Puppy Tips Blog

Ok, so this is my first puppy (that's why I'm asking so many questions on here). She's 5 months old. Anyhow, I want to make sure that she understands that I am the alpha dog/the pack leader. I take her on a couple long walks everyday. We train with her (and she does well). And I've heard to do things like eat first before you feed the puppy to show you're the leader. Any other tips on showing her who's boss?

Training her to be obedient is an excellent way to show your leadership. Once she knows the sit command, use it before giving her anything, like food, a treat, etc. Even tell her to sit before petting her!

Keep her confined to a crate or a certain area of the house at times during the day. Don't let her up on furniture or your bed. You may decide to let her have the run of the house when she's older, and let her up on furniture when she's older, but while she's still a puppy it's important to set limits so that they recognize you as the alpha.

Belly rubs are great to show your authority. If your puppy ever rolls over onto her back for a belly rub, take a moment to scratch her chest and belly. This praises the fact that she willingly went into a submissive posture for you, and it builds the pup's trust in you, knowing you won't harm her sensitive underside.

There are some things people might tell you that you should watch out for. The above methods I mentioned are gentle, trusting ways to teach her that you are the leader, and she will bond to you for them. But there are some methods people use that are NOT gentle, such as the "alpha roll", and this can make a dog lose its trust in you and even become aggressive. Said "alpha roll" is when you grab the dog and force it onto its back, holding it in this position for a time to "teach" it your dominance. Never do this with your puppy.

I just got a puppy from my grandparents and need to get it home in 3 weeks, We will be traveling by car 10 hours. any tips for that travel? I want her to be safe and happy. So any tipe would be very loved. I have only known her a week and she is my world
Stop frequently for breaks.

Keep her collar a little tighter than you usually would (you don't want her slipping out of it at a rest stop) and as much as she hates it, keep her on a leash during breaks.

Keep her in a small crate during the trip - In case of an accident, it's the safest place for her.

Bring extra towels and "clean up" supplies (A jug of water, roll of paper towels, etc.) in case she gets sick.

If you can, break the journey into 2 days and stay at a dog-friendly motel overnight.

I just got a new puppy on saturday. He is 10 weeks old, and will not stop whining, my boyfriend will be holding him and i will walk away and he cries, it is just none stop i need some tips please.

He misses his mum & litter-mates.
The classic trick is to wrap a hot water bottle in a towel.
Another idea is to include an old style alarm clock.
Get him some stuffed toys for company also.
Put all of these into his bed for company.

My mother in-law has just got a little staffordshire bull terrier puppy. She is a lovely little dog but has a habit of biting people and not gently either. She has asked me to ask people for some advice so that is what i am doing. The puppy is 8 weeks old and very hyperactive. She will play nicely but if you go near her she will bite your face hands and gets really aggressive. Anyone got any tips for stopping them. She has plenty of toys and fuss too.

get the puppy to play more with the toys. when she tries to bite hands, tell her a firm 'no' - if she stops, reward her with a treat. she should soon get the message

My friend has a puppy (but old enough to know better by now I would think) who chews on everything when his owner is IN the house. He's in a crate during the day when his owner is at school. He gets taken on a 1-2 mile walk EVERY DAY. About an hour after he's recovered from the walk, he's regained all of his energy and goes a little crazy at night. His owner has tried all sorts of approaches to get him to stop chewing things. He has plenty of chew toys, and when he's told he can't chew on furniture and speaker wires and whatnot, he's given the chew toy instead. He plays with it for a minute then goes back to chewing on furniture. Sometimes he'll even bite the owner (hard), thinking it's a game. When he's put into submission, it takes a good 15-20 minutes to calm him down. I can't think of anymore tips for my friend because he seems to be doing everything consistently already. I'd love some dog training tips/suggestions to pass along.
Please read the details before answering. He DOES have chew toys and his owner DOES take him on long walks. He's had his rabies shot (he was adopted from Humane Society), and his owner shows dominance by putting him into submission. I'll definitely suggest the Dog Whisperer thing about owning the couch. I forgot to tell him about that, and it's worked wonders on my own dogs. Keep 'em coming!

