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Ask friends/family to meet your new puppy. If your puppy seems shy/timid around new people, give your friend some treats and ask them to drop the treats on the ground for the puppy to eat. They can gradually work toward offering treats from their hands, but take it slow if the puppy seems nervous about the new person. Never let anyone force their attention on your puppy as this only heightens their fear of strangers. Once your puppy is vaccinated you can start to take him/her out to public places that don’t have a lot of dog traffic, such as a walk in your neighborhood. Keep your puppy away from places like dog parks, pet stores, and other popular dog places until they are fully vaccinated as these locations put your puppy at higher risk of contracting a contagious disease. If your puppy seems extremely timid around new people please let us know so we can help you with further training tips. 

Expose your puppy to different sounds and objects both within your home and outside. You may have to start at low levels or from a distance. Using treats just as you did with new people is helpful. If your puppy seems fearful of sounds like thunder, you can use an app on your phone to play the sound while you adjust the volume. Always start at a level where your puppy shows zero fear and only work very gradually at increasing the volume/distance. If your puppy starts to show fear, back off the volume, give him/her lots of treats then try again later. This may be a slow acclimation process but it’s worth it. When your puppy is old enough, bring treats along and walk him/her past a playground where children are having fun. You don’t need to let a bunch of children pet your puppy if he/she seems fearful, but get your puppy used to the sounds of children playing, trucks passing, garbage trucks working, etc.

If your puppy is struggling with any of these socialization/handling exercises please let us know so we can work with you on a plan specific to your puppy.

You can introduce housetraining basics to your puppy as soon as they begin eliminating on their own. However, it will likely take a couple of months before they are reliably giving you signals that they need to go outside to potty. If your puppy is already close to 6 months and has been living in the shelter they are just starting potty-training and, just like a younger pup, it could take a couple of months. 

Setting up a schedule your puppy can rely on will help him learn faster. Take your puppy out first thing in the morning, within 20 minutes of eating/drinking, after an indoor play session with you, as soon as they wake from a nap, and right before bed. More/frequent outings during the day will help your puppy hold it longer at night, however you should expect to get up in the middle of the night as most puppies cannot hold it all night long. 

Give your puppy plenty of time to potty by staying with them outside for at least 15 mins, if necessary. Give your pup lots of praise and treats every time they potty outside. Make them think it’s the best thing they have ever done! If you’ve been outside with your puppy for 15 mins and they don’t potty but it’s been 2 hours since their last time peeing, return inside but put your puppy in their crate (or confined area) for 10 minutes, then take them outside again. Repeat the outside/crate process until they have pottied outside, at which time they can have supervised time outside the crate with you (a double reward).

While in the process of housetraining, make sure you have eyes on your pup at all times. The second they start to go, you can lightly clap your hands to interrupt them (don’t yell or frighten your pup) then quickly walk them outside. Remain neutral until they’re outside, and as soon as they start to finish their business out there you can reward! If you are preoccupied with other tasks while inside, limit their access to your home. Use a crate or exercise pen to keep them from wandering around unsupervised. 

Dogs tend to want to potty where they smell themselves or other dogs so it’s important to thoroughly clean up any accidents. Use an enzyme-based cleaner to completely eliminate the smell. Simple Solution and Nature’s Miracle are 2 such brands. This link provides some useful information on cleaning urine odors and stains.

Successful crate training opens up a lot of options for you and your dog, both within obedience and behavior training as well as life in general. A dog properly acclimated to the crate is going to be far less stressed during travel, boarding, or overnight stays at the vet. Crating can prevent destructive chewing and assist in potty training. The structure provided by crating can also reduce minor separation anxiety. The most fundamental and vital thing to remember about crate training is the crate is never a punishment. The crate needs to be a comfortable and pleasant space for your dog. Some puppies accept the crate in no time at all however some puppies are a bit more fearful in the crate and need a slower acclimation process. 

Choose a crate that is big enough for your pup to stand up and easily turn around. Puppies in the process of house-training should not have much more room than that. If you want to purchase a larger crate to accommodate your growing puppy, use a divider until they have grown into the larger crate. Some crates come with a wire divider-panel, or you can stuff an inexpensive large pillow/cushion in the back of the crate while your puppy is still small, then remove it when they grow. Plastic and metal wire crates each have their pros and cons, but the choice largely comes down to preference (either the dog’s or the human’s). Some dogs like the closed-in plastic crates while others do better with more visibility in wire crates. Go with what works best for you and your pup! 

Food is an excellent training aid. Even if your dog isn’t highly food motivated, you can still use this basic necessity to your advantage. Start feeding your puppy in the crate. Try placing the food bowl at the back of the crate but leave the crate door open. Let your puppy enter/exit at his will. If your puppy is showing too much fear of the crate then begin by setting the bowl in front of the crate. Over the next several days (or longer, depending on the dog’s comfort level) gradually move the bowl further into the crate. Let your puppy eat a few meals in the crate and then work on closing the crate door when he is fully in the crate and seems relaxed. Once they’ve reached this point, you can begin closing the door while they’re eating. At first, open the door once they’ve finished. As you progress, start taking a pause between their last bite and opening the gate. Lengthen this pause over several mealtimes until they can stay in the crate calmly for up to ten minutes after eating. If at any point they begin to bark or cry or paw at the gate, you are moving too quickly. Reduce the amount of time you are waiting to open the door and progress more slowly. 

