The diary of Charley, everything you need to know about puppies

Teaching your pup to potty outdoors

2013-04-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

This is a delicate problem as you would want your puppy to be able to "do his business" as far away from your carpets as possible :). You should be very patient and understanding with the little one and know that when they are small their mum always cleans after them and they just make the mess anywhere they feel like it. Of course, as they grow, they develop an instinct that tells them "don't pee/poo where you eat". Simple as that.

My strategy was pretty economical and accessible. First, in the room I established for Charley, he made a booboo on the floor, in a corner. No problem...clean it then put some peewee pads in that spot. I used newspapers! Whenever he had "the face" aka. sniffing around and trying to look for a place to do something, I was putting him on the newspapers. If he was getting away from them, put him there again until "the bomb"is released. Praise and get excited and play and talk to your puppy as if he did a miracle and he is a genius! He will immediately understand that it makes you sooo happy when he does that stuff there! If accidents happen and you are not watching, don't say anything to your dog. Just looking at him with a bit of sadness in your eyes, will immediately tell your pup that you don't approve of what he did. Remember they read your emotion, not your words, so there is no need of shouting or getting angry. The result of that will be that your pup will just get scared of you and think that when he does something, you will shout, so he will try to hide from you when he needs to do it, feeling guilty for a natural thing. That is simply not fair!

As the newspaper or pads training goes on, you will learn your dogs potty habits. I read a lot about this topic and my conclusion is that the classical "he will eat and poo after"is not really available for all dogs. Charley will not eat if he is not going potty first, for example. So I have to respect that! At this point, after watching your dogs potty behavior, you can adopt some methods that will help you.

1. You best friend, the kennel or cage. If your puppy is used to go potty AFTER the meal, feed him then teach him to stay in the kennel or cage until you get ready to take him outside. Get him out and wait for them to do what they need. Praise and throw a puppy party when they do, encouraging them, same as the newspaper idea. At this point you can go on both the newspaper and outside, just to make sure no accidents happen in the house in places you don't want them to.

2. Go on trust. Now I bet you noticed how many times does your pup goes. If he goes 4 times a day, then take him out 4 times a day when he starts the sniffing or heads for the newspapers. Again praise and happy cheerful attitude will be necessary.

Slowly start removing the newspaper from your home. Don't let the pup go in the room where he had the newspapers and you will notice that when the time to go out comes, your pup will ask for access in that room. Go out through the outside door. Try to keep the "going out for potty" ritual the same. In our case, when i see him asking to go, I say WAIT then go to the wardrobe to get my jeans on, then jacket then leash then go. Every time try to keep it the same, even if you are already ready to go. Take a trip to the wardrobe, get a jacket and leash and go, even if you don't get these items. As you want your puppy to be consistent, you have to show some consistency also.

Slowly, as your pup develops and grows, their potty needs will diminish. By doing this training, in time, your puppy will learn to ask when he wants to go out, and you will reach your 2 times a day routine. :)

Good luck all and for any questions please leave comments. This is a delicate training process and I am aware I didn't manage to cover all the situations :).

Love,
Alex and Charley

New dog in cat house!

2012-05-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, in our household there are two people and two cats, Leo and Dhalia. Leo is 1 year old and Dalia is 8 months. They are just lovable. Bringing a new member to the family means some degree of stress for everybody! So how do you introduce the pup?

First of all keep in mind that the cats are your babies also and you want them to get along with your new pet! After creating the room or setting the kennel, before bringing the pup home, let the cats explore the grounds, let them try the new toys and have some fun also! It's not fair to deprive them from enjoying themselves and also they will get familiar with the change. Cats are very observant and easy to stress animals so make sure you give them time to adjust.

So you brought you pup at home....let them smell him, let them approach. Curiosity is in their nature. Supervise all the moves they make and their attitude. If their tails are low and they are sniffing, they don't have an aggressive stance and the exploring can go on without exposing the pup or the cats to any risk. Give them some love and encourage the relaxed attitude. By giving attention to them even with the pup in the house, they will not feel threatened by the new ball of fur. They will not lose their mum!

If they adopt an aggressive attitude, the tail and the hair on their back is up and they make "spitting" sound, remove cats and go with them. Leave the puppy with the other house member and stay with your cats trying to calm them down then take to puppy again and keep petting them. Under no circumstance show fear or panic as they can sense this and adopt it in the attitude. Simply remove them from the stress and calm them down or you go and calm down! All encounters have to be in a stress free environment!

