The puppy is here

Small dogs are incredibly adorable and bring bundles of joy. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that you take a lot of responsibility with your new mentee. The cute puppies need a lot of attention and affection in their first phase of life. TOBALIE would like to tell you what you should keep in mind when dealing with puppies.

What you should know about puppies

First of all, the newcomer has to get used to his environment: Let your puppy arrive and give him enough time to explore his new home in peace. Don’t invite people for the first few days and don’t start big trips. Otherwise, the baby dog may quickly feel uncomfortable. As a rule, puppies need about three days to settle into their new home.

Observe your little pal and respond to his needs: An insecure puppy may take a long time to settle in successfully. If your baby dog is visibly comfortable, he’s ready for anything else. The golden rule is: be patient!

First steps for a happy home

• Puppy WC: Establish a place where your puppy will be able to scat in the future. You don’t have to go for a long walk. Show your puppy the most suitable spot in the garden or in front of your house/apartment and reward him there for every visit to the toilet. So your puppy will quickly accept his “toilet” and learn to love it. But not all dogs are the same: Some puppies understand faster than others, where they may scat or not. In the beginning, it can happen that he tinkles into your apartment. Don’t pay any further attention to such kind of bloopers, take the puppy out of the room and clean up the Oops-a-daisy. To avoid mishaps, it sometimes takes several weeks of training. As a rule of thumb, make him go to the toilet always after eating, playing and sleeping.
• Home sweet Home: First explore one room with your puppy, then the other. Don’t show him all at the same time, that could overtax the puppy.  In the beginning, you should spend a lot of time with your darling on the floor. On a soft ground or cuddly blankets you can make the first time together especially comfortable. Your little bundle of joy should relax and sleep a lot.

A clumsy baby dog becomes a self-confident puppy

The socialization phase of puppies lasts usually up to the twelve- fourteenth week of life. It is good for your treasure to meet different people, objects, sounds, dogs and other living beings. Your darling should be relaxed and curious and never become anxious or restless. Remember that everything is new, exciting and sometimes creepy for him. Look at the scary things with him together and reward him. A good socialization is essential for everything else. In this way your puppy will learn to walk through life self-confidently. Fears and insecurities are the main cause of aggression. A good socialization is the best preventive measure against aggressive behaviour in dogs.

It is important to start early to teach the dog a good bite inhibition. In this way you can teach your dog how to handle human skin with care: Because we humans do not have a protective coat and are hurt accordingly a lot faster.
This works best when playing with a soft toy, for example a cord or a piece of fabric. As soon as the tooth of the young dog touches the skin or the clothes of the person, the game is broken off briefly. It is important that you always give your puppy a sense of achievement. Design the game so that your treasure wins most of the time. Of course this training should also be continued with other dogs. By giving your little buddy the opportunity to interact a lot with sovereign, older and well socialized dogs, you create a solid basis for a healthy self-confidence.

Playful learning with the puppy: Tips for the right training

When playing, make sure that you always pull the toy away from the puppy in a straight line if he has already bitten it. Otherwise the game could lead to back problems in the neck of your puppy. In addition, stopping the game should not be frightening for the whelp. The puppy also learns to understand calming signals in playing with other pups. This is how your darling learns and practices various behaviour patterns for later life. Teach your little friend step by step what he will need later in life, but don’t overtax your new roommate. He still needs a lot of sleep to process what he has learned. It is also important to work positive and about reward, because aversive training methods quickly destroy the trust in you. Your darling should have fun learning instead of fear punishment.