Spring is here and puppy sales are at their highest. Breeders tend to have more litters in spring and summer due to the weather, mainly because warmer temperatures are more conductive to healthy pups. If you are a first-time puppy buyer, here are a few tips to help make the transition of bringing a new pup home easier.
First, buy a dog crate. The airline-approved plastic type work well, as do the metal cage type. Take into account how big the dog will become when it is full-grown. There is no real advantage to buying a crate that fits the pup, then buying another larger one later. The crate will assist you in house training the new pup also. Place the pup in the crate at bedtime and whenever you are leaving the pup unattended. A young pup does not know the rules of the house. It may chew things it should not, or get on furniture, or relieve itself in exactly the wrong place. By placing the pup in the crate when you are leaving, you eliminate the unpleasant experience of coming home to mass destruction by your happy little pup. Discipline should be loud and vocal, not harsh and physical, and only when you are able to witness the infraction.
At as early as eight weeks, I start setting the parameters for the pup. I also start using the same commands that I will use for the rest of the pup's life. "Stop it!" is a useful one and should be said firmly and loudly when the pup is caught in the act of misbehavior. Let's say if the pup is chewing on the corner of the couch and you walk into the room. Say in a gruff voice “stop it!", then move the pup away from the spot he is destroying. Give the pup one of his chew toys and speak to him in a soft, soothing and friendly voice while petting him. At this age, puppies are not able to understand language, but voice tones and body language will get your point across. All dogs of any age should have toys and chew things to play with. Young pups under six months should not be given rawhide or bones. There is a lot of discussion as to whether dogs should be given bones at all. Pieces of bone can break off and become lodged in a dog's throat or intestines. I give my dogs large bones that I have baked in the oven at three hundred degrees for an hour to kill off any parasites. I can usually get these bones at the meat counter of the super market, sold as soup bones. Cow knee and shin bones have worked well for me. Do not give pork or chicken bones to a dog because they can splinter and become lodged in their throat. I know people who have had this problem with steak bones as well. Rawhide chews are much safer but watch out for ones that are bleached excessively, as they may upset the dog's stomach. There are nylon chew bones on the market that work very well and are much safer for young dogs.
Stuffed animals and squeaky toys are good to have around for when the pup is chewing something it should not. Remove the puppy from the spot of the infraction and if it is chewing something that can be picked up and removed from the area, do so. Then replace the object the pup should not be chewing with either a nylon chew bone or one of the other toys you have purchased for him. The act of chewing is necessary for dogs of all ages. It helps to relieve stress or boredom and is important in the teething process.
Bonding with the pup is important at this time, and that essentially means spending time with it. Pick the new pup up on a Saturday morning so that you will be able to spend a lot of time with it for a couple of days. For the first couple of nights that a new pup spends in my house, I will sleep on the couch with the pup curled up on me. This really accelerates the bonding process. Remember that puppies have spent all of their short lives with plenty of company and attention. You should make a point of having everything ready before you bring the new pup home. Crate, blanket, newspapers, toys, bowls and puppy chow all should be set up for the new arrival. When putting a pup in a crate while you are away, make a nest in one corner for sleeping and make sure you have a grate on the cage bottom to keep the pup out of any messes that will surely appear.
Eventually as the pup grows, it will not want to mess in the crate and house training will be made easier. Try not to get into the habit of teaching the pup to go in the house on papers. It is easier to train them to go outside right from the start. Buy a collar that fits the pup. Most stores will allow you to bring the dog in for proper fitting. Unlike the crate, you will end up buying new collars as the old ones are out-grown. A collar will give you a handle to hold onto the pup so as not to injure it when the need arises to take control. A light leash, preferably six feet in length, should be used when taking the pup out to go to the bathroom. I use a light choke chain at this time so the pup cannot slip out of a regular collar, but I only use it when on-lead.
I get calls from people with young pups that are eight to fourteen weeks old who want to start some type of training. Play retrieving can start at this age. A wing on a fishing pole will help the pointing breeds to demonstrate pointing instinct. Twitch the wing in front of the pup. If it lunges after the wing, flip it out of reach. Do not let the pup catch the wing when doing this. Put the leash on the pup and throw a wing a short distance, say four or five feet. This wing should not be attached to a string. Say 'fetch' and let the pup chase and catch the wing. Then coax the pup back to you using a high-pitched, friendly voice saying 'come'. If needed, reel it in with the leash, all the while saying 'come' in a friendly, high-pitched voice. The earlier you start the pup carrying a feathered object, the better. If you can get pigeons or quail, kill and freeze a couple for these retrieving sessions. Fresh-killed and still-warm birds are the best.
Teaching a pup to sit at this time is good also. I do not recommend teaching a young pointing dog to 'heel' yet, at least not until the check cord work is finished on birds. Retrievers should be taught to ‘heel' early. For all the bird hunting breeds, I first teach a command of ‘stay close' instead of ‘heel' on the leash. The ‘stay close' command will become very important as the dog grows large enough to run out from the handler at a greater distance then is desired.
The last bit of advice I give to new owners is to take your pups on walks. Do this off-lead and in areas where the pup will not have too much trouble walking. Save the heavy cover for when it is old enough to get through the cover. Try to do this in an area where you and your pup can be alone, and start early before the pup is big enough and bold enough to go to far from you. You will be setting a pattern of you being the leader and that the two of you are out together as a team. A young pup will look to you for protection and most will be afraid of getting lost. The older and bolder the pup, the more important a name tag on the collar will be.
Good luck with your new family member and remember to have fun with the training process. A sense of humor and plenty of patience are the two greatest assets to successful training.
Charlie Linblade
Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club
Michigan Pheasant Hunting
Michigan Bird Dog Training