Also be aware that the cats will have to teach you puppy some respect! He will try chewing them or nibbling their tail. In these times, the cats will hit him (mine are kicking over the head) not so hard but it pushed the pup back. He needs to learn some limits. As you are trying to teach him not to chew you, they are just doing the same. When you think you are able to trust your cats alone with your dog, supervision is no longer necessary and you will see they will create friendship in no time!

Here are our two lovable kittehs

Anxiety and Nappy time!

2012-05-04T06:16:00.002-07:00

This is a delicate subject that is very important as you need to teach your puppy some independence! You may leave him alone sometimes and you want to make sure that he is comfortable without you!
There are lot of ways you can teach your puppy not to be anxious when left alone, here are the ones that I have experienced and gave positive results!

Make up your mind first weather you want to leave your pup in a kennel, his room or a crate. For the best, you can get your pup used to all the methods!

Kennel or room

Here, your pup must have his basic needs: potty place, fresh water and lots of chew toys to pass the time. also his bed for comfort. As you bring your pup at home and introduce him to that room or kennel, stay with him inside and hide treats and let him explore the place. By finding treats, he will associate the place with food and a good time. Play with your pup inside. As he is focused on some toy, leave the room slowly and come back before he starts crying for you. Increase the time you spend outside and go back and praise him for waiting for you so patient.
If he cries there without you, try to hold yourself from going inside, go just when he stops.
You can use a toy as a "goodbye toy". Give the toy before you go and he will get busy with it then repeat the exercise of you going and coming back. When you get back in the room, take the toy and praise. If you are using kennel, try to come to the room but ignore the pup, do something short then leave again. Sometimes you come and give attention.
REMEMBER: We don't want them to train us as "I'm crying now so you must come". We are the ones teaching them what they have to do.
In his bed it will help you if you leave a t-shirt with your sent on it. The pup will be able to "sniff" you as he is sleeping therefore feel more safe.

Crate

Teaching your pup to sleep or take his time in the crate is very helpful as you might need to transport in the crate and it's also useful for potty training.
Get crate, put a towel inside and your t-shirt for the sent and comfort. Put some toys in there also so your dog will have something to do. Hide treats in there and let your dog explore. Don't force your pup to go in there, you may put your hand inside and give the INSIDE command and praise while the dog is inside. He will catch the sent of the treats and get busy. Leave the door opened and allow your dog to go out and in several time. Play with the crate and pup and repeat INSIDE, praise. Now, as the dog gets sleepy, put him in the crate to sleep. Close the door to the crate and Voila! Crated! It's very important not to stress your dog about the crate. If you see your pup is a bit scared of it, it may be too small or he is not used to it. Leave it in his room for some time and he will get to explore and play inside and outside so it will not be such a foreign object anymore.

Nappy time

Some owners are ok with bringing the pup in the same bed but most of them are not.
Day time naps: try to teach your pup to sleep in his bed or crate, not the sofa or other places. There will be time for that as he grows older but in the first, teaching your pup with his own bed is the best. First of all, that should be his safe place and relaxation place. Even as an adult, they need this feeling so it's best for him to know there is a place for him and just for him.
Night time sleep: As the puppy tends to suffer from anxiety, don't leave him alone at nights! Teach him to sleep in the crate then take the crate near your bed. Be aware that they will need to potty so you have to wake up and take him to the potty place. Later on this will serve as a good exercise for housebreaking. If your pup has difficulty sleeping at nights as most pups do, put a blanket on the door so the pup will not see outside. they will become more relaxed and go to sleep.
Very important:

- at night time, you should just take the pup to potty, wait a bit until they potty and praise by : good boy/girl but don't get excited over it. no play time, no running no anything. the pup should use potty then immediately back to crate to sleep. they must learn night time is for sleeping, not fooling around. this is for your own mental health!

- exercise your dog and play before bed time to make sure they are tired and ready to go to bed. don't force your pup to sleep when he is full of energy, could you do it? Be realistic.

- as they are small they need their sleep in the day time so try not to force your dog to stay awake! Instead, make a schedule that both you and your puppy have to follow. Play time and training time have to be placed with strategy in your pups life!

- make sure your pup is tired when training them to stay alone. they will not get over excited when tired and it will be easier for you to teach and get positive results! even as adult make sure they get exercise before you leave the house to avoid any bad behavior and damages

- DON'T GET ANGRY if your pup is crying! Don't go running to them but anger doesn't solve absolutely anyone any good. It can get frustrating but always hold yourself from shouting or punishing the pup. if he is crying maybe you didn't do something right so start over with the training!
|It's very important to teach your pup what he is allowed to do before you put the entire house at his disposal! Leaving the dog unsupervised can lead to chewing shoes, potty accidents and even injuries to your dog. Make sure you are able to trust your pup before you give full access everywhere.

