For convenience, we will refer to your dog as “she” rather than “he or she”.
Your new puppy needs to be about eight weeks of age before she is considered old enough to leave her mother and other birth companions and join a new household. At this age she can soak up information at a very fast rate, with rapid absorption up to about sixteen weeks of age. Commence her training straight away with our puppy training tips, beginning with toilet training which should commence on day one.
Learn to anticipate her toilet needs and times. Most experts encourage owners to establish a suitable outside area for toileting, such as a convenient patch of grass or soil. Thoughtful owners will take their puppy outside as soon as the puppy wakes up of a morning, before and after she eats, after she has had something to drink, and last thing at night. These owners are also alert to signals that the puppy gives out, such as walking in circles, smelling the floor or scratching at the door, that she needs a toilet break. If this occurs, take her outside to the selected spot and let her do her job.
Much of her personality is formed during these early weeks. This is the ideal time to build a good and positive relationship between you and your puppy. This will assist you in teaching her which behaviours are acceptable and which behaviours are not. She must quickly learn to look to you for guidance and direction and discipline, and come to realise that you are the one in charge. When you establish yourself as being a caring yet firm and consistent person, she will quickly learn to listen to you and take notice of your instructions and show you respect. You will then be effective in teaching her good behaviour techniques, instead of having her pick up bad habits which will frustrate both you and your puppy.
Your puppy cannot know the rules she must learn to abide by if you do not instruct her, and assist her to learn them, and then reinforce that teaching and learning in later training sessions. Repetition is a wonderfully effective means of teaching. Make sure that what she is repeatedly shown is the good behaviour you want her to learn and adopt, because repetition can just as effectively cement bad habits in place. All puppies are playful so it is crucial that you set the boundaries at the start and that you instruct her clearly what these boundaries are.
We wish you every training success and years of enjoyment for both you and your dog.
