Puppy training: Where do we start?

Sifting through puppy training tips online can be a bit of minefield. There is so much information out there on toilet training your puppy, stopping your puppy from biting, crate train8ing etc etc. and it can be hard to know which source to trust. Especially when so much of that information is conflicting. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your puppy training look, here are the three pieces of information that will make owning a puppy 100 times easier.

Sleep is your number one priority when raising puppies.
Puppies need a whopping 18-20 hours sleep every day until they’re around six months old. When they don’t get this much sleep they struggle with emotional regulation (sound familiar?). This then means we get more biting, more barking, more frustration and reduced ability to learn, respond to cues, and rest.

An over tired puppy is a wired puppy.

Keep track of their sleep and make sure they have a calm quiet spot to rest in during the day. If they’re struggling to get to sleep, a few minutes of scent games or some time spent with a long lasting chews can help get them into that sleepy state.

Walks are not the only way to provide mental and physical exercise
We often find people struggle most with their puppies when they’re unable to go for a traditional walk, often before their puppies vaccinations because the puppies are lacking mental stimulation. But the truth is, a walk around the block is more likely to overstimulate your puppy than tire them out. So what do we do instead?

Play games with them at home and in the garden. The best way to use extra energy is to get them using their noses! When they are able to go out, instead of a walk take them for an ‘outside experience’. Puppies benefit most from being able to watch the world from a distance and explore at their own pace. Find a quiet spot, pack a longline and let them watch and explore.

Chewing Chewing Chewing
Your puppy needs to chew. If we don’t provide outlets for this need they will find their own things to chew, it might be your table leg, it might be your hand but they will find something to put in their mouths. Make sure they have access to a variety of different textures to chew on. Natural long lasting chews are a good place to start, but you can also look at what they chose to chew and provide similar textures. If they keep going for wooden furniture, trial coffee or olive wood chews as a replacement. 

Puppies explore the world with their mouths and the number one rule of puppy raising is, if you don’t want it in the puppies mouth, keep it out of their reach.

When teething is at its worst, a frozen carrot is great for soothing sore gums