Games you can play!

2012-05-04T05:38:00.001-07:00

In this section of games there is one important thing that you must consider about your pup! All breeds and all dogs have their own aptitudes! For example some dogs are hunters, some dogs are diggers, some are retrievers! Use this in your advantage as stimulating your pup in his "natural behavior" will result in a more confident, fun and obedient dog in the future! Not to mention play time will be loads of fun! Here are some game suggestions that you can try!

TUG OF WAR!
Basically in this game you have a tug rope, hold one end and the other give to the pup. Start pulling gentle and GAME ON! Your pup will tug! YOU establish the rules and NEVER let your puppy win!
ATTENTION: This game can create aggressive behavior so don't play if you are not sure of yourself!
Use the drop it command while you are playing this game and give treat when your pup is releasing the rope. Don't push the game until your puppy starts growling! Stop the game!

FETCH!
Classical game, fun for everyone! Use a toy or a sock made into a ball that your pup can carry easy! Using heavy objects has no point as your dog will not be able to retrieve it! For this game, call your pup, excite him with the toy you chose and then throw it (not far). Your puppy will run for it and praise him verbally! He will start chewing it and playing so use COME to call him. Use patience as your dog has no idea what you are expecting from him. Show him! Throw, let him run, let him get in and then call again. If your pup brings the toy to you, praise as you never praised before, you can use DROP IT and treat! Some dogs are natural in this game but some may take more time to do it right... If your dog is not bringing the toy, give it in his mouth and bring him back a you! Repeat until result is positive!
You can use the command SIT as you throw the toy as it will calm your dog also and make him focus on you and the game. Later on try to introduce some distractions so that you make sure that your pup will be able to play this outside in a park and have the same amount of fun!

HIDE AND SEEK!
Simple: hide somewhere and call your pup to you! praise when he finds you then repeat!
At first, show your dog where you are hiding to make sure he knows what you are trying to do, then gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise by hiding in other rooms! It's stimulating for your pup and also creates a bond between you!

FIND IT!
This is a game you can play and it's very entertaining for diggers and hunters! Show a treat then hide it somewhere and let your dog find it! The same as in the previous game, show your pup where you are hiding your treat then increase difficulty! Another useful use of this game is when you are buying your pup a new bed or kennel or crate! hide treats inside and let your pup find them. they will associate the new object with fun and treats therefore making it easier for you to teach him to use them!

CHASE ME!

This is simple! Just run around the house while telling his name and the command COME! and run and stop to praise and run some more! :D Later on in the park this is a really good exercise for both master and dog! Be careful not to hurt your dog though! It may be easy to step on him or hit my accident! Keep it safe! Make sure you have a chew toy so that when he catches you, you give him something to chew on a reward!

Training your pup!

2012-05-04T05:01:00.002-07:00

In this chapter there is a lot to talk about. The training starts with the potty (check the potty entry). Also the moment you pup enters your home, start teaching your dog the basic obedience tricks. Teaching your dog can start at an early age and should never stop! It stimulates their brains and it creates a bonding between you and your pup that you will truly benefit from all the time! It's also a great way to spend time with your new pup and it's also making him tired so the sleep will be longer and more healthier.

Correct attitude:
When training your dog, keep a friendly but clear and hard tone! No squeeck or high pitch tone as your puppy will not take you serious! Play time is different than training time! They both must be fun and enjoyable but if you want your pup to listen to you, you must show confidence and determination!

Timing is of the essence here! Praise your pup the moment you notice good behavior!

Using treats and timing your training sessions

As I said in the food and treats, make sure you will not disturb your pups stomach with your treats! The best thing is giving your pup the kibble he is already eating at meals. This means that the training sessions should be before meal time, so you make sure your pup is a bit hungry and will accept your treats! Give the meal at the ending of the training exercises as a big reward for what a good dog you have.
Time your training according to your pup;s age. keep in mind that young pups can't focus so much so you must teach them how to focus on you. Turn off any noise in the home and remove all toys or distractions as first. As your pup is learning commands, introduce gradually some diversions like change the room, turn the tv on, put some toys on the ground, have someone talking near you, etc.

What's my name?

Teach your dog it's name! As puppies they are extremely excited and agitated so the first and most important thing is to teach calm behavior. The method that I used for my over-excited pup is the "airplane method". He learned his name in about two days or so.
Airplane method: get two treats in both your hands. show your dog that you have treats then raise your arms parallel to the ground on the same line as your eyes. Call his name over and over and when they make eye contact, give a treat from one hand. repeat by changing hands so you will avoid focus on one hand. he will not know when the next treat is coming from so he will just look in your eyes. Use the name in absolutely any command you are teaching! If the pup is losing focus, remind that you have some treats by letting them sniff your fists.
Eye contact: This didn't work on my pup but it's also a good method to teach your pup to look at you and calm down. Take a treat in your hand and let the pup sniff and then call the name and raise your hand to your eyes. when you establish eye contact, give the treat and praise.

