Congratulations on your new puppy, or maybe you're planning on getting a puppy in the not too distant future, either way. New puppy ownership can be challenging. We often say here on the channel, if you fail to plan you plan to fail.
What I like to say is it's easier to prevent bad behaviors than it is to fix them. And that's why in today's video instructor, Lauren and little Maxdon't want to make a little Max wait any longer. He's starting to get anxious.
So let's dive into things on that note. I'm Ken Steepe, I'm instructor Lauren, and this is Max. Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
Bringing a puppy home can be such a roller coaster of emotions, especially during that first week where everything is so overwhelming. You know, you're super excited to have this puppy, but then you start to wonder, what do I do? And when should I do it?
So in this video, I'm going to help you through that because I've had Max for about 10 days now, and I can completely relate to those emotions. Now, before we get into the five things that you're going to do this week with your new puppy the biggest thing that I want to hit home with you guys is to make sure that you're using a leash on your puppy, especially for outside puppies are so curious. They get into everything.
They're picking up rocks, they're picking up leaves, sticks, and who knows what else. So you want to make sure that you do have that leash on so that they can't just pick it up and take off. This is going to be your best management tool.
Now for inside. You can definitely use the leash as well, but sometimes I find that the handle of the leash gets stuck on furniture. So what we actually use inside, and this is a bit of a secret.
So come here, a couple of others have something for you, okay? This is what we call a help line or a white line. This is a nice, thin nylon web line.
And it simulates the puppies being off-leash here are going to show you five tips that you need to be aware of for your first week home instructor. Lauren's going to talk about some foundational training exercises. She's going to talk about management for your puppy and the ever-important potty training.
Now I . It's super light when it's on their color. This is our well, not so best kept secret because we share with everyone about puppy training.
You want to have something like this on your puppy, in the house all of the time, this is a hundred percent when they're out of their crate, obviously in the crate, you can take it off, but whenever they're out in the house, they need to have something like this on so that you can control them and manage their behaviors. Making sure they're not getting into trouble for purpose of this video, I'm going to be working Max on my leash here instead of using the line we recommend that you have a six foot leash. Now, if you're using this in the house, you can go and get yourself just a little cheap leash.
And we recommend that you cut the handle off that way. It's not getting caught on furniture, but that will work just fine within the house. So let's jump into it and get started with your training.
One of the first things that I work on with my young puppies, right from the day that I get them is taking food gently because it's not very nice to do any sort of training when I'm getting puppy teeth on my fingers, especially the nail beds or it's the most. So the first thing I on is having them take that food nicely. Now a couple of things before you start with the puppy, you want to pay attention to the food that you have.
The size, obviously that it's not too small or not too big and the way that you're holding the food as well. So we recommend that you put the tree in your fingertips and cover that with your thumb. And then when you present it with the, to the puppy, you're going to present it, finger tips down.
And that's the best way to keep your fingertips protected when you do this. So when I offer it to them again, I'm going to have the food in my fingertips, covered with my thumb and offer to him fingertips down. So I'm going to let him sniff at it.
Now what I'm looking for is that he'll be nice and gentle. So I'm looking for snips and licks. And if he is nice and gentle, I'm going to Mark with that keyword.
Yes. And then I just released my thumb off that tree. And allow him to get it.
Good boy. Good boy, Max. Let's try that again.
So again, it's in my fingertips, fingertips down towards him and he's sniffing and licking, being nice and gentle. Yes. Good boy.
Then I released that thumb. Remember it's yes, first. And then you're going to release that cookie to them sometimes.
What happens when you offer that cookie to the puppy and maybe they're really hungry or maybe they just haven't learned to be gentle with their teeth yet, but you offer that food. And first thing that comes out are the teeth. So you really want to sort of anticipate that.
And when you offer the food to the puppy, if you feel those teeth, you're just going to use a quick ouch, and then take that food away. So we'll show you with Max here. Always being good.
Oh, I feel teeth out and I take that food away. Then what I want to do is make sure I'm delivering it back to him quickly. So I deliver straight to his mouth.
If I feel teeth again, it's just another quick. Ouch. And pull it away.
Ouch. Yes. Good boy.
Yes. So after a couple of quick "ouches" and quick delivery back, he figured out, Oh, I'm not getting the cookie when I use my teeth. So I should be a little bit more gentle.
And that was my opportunity to say yes, and then give him that reward. The reason why delivering so quickly to them is important is if you're delivering that food super slow, you see what happens. They start to jump up for that food.
So it's actually going to do the opposite of what you're trying to get from the puppies. They're going to try and snap at the food even faster. So once you say you're out, you pull that food away, make sure it's a nice, quick delivery.
Back to them. It's a skill of taking food. Gently is not just a training exercise.
This is one of those things that basically becomes a lifestyle. So yes, you want to work the drill itself, but remember this is happening all of the time. So whenever you're working, any other training with your puppy, you are still keeping those manners in mind and working that little ouch and pulling the food away.
If you happen to feel teeth in those first couple of days, home, one thing that I like to work on with my puppies is just basic luring because this is going to be the foundation for a lot of my training. So it's important that he understands how to learn in that method. So what I do to start off just using those treats is just getting him to follow.
Yes. Good boy. Good job.
Then I'm gonna see if he can follow this way. Yes. Notice that I'm not moving too quickly and I'm not having him walk too many steps.
If I move too quickly, I'm going to lose them. And if I have them do too much at once, he's going to lose interest without getting that reward. Yes.
You're being such a good boy. Good job, buddy. I might just have him go side to side or do a couple of little spins again.
It's just getting him. Yes. Good job.
But to follow that food. Now, remember we talked earlier about taking the food gently that doesn't go out the window just because I'm training something different. So if I feel teeth, I'm going to use that.
