Your quest to learning to train a puppy is all about being organized and taking lots of notes. That may sound very simple and basic but don’t glaze over and ignore it, as it’s a very useful record of what has worked, and shows you exactly what your dog responds to. Taking notes is a means of recording what has worked well for your puppy, and anything that proved harder than expected. No matter what you do in life - the fundamentals are the same. And puppy training is no different - planning is time well spent to ensure hitting a home run otherwise you’re simply planning to fail. It’s worthy of some time and effort.
Organizing your plan of attack needs to be at the top of your priority list when you start train a puppy, as it will make a big difference when relocating a young dog or puppy to his new strange new world from his comfy and secure home with his mother. A young pup can suffer separation anxiety during the first few days of leaving his mother and playmates, and he is thrust into an entirely new environment where there is nothing but unfamiliar people and strange smells.
And it’s not just puppies and young dogs. Even adult dogs are somewhat bewildered by all the changes that seem to be taking place in their lives. Don’t forget your dog will need lots of reassurance when you take him away from his old home; he just sees a new and quite worrying place with none of his friends.
If you have the time, take a few trips to meet your pup while he’s still at his “old place”. He will already know you this way when he moves in with you. When you start out, training your puppy you’ll find he’s much more eager to learn being that you’re good friends already. If this is not practical, you can always take a piece of his current house to his new home, like maybe a piece of clothing that he’s slept on, or anything that will help the dog adjust to his new surroundings and get used to being in an alien environment without the familiar smells and faces.
Without doubt, the ideal time to bring home a new dog or puppy is when you can give him several days on undivided attention. You need to be at home all day. A holiday period - a long weekend - or even take a few days off work. He’ll settle down a lot quicker if you’re there with him 24-7. You need to have at least a couple of days at home and help the newcomer get over his homesickness blues.
As humans, we prepare, decorate and equip the home for a new baby where we buy all the things we’ll need for the babies needs, training a puppy is just the same. You should do the same for your new family member.
Section off a specific area for your new pup when he moves in. This will help him settle in, as this will help a lot come house training time too as accidents can easily be cleaned up off the tile floors of these rooms. Where possible, in the kitchen makes great puppy real estate because there is normally a good deal of traffic and noise, which helps to accustom the newcomer to day-to-day living in your household.
Before you moved your new puppy in with you, he was used to lots of playmates. Having left them behind he will feel lonely and insecure and it will be up to you to compensate for the absence of his siblings. But equally important - you can’t let him get away with murder for a couple of days, and then suddenly expect him to start following rules that prohibit him from doing exactly those same things. Puppy house training needs to start on day 1. The day you bring him home, start his training.
Being permissive in this respect is not being kind, as it will confuse him when he finally does start. The processes we use in training a puppy work well for puppies and fully grown dogs too. Being homesick and lonely is not just a puppy issue. Your new dog will need lots of love, training and discipline as soon as he comes home with you. But you’ll get your just rewards with a happy and well behaved dog.
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