COME!

The first and most easiest thing you can teach your dog is COME! As puppy it will have a natural tendency to follow you around the house. Use this in your own advantage! when you go, tell your puppy to come and praise when he will! In short time, you will gain control over your pup and it will come when you say!
Other family members should do this! Try a simple exercise: sit on a carpet in a circle (more members) or face to face. Keep a distance between you. Now, by turns call your pup and give a treat! Do this exercise as often as you can and gradually remove the treats and replace with praises and love. We don't want your pup to obey only when you have food! If the puppy doesn't follow you all the time, get a chew toy that your pup loves and call him by clapping, jumping and extra excited! Your pup will surely come to you, then praise and give treat.

SIT!

Call your pup in front of you and show the treat. as your dog is sniffing the treat, raise your hand so that his head will be in up position and push gently on his rear near the tail while saying sit. When your pup is sitting, give the treat and praise! Repeat exercise until the gentle push is not required anymore.

DOWN!

From the sit position, lower your hand to the ground until your pup is laying on his belly. Give the treat and praise then repeat!

DROP IT! - chewing habit

This is a very important command as your pup has a chewing habit. You must understand this habit as his teeth are growing now and it causes discomfort and pain. Just like people! The puppy will nibble at everything, including your hands or clothes or furniture. You must make sure that your pup has lots of toys to chew and you have one all the time when you are holding your pup! As the pup is trying to nibble you, put a toy in his path and praise when he is nibbling it. If he nibbles you, say NO! or OUCH! and replace your hand with chew toy and change your tone to a happy one. We want to make the toys much more interesting than anything so go crazy while playing with them!
The drop it is very a very important command as your puppy will grow knowing when to stop biting and it enables you to stop him from chewing things that they are not supposed to.
This command is a bit difficult to introduce as habit, but possible and necessary!
Give your pup a toy, let him nibble then put a treat in his face and say DROP IT! Your pup will drop the toy and go for the treat. Praise and repeat!
Don't take the toy from your dog's mouth as this will encourage insecurity and lack of trust and angry behavior from your pup!

These are the basic things that all dogs should be taught as soon as possible! Don't forget!

It's important to show your dog what he is allowed to do and create positive behavior than to correct negative attitudes!

Take time and patience with your dog! No shouting or punishment when a mistake is made. Show what is allowed! You are a teacher!

Food and treats!

2012-05-04T04:23:00.000-07:00

Now, at this chapter you must be extremely careful because your new baby's stomach is extremely sensitive!
The moment you bring the puppy home, ask the previous owner what have they been feeding your pup. Get the same food and continue with that.
In case you want to change it, combine the old food with little of the new food. Gradually increase the new food and decrease the old food. This process should happen not only with little pups, but with older dogs as well!

In new pups, giving treats can be also risky for the same reason! What I advice is giving treats from the same food they are actually eating. We will talk about this in the training post more, so please check that out! For starters the best thing is to just praise your dog as they are studying you as well and they are learning when you are happy or when you are sad or angry at them. Use body language!

Make sure that the food you plan to give to your pup is made especially for pups, not adults. As humans, their bodies have different needs according to their age!
The best thing to do is check with your vet and decide together what kind of food is best for your pup.

Another important issue here is setting a schedule for your pup! Set fixed hours in witch they are getting their meals and also make sure you don't over-feed! It's not healthy for your dog at all! Check on the label of the food you buy about the quantities advised or ask your vet!

Pay attention all the time. If your pup is loosing his appetite, check a vet immediately!
Your pup should also have access to clean water for drinking until around 8 or 9 o'clock as you don't want your puppy to go to the bathroom constantly at night time. Food should not be left in the pups room, take it after he finishes his meal and give again at the next meal time. They tend to lack self control and eat as much as they can possibly eat until they throw up and then eat some more. Don't forget you want to teach your puppy everything and self control is really important.

Bringing your puppy home!

2012-05-04T04:08:00.000-07:00

This is going to be one of the most exciting days! the first one at home! Now, if your doggy is too small and didn't have the vaccines yet it's very important to make sure it will not have any contact with ill animals. In this time, taking your pup outside can be a risk you shouldn't take! The first thing you want to do is teach to potty in the correct place! This is a long and hard process that will last for some months and you must arm yourself with patience and understanding.
With their mum, they can go potty everywhere! The mum is cleaning after them. But when we bring it home, then we must show the puppy the correct place to go potty.