I don't usually believe in hitting dogs but in this instance i would say i would smack it under the yaw. Sometimes convention ways don't work and it sounds like your doing everything right. This puppy just doesn't get it…so help him get it.. The next time he chews on something other than what he is sup post to smack him and drag his ass to his crate and leave him there for a time out (15-20 min). Every time he is caught doing something he is not sup post to you smack him and say no and drag his ass to the crate. Eventually you will only have to say no because the dog will not want the consequences….its as easy as that. Give the dog a consequence for its actions and it will think before it does things.

Just got a new puppy, and it's her first time away from her siblings (2 months old). She spent the entire howling and barking when she was confined. I'm hoping for some tips on how to get a puppy to stop howling and barking at night. I'm afraid she'll wake the neighbors, plus my husband and I aren't getting any sleep.

Sleeping with us isn't an option - she's going to grow to be a large dog. She is a boxer, and we also currently have a male boxer mix that sleeps on the floor in our bedroom (on his bed).

Dogs are essentially pack animals, and the barking and howling are calls to the rest of the pack. She wants to know where the rest of the pack is, and what she could have possibly done wrong to be ostracized from the pack.

Personally, I would let her sleep on the bed for a short while. But as this is not an option in your case, I would suggest the following: put her in a kennel in your room (so she can hear you.) If you put a fuzzy blanket (to imitate fur) , and a small ticking clock (to imitate a heart beat) she may be quiet enough for you to get some sleep.

I just got a puppy a week ago and he sleeps for a little bit, and then wakes up and all he wants to do is play and run around, which i don't want him to because he may go to the bathroom in the house and we are still working on that. I don't want to put him in a kennel because our other dog has free roam of the house, and i want him to be able to as well. I need some good tips! PLEASE! I am losing my own sleep being up with him all night, I knew i would be when i got him but if you have any suggestions that would be great!

my advice is to put him in a kennel. first of all puppies get into trouble and it is dangerous for him to have free roam unattended. crate training is the best way to house train because normally a dog won't go to the bathroom where he sleeps. go to www.mysmartpuppy.com it is run by an incredible dog trainer and he has a great video that could help you out.

I am having trouble getting my 7 month old puppy to come. When I call her she has no interest at all. Any tips?

We just got our second boxer, an 8 week old female. She quickly learned her name and learned to come by taking her outside in our backyard and running a bit away from her. She naturally started to run towards us, so we would crouch down while she was running to us and call her name and say "come here". We did this several times and she made the connection that running towards us is "Coming here". We also made sure to pet her and say "Good girl" several times after she did this so she knew it was a good thing. Hope this helps!!!

Our puppy is two months old and thinks our fingers and toys are chew toys. What are some tips to get our puppy to stop biting. And any other tips for a new puppy!

Tell him no and point to the place where he has been biting and gently hit him on the mouth. Or you can buy some spray that whenever he tries to bite something hes gunna have a sour taste in his mouth and stop biting.

i just got this puppy from my uncle thats only 8 week old and need some tips on how to care for it.a little advice please?

Oh how cute. Is it a mini? Pom's sometimes tend to be snippy if they are over-protected by their humans. Try to socialize the puppy as much as possible. Allow everyone to hold him, pet him and play with him. The more people he interacts with the less likely he will be snippy towards people he doesn't know. Also, a good trick is to hang a bell from the door you let the puppy out of to go potty. Each time you take puppy out for potty break, use his nose or paw to ring the bell. He will eventually learn to ring the bell to tell you it's time for potty break. Also, Pom's are fast. Teach him a "code word" that will stop him dead in his tracks. i.e.., "cookie" (meaning treat), "let's go by, by", something that when he hears, you catch his attention and he will run back to you.