving her you must ignore her and not make any contact with her. When she has settled down from the excitement of you returning you can then say hello and give a fuss.

sarabe

carefullycautious wrote: »

To stop urination when you come back from leaving her you must ignore her and not make any contact with her. When she has settled down from the excitement of you returning you can then say hello and give a fuss.

Awwww, that's mean and never necessary in my experience.

Jessw0

sarabe wrote: »

Awwww, that's mean and never necessary in my experience.

We've been doing this to stop ours getting too excited and jumping up, as when he's full size it will hurt. Is there anything you suggest instead?

LibbyR26

Hi,
I can relate to what you are feeling. I went through the same 2 years ago when I got my pup. Like you he was the first dog I'd had solely of my own and was anxious to do things properly.

The best piece of advice I got was about socialising from a friend, who is a vet. According to her up to the age of 14 weeks pups have no natural fear. Although it is a very short window it is an ideal time to introduce the pup to as many different noises, e.g washing machines, hoovers etc, and experiences as possible before they become wary or scared (just think how bold and inquisitive a pup is at that age.)

She suggested that even before he had his last jab, I carry him in my arms up and down the street so that he got used to people stopping to pet him and traffic noise (obviously never putting him down on the ground where other dogs have been.) I also used to drive short distances in the car round the town to get him used to the noise and motion of the car.

Once he was ready to go out, we'd visit friends and I'd invite friends to bring their dogs, so long as they were healthy and not too boisterous, to meet my one. We then went to training classes which again was great for socialising.

He is now 2, is fine with other dogs and humans and settles great in the car. Nothing seems to faze him. I believe the early socialisation definately helped.

Also I found crate training a great help, so long as it used as a safe den for the dog and never ever as a punishment.

Good luck to you both

sarabe

Jessw0 wrote: »

We've been doing this to stop ours getting too excited and jumping up, as when he's full size it will hurt. Is there anything you suggest instead?

I want my dogs to be excited to see me. It must be quite hurtful for a dog to think that you are not pleased to see them too.

There are lots of things that a dog can be taught to do that is incompatible with jumping up. Sit, Down, High five, Rollover, Fetch, Wait... the list is endless.

katie1234

Thanks for your replies. There are no dog training classes in my area so its pretty much up to me im afraid. some good advice for me to crack on with. Im also going to give crate training a go. Ive never crate trained before either so im sure it'l be an experience! Thanks again!