Puppy-proof

One of the small rooms in your home should be dedicated just for your puppy! The floor should be easy to wash and any rough edges should be puppy proofed. Make sure your pup can't get hurt while running and playing around. you can use a baby proof gate to keep the pup inside or anything that you can block the door with (we used a piece of wood - make sure it had no splinters or ways to make some!) You can also find some very useful puppy kennel.

Potty time!

In apartment: Cover the room with toilet pads or newspapers, put the bed and clean water in the same room and the feeding should happen in the same place. Now, puppies tend to do their "business" in a corner or far from the living place. In the beginning your puppy cannot control your bladder so accidents will happen all the time. Do not punish your dog in any way! They will learn that you don't like it when they do their business and will tend to do it only when you are not looking or not there!
All the time after they go, change the newspapers or pads and make sure you keep his room clean. Praise is the key to success so praise your doggy every time they potty correct. Once you notice that your puppy chose his place, you can gradually remove newspapers or pads except from his business place. Now, as they are going potty, chose a command like "go potty" that you will repeat whenever you notice your pup is preparing for it. Don't speak or move while the pup is doing it and after praise like he is the most smartest dog in the world! This will help you later when you housebreak your dog.

At home with garden: Here is very important to make sure your lawn is clean and no dogs have been there to make sure your pup will not get any disease. If you choose to housebreak your pup, learn your pups "going" times. Generally most pups will go exactly after they wake up, after meals and after playtime. At night, try to time the puppy's bladder, crate him (we will talk about crating in different post) and when he moans, take to potty area and wait. look at the time and see how often is it happening.

Charley is 1.5 months old so his bladder times is about every 2 hours. For 3 moths pups,generally every 4 hours. Usually pups can hold their bladder the number of the months plus one, but every dog is unique! Learn to read your pups body language and things will be fine!

Good luck and don't forget, patience and praise!!!!

This is Charley on his first day:

Decision of getting a new puppy

2012-05-04T03:42:00.000-07:00

If you reached this blog it already means that you are thinking or already got a new puppy in your home. If you are thinking now to get a little pup, there are a lot of things you must consider like:
- Do I have the time to take care of my pup?
What you need to know here is that the age of your new friend is very important and they require a different approach on the situation. Most of the new owners want to get the puppy at the smallest age they can because, let's face it, they are just simply too cute when they are little. Plus the bonding is more efficient and you will create some very beautiful moments from puppyhood to adulthood. But time is critical here.
The most appropriate age to take the pup from their mum is after 8 weeks. Why? Very simple! they are little babies and they need to be taught manners and discipline. There is no one who can do this better than their mum!
Unfortunately there are lots of pups that either lose their mum or the breeder is separating them too early, sometimes hiding this from you. In this case, what is done is done and now you have a baby in your hands! A puppy that has been separated from the mum too early will require your full attention and I'm talking here about 24/7. So make sure you have the time to give your pup all that it needs.

- What kind of puppy is the right one for me?
Here you have to look at your lifestyle. Are you an energetic person? Then you can get an energetic pup. Are you lazy or love lying around on the couch all day? There is the breed for you also! Do you live in an apartment or have a house with big yard? In the apartment case it's much better to consider smaller breeds or medium ones. In any case, keep in mind that your dog needs lots of exercise, so make sure you have a park or some place you can let your doggy run. It will spare you and your dog from lots of accumulated stress. Do you need a cuddle pup or more independent one? You must consider this aspect if you plan to leave your dog alone (when it grows a bit) for a longer time.

- Do you have any other pets or children?
There are many breeds out there that may not be so tolerant with the way children are expressing their innocent love to them. Before bringing a new pup in your home, make sure that everyone in the household knows what the puppy needs or how it should be loved properly. We are going to talk in a different post about introducing your cat to a new member of the family.

- Do you have the financial possibility to keep a pup?
You must be aware that a new puppy will have a lot of vet needs, from vaccines to all problems that can appear especially if they are really young. Vet bills can be a problem for some families.

If you can cover all these aspects, then you are ready to find your puppy and bring it home!

Hi! Welcome to my blog!

2012-05-04T03:22:00.001-07:00

Hi, my name is Charley, I am a 1.5 month Cocker Spaniel and this is my mummy's blog where she will write everything you need to know about how to teach your 4legged friends tricks, how to potty train, basing care and bonding. Please feel free to ask anything and leave your own comments about our diary-blog with your own experiences and advices. We will answer all your comments!

Here we go then!