Ouch. Take the food away and then deliver quickly again. And then I can try my luring.
Yeah. Good boy. So manners always come first three common positions that I want my puppy to learn when I'm Loring is the sit position.
So for that, I just lure a little bit above his forehead. Once I see his bum hit the ground, I can yes. And reward.
The second one is going to be the down position. And it's usually easiest from a sit. I'm just going to lure from nose to toes and wait until those elbows hits.
He asked good boy sometimes for new puppies that can take a few seconds. So be patient on that and then a stand position as well. This is especially helpful at the vets when they have to do their examination.
Yes. Good boy. Now notice when I'm doing this with Max here, that I'm not actually saying the commands at this moment.
I'm not necessarily training the positions themselves or the commands themselves, but just following the food and going into those positions. Yeah. Good boy.
I'm luring Nice and slowly for him to follow. Yes, that's excellent. Okay.
Boy. Good job bud. Yeah.
Yes good puppy. Excellent job. When you bring your puppy home for the first day, you can start potty training right away.
Sometimes what people do is think that they can put that off because the puppy is so young, but those first couple of days really set precedents for your puppy's lifestyle and expectations. So you want to get started right away. Now, first couple of things, obviously we we've talked about the crate, having that crate, managing your puppy during those downtimes will prevent a lot of accidents in the house.
So definitely a crate is highly recommended. We also recommend that you do take the puppies outside on that leash and that they're wearing the leash within the house as well, so that you can prevent those accidents. Now, how do you know an accident's going to come?
How can you prevent it? Couple key things to keep in mind are when puppies typically go to the bathroom. So obviously first thing, when they wake up, that's going to be a key point after eating or having a big drink.
And after any big play session or training session, they'll definitely need to go to the bathroom. So keep those moments in mind. And if, even if they're not giving signals, I would still give them a chance to go to the bathroom because you'll probably find that they end up going anyways.
Now in between those key times, you still may find that your puppy needs to go to the bathroom. So when you have them out, you definitely want to be watching them. So, and again, having that line during your supervision, but watch first, some key signals from your dogs.
Now, every puppy is a little bit different, but some really common ones will be the puppy getting a little bit distracted. So there'll be disinterested in what you're doing or what they might've been doing. They might go to a particular spot in the house, which is usually the same spot, every time to do their business.
And if they're sniffing or circling. So those are going to be keys that, Hey, they're about to go to the bathroom. And you want to stop them in that moment.
You know, encourage them to go outside using your command. I asked my puppies if they want to go outside and you have to go outside. Hey, Max, do you have to go outside?
That's a good boy. And then I take them out on that leash and continue to say the word that you're going to use for your potty. I use hurry up while they're doing the business so that you can label and actually have it on command as well.
Potty training is one of those topics where it's definitely better to be proactive and err, on the side of caution than it is to sort of push it aside and have accidents happen in the house. So if you feel that your puppy needs to go out, you're better to give them that chance then to wait a little bit longer. But sometimes what happens is you take them out and they don't go to the bathroom.
Maybe they're distracted, there's leaves blowing, there's wind there's noises. And they don't actually go to the bathroom when, you know, they have to, if that's the case, what we recommend that you do is just pop them back in their crate for even just five minutes. Give them a second just to relax and then take them out and try again.
You'll probably find that they will go that second time. But what you don't want to do is bring them back in the house, let them be free. And then, you know, within a minute they're going to have a pee on the carpet.
So again, pop them in the crate and then try it again in a few minutes. Now emergency recall training that actual come command I do with my puppies at a little bit of an older age, but obviously you need a way to be able to call your puppies at that first week and on. So what I like to do with my puppies is work a little puppy recall and some response to name out response to name is, is so crucial.
I use it day to day with my dogs. Now a couple things to keep in mind when you're working response to name, be careful that you're not repeating their name over and over and over again. Otherwise you become a broken record and it just ends up sounding like a nag.
So you want to be careful about that one. So when you're teaching your puppy, their name one great exercise that has a ton of value and impact on your puppy is just simply loading their name and putting value to it. So how you're going to do that is you're going to show them the tree and have their focus to start.
You're going to say their name and a nice, happy tone, no Ferris, Bueller teachers out there. So you're going to say their name and a happy tone and then just deliver the cookie. So simple as this, Max.
Max, Max. Good boy. And when he's going to learn it, his name means something fantastic that that treat is coming.
Hey good boys. He's eager already. Max, good boy.
Max. Good boy. And I will do this exercise at least twice a day.
I'll either use high value treats like I have right now, or even just their kibble. I'll take just a small handful. I'll do this name, exercise.
And then when that's done, I'll let them have the rest of their meal in their crate. Now a lot of breeders will actually teach a puppy recall too, just a pup, pup pup, but some don't some puppies don't know that one when you get them home. So on that first week, this is a nice fun exercise to be able to do.
And it works really well as that recall. So what I'm going to do is, again, show him that treat first. I'm going to use just a pop up and then encourage them to me.
Yay. Good bye. And when I feed notice, I'm feeding nice and close to my leg.
I don't want to teach him to go too far out where I can't quite reach him. Cause he'll learn to come just as far where I can't get control. So I want to draw him in nice and close.
So I'll show you that again. I'm going, I have the food on his nose call pup pup pup and then back the away. Yes.
Good boy and feed. Nice and close to my leg. Next thing we're going to talk about is crate training.
Now in the first day home, not just the first week home, you want to be utilizing your crate as much as possible to get them used to it and also to manage the puppies and making sure that they're not developing any bad behaviors over that first week. You know, a lot of puppies are curious, you know, they're checking out their leashes tugging or chewing on carpet. So your crate is going to be your best little babysitter.
If you want to put it that way at making sure that they're not getting into trouble on a day-to-day basis. So when you work your