Puppy Training Tips: Unlocking Joyful Beginnings Essential Life Skills for Your Puppy’s First Steps

Welcoming a new puppy into your home is an experience filled with excitement. Those tiny, wagging tails and playful antics bring much fun and delight. However, while puppyhood is delightful, it's also a time to embrace responsibility. By encouraging essential life skills such as calmness and ability to settle during these early days, you set the stage for a well-adjusted and happy adult dog. In this blog post, we will explore how to create consistent routines, grow a secure attachment capture desired behaviours, practice alone time, and engage your pup’s curiosity on their first steps!

Puppy Training Tips: Creating Predictable Routines

Establishing a routine helps your new puppy feel secure, however the most important factor is your relationship with your puppy. Aim to be kind and consistent in your approach even when tired or not feeling at your best, this helps to provide a secure attachment and to build a relationship built on trust. Predictable schedules have their place, regular feeding times, playtime, rest, and toilet breaks allow your puppy to know what to expect each day. A consistent structure which promotes sufficient sleep and rest, which for young puppies should amount to 18 to 20 hours each day. Puppies who have insufficient sleep turn into land sharks, your fingers will bear witness to their lack of sleep and Zoomies are almost guaranteed to appear around teatime.

Puppies thrive on routine, so aim to feed your puppy four times a day at the same times. Consistency not only aids digestion but also aligns with your puppy's natural rhythm. For instance, if you feed your puppy at 7 AM, 12 MD, 5 PM and a scatter feed @10PM, they’ll likely need to relieve themselves shortly after each meal.

Creating a calm environment around naptime is also crucial. Helping puppy to slow down by offering things that encourage licking, chewing or sniffing help to calm them, so scatter feeds, licky mats, kongs or long lasting chews help them to relax and wind down. If these are provided in their cosy bed area with soft bedding and dim the lights to signal it’s time for rest you will soon see them drift off to sleep. It's worth noting your pups rest and sleep times to make sure they add up to at least 18 hours, better still 20 as these are recognised as the magic numbers that grow a calm puppy!

Puppy Training Tips: Capturing Desired Behaviours

Training a puppy is one of the most gratifying parts of pet ownership. Capturing and reinforcing desirable behaviours, such as sitting, lying down or playing gently, should be met with immediate praise. This quick response helps your puppy form positive associations with the behaviour.

Utilising positive reinforcement, whether through treats, verbal praise, or petting, fosters a joyous learning atmosphere. Start with simple 'cues' like "sit," "stay," and "come." Each time your puppy naturally offers these behaviours, add a marker word 'Yes' to tell puppy you like what they are doing then reward them promptly. The sooner they get acknowledgment, the more likely they are to repeat that behaviour. Once you have managed to reward or 'capture' naturally offered behaviours several times you can start to add a 'cue ' word to the action, when you see puppy sit, say 'yes', SIT, and reward the behaviour. Adding the hand signal which matches the verbal cue helps too, particularly if you want to communicate with puppy at a distance. After multiple repetitions your puppy will pair the action of sitting with the cue word 'sit' and eventually be able to 'sit ' when asked.

Did you realise your puppy was so clever?

Training sessions should be brief to match your puppy’s attention span, training games should always be fun. Playing a fun training game with puppy whilst the kettle boils to make your cup of tea is ideal. Frequent, enjoyable training games, mixed with 'capturing' desired behaviours builds solid foundations. Research indicates that short, positive training sessions contribute to puppy building essential life skills over time.

Puppy Training Tips: Practicing Alone Time

Encouraging your puppy to feel comfortable with short periods of alone time is vital for their development. While we adore our puppy, it’s vitally important they learn to spend time independently, this is a skill just like any other they need to learn and practice. This skill fosters confidence and can reduce anxiety in the long run.

Begin by creating a safe, comfortable space for your puppy—a puppy pen or suitably sized crate or cosy bed works well. Start with short intervals of around 2 to 3 minutes where you leave them in their space, perhaps give them a long lasting chew but remain nearby. Gradually increase the duration as they grow more comfortable.

When leaving your puppy alone, provide engaging toys and chews to occupy them. For example, a stuffed Kong toy can be filled with treats, then frozen to make it last longer to keep them busy. It helps your puppy that realise that being alone for a while is perfectly fine.

However, if your puppy seems unable to settle alone and shows signs of panic, with rapid heart rate, rapid breaths and or salivating, don't hesitate to ask your vet to refer you for support from a clinical behaviourist to help.

Puppy Training Tips: First Steps Engagement

Every moment with your puppy is an excellent opportunity for bonding. Sleeping close beside them whilst they settle into their new home, a consistent and patient approach helps to build a secure attachment and a relationship built on trust. Engagement with you is the most important aspect of behaviour to be captured and reinforced, loss of focus on you places you in a position where you are unable support your puppy when they need reassurance.

Having training treats or a portion of their daily food allowance in your pockets, dropping some close to you or rewarding puppy for looking at you, help to make you the centre of puppys' world and their focus when they need reassurance.

When you take your puppy on their first outings, carrying them in a puppy sling close to your body offers a safe and secure way to observe the sights and sounds from a distance. Taking puppy to friends who have vaccinated and healthy dogs is also a great way to get started, of course ensuring that puppy is in good health too.

Don't be in a rush to use a lead, puppy practicing walking near to you without a lead, in the house and then in the garden is a great way to build skills and confidence before thinking about a lead. There are lots of 'heeling' games which can be played to build up the skills needed to walk on a loose lead, play them often and mix them up to have a fun time with puppy. You can find lots of 'heeling ' games in my FB group 'Pups and Pooches Puppy Classes', just request to join the group and they are all your to enjoy.

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Your Journey Ahead

Raising a puppy is a fulfilling experience filled with joyful beginnings and lots of time building essential life skills. By focusing on routines which promote rest and sleep, capturing desired behaviours, practicing alone time, and actively engaging in exploration, you are not just supporting the education and development of your puppy—you’re nurturing a lifelong companion.

As you venture into this exciting journey, remember that patience, consistency, and love are your best tools. Investing time and energy now will grow a loyal, happy, and well-behaved family member for years to come. Happy training!

A playful puppy enjoying its safe space.

A curious puppy exploring the outdoors on its first adventure.