Puppies are so cute when they first arrive all full of fluff and bounce and ready to show how loyal best friends they can be. There are some common mistakes though that many dog owners commit which can spoil the fun in this awesome human and dog relationship. Read on to find some things you should and shouldn’t do when raising a new puppy.
Take him on car rides not only to the vet but also to the park to play, visit friends or grocery-shopping.
Instill in him that car rides are not only for vet visits to be vaccinated and investigated, but for fun too. Give him a treat for behaving in the car. Give him lots of praise after the car ride and he’ll grow to love car rides too.
Many dogs hate being handled
One of the most sensitive parts of their body is their paw. Handle-train him by cleaning his paws or cutting his nails early on. It will make him feel comfortable with handling and give you less behavioral issues in the future. The more loving touch you give your puppy early on the better he will accept touch when he grows up.
Expose your puppy to different people, places and other animals as early as you can.
This prevents different kinds of anxiety and aggression. The more interaction your puppy has with other animals and people the better off he will be. Just keep in mind that he senses your feelings and body language, so make sure when you introduce your pup to other dogs and humans that you yourself keep calm.
Your puppy has to have a balanced diet of nutritious dog food as recommended by the vet.
Do not allow him to hang around the dining table while you are eating with the family. If he is, do not feed him any scraps of food from your plate. Doing this will make him beg for food from different people at different places at inappropriate times. What’s worse, this will introduce him to an unhealthy habit, resulting in indigestion issues and obesity. Not only that but there are many human foods that are toxic to dogs so you especially want to avoid those.
Remember that your puppy’s behavior and performance depends on his training.
Have you been a good trainer to your pup? We all like to think we are but sometimes our desire to have the best trained puppy can backfire. Do not pressure him to learn everything overnight. We all want to rush to implement all the cool tricks we learned on how to potty train a puppy as fast as possible but when you pressure him, you are stressed. And this stress is radiated toward him. The more stressed he is the less likely he will learn what you are trying to teach him. Be patient.
Dogs do not understand words unless trained. They understand body language.
And when he does not do something that you asked him to, it must be because he did not understand it or got confused. Spanking or hitting him won’t do the trick. He will just get more confused, scared and develop behavioral issues like resorting to aggression. Instead, give him rewards for behaving and shower him with praise to boost his confidence.
Dogs are social animals. It is in their nature.
Leaving your dog alone will cause behavioral problems and socialization issues. If you cannot be home for a while, at least play some of this relaxing music for dogs that can help keep him calm.
You can also ask a family member or colleague to drop by your dog every now and then to check on him. He needs to interact. Of course it is always best if someone comes over to feed him and allows him to do his toilet business – no one wants surprises when you get home.
Aside from this, his crate training is important especially when alone. He should have his own private space to run to and stay in when he wants to be alone and have his own zone.
The biggest thing to keep in mind when raising a new puppy is to do it with love. You really can’t mess up too bad if you make sure you give your pup a loving environment to grow up in.
