PUPPY’S FIRST MONTH AT HOME (8-12 weeks)

Toulous 6wksDuring the first month that your puppy is at home, you need to teach him:

 

· To enjoy spending time at home alone

· To thoroughly enjoy the presence and actions of people

· To perform a few basic obedience commands

The clock is ticking and you only have a month to get a lot of things done.

Once you have taught your dog some household manners, it is time to teach you dog to enjoy spending time when left at home alone.

The Critical Period of Socialization ends by three months of age! This is the crucial developmental stage during which puppies learn to accept and enjoy the company of other dogs and people. Thus your puppy needs to be socialized to people by the time he is twelve weeks old. However, since his series of puppy immunization injections is incomplete at this point, a young pup needs to meet people in the safety of his own home. As a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to have met at least a hundred different people before he is eight weeks old and then meet an additional hundred people during his first month at home. Not only is this easier to do than it might sound, it's also lots of fun.


Lure/reward dog training techniques are easy, efficient, effective, efficacious, expedient, and downright enjoyable, so why not teach your dog to come, heel, sit, lie down, stand and roll over?

Adapted from AFTER You Get Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar

‹ ERRORLESS CHEWTOY-TRAININGupHOME ALONE ›
 

Articles in this Chapter:

HOME ALONE

All owners find it occasionally necessary to leave their puppydog at home alone. So before leaving your puppy for long periods, you should teach him how to amuse himself appropriately when left alone, such as by chewing stuffed chewtoys, and learning how to enjoy his own company without becoming anxious or stressed.

 

SOCIALIZATION WITH PEOPLE

Socialization

As a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to meet at least a hundred people before he is three months old. Since your puppy is still too young to venture out on the streets, you'll need to start inviting people to your home right away. Basically, you'll need to have lots of puppy parties and invite friends over to handfeed your pup and train him for you.

Doggy Dream or Nasty Nightmare?

 

BASIC MANNERS



Give every guest a bag of training treats so that your puppy will be inclined to like them from the outset. Show your guests how you use your puppy's dinner kibble to lure/reward train him to come, sit, lie down, and roll over. Ask your puppy to come. Praise him profusely as he approaches and give him a piece of kibble when he arrives. Back up and do it again. Repeat the sequence several times.