Start crating your puppy outside of mealtimes. In the beginning, they should be able to see you while in the crate. Toss some treats or a toy in the crate and start giving a name to the act of going into the crate (such as “crate” or “kennel”). Wait a minute or two (walk across the room, pick up toys, sit on the couch—this doesn’t have to be while you are standing right in front of the crate, so long as your pup can see you) and then let them out. Do this multiple times throughout the day and slowly increase the amount of time. Once they can relax quietly in the crate for up to thirty minutes (this could take several days) start leaving the room. Once you’ve worked up to at least thirty minutes of calm, quiet crate time with no one in the room, you can start leaving the home for short periods of time with your pup crated. 

No matter how much we want to coo over our pups when we leave and how we want to match their excitement when we come home, it’s important we keep our comings and goings calm and low-key. You want to reinforce the idea that your being gone was no big deal. When you do let your dog out of the crate, make sure they don’t have a chance to shove past your hand the second the gate is unlatched. Block the exit with your body and the gate until you give a release cue (e.g. “free”). 

Ideally, we don’t want to crate a dog for longer than they’re used to. Realistically, many of us have full time jobs away from home and still want to prevent destructive behaviors and potty messes all over the place. There are ways to work around this reality without ruining our progress with the crate. You can keep your pup in a bathroom or laundry room where they can’t get into anything that might hurt them. Using a baby gate in the doorway allows the puppy to see out but not get out. Give them some old towels or blankets to sleep on, but make sure things like trash cans and toilet paper are out of reach. Another option is to buy a plastic playpen or metal exercise pen to keep them contained in a specific area of the house. (Click this link for an example of an “x-pen”). 

We want to teach our puppies what they ARE allowed to chew on, not just the don’ts. If you catch your dog chewing on something they shouldn’t, offer them an appropriate toy or chew instead. While your dog is in the process of learning these dos and don’ts, offer lots of praise any time your dog picks up something they are allowed to chew. 

There is an adage that “a tired dog is a good dog”. Sometimes a dog chews for no other reason than they are bored (as one might chew on the cap of a pen in a dull meeting). It’s important to make sure your dog has not only plenty of physical stimulation, but mental stimulation as well. Mental stimulation can include training games (learning sit, down, shake, etc.), puzzle toys, or even a kong stuffed with tasty treats (peanut butter, pumpkin puree, and plain yogurt are a few ideas). When you’ve had enough play time with your puppy but he/she still has tons of energy, give them a puzzle toy that takes them 15 minutes to complete to help tire them out and give you some peace. Always monitor what you give your puppy to assure they aren’t able to chew off and swallow pieces that may be a choking hazard or cause an obstruction. Here is a link to some mental enrichment ideas. 

Puppies play with their mouths. If you’ve ever seen puppies play together, it’s all mouth-on-mouth and biting each other’s ears, paws, etc. Your puppy likely wants to play with you in just the same way. While it’s understandable, those puppy teeth are sharp and it hurts! It’s up to us humans to teach them that doing so is not acceptable when engaging with people.

Remember that your puppy doesn’t know what you want until you teach them. If you only correct the bad behavior they are left wondering what to do. Make sure you reward your puppy for grabbing a toy instead of your hand by praising and playing with him/her. If you’ve just left your puppy alone for mouthing on you and he/she follows you in a calm manner, take the time to reward this calm approach with praise and playtime. At first this may mean a lot of on/off of your attention but keep it up and your puppy will soon learn how to get what he wants (which is your attention). 

Note: ignoring is also a great tactic for attention-seeking barking, but be sure to reward when your pup is being quiet and calm.

Puppy jumping is usually greeted with enthusiasm and affection but when your puppy grows up, it’s no longer fun to have them jump on you or others. Now is the time to teach your puppy that it’s not ok to jump on people.

Never reward any dog for jumping. In fact, we want to engage them as little as possible. Our natural inclination is to tell them “no” and push them away but even a stern “no” or “eh eh” is a form of attention and many dogs consider pushing them away to be a form of play so resist the urge to do that.

If your puppy approaches you without jumping up, be sure to reward that with praise and affection. If your puppy knows “sit”, give them that command and give tons of praise/affection for knowing how to “sit”. If your puppy starts to jump up, turn and walk away again. Your puppy may be a bit confused at first but they will soon figure out that the only way to get your attention is to have “four on the floor”. As with all puppy training, consistency is key so everyone in the family (and your friends) must follow this same training technique.

With enough repetition of these steps, your puppy will pick up on the pattern: “four on the floor” = attention; jumping = no attention. To puppies, it’s really that simple. As your dog begins to show an understanding and offers a sit in a situation where they would usually jump, lavish them with praise and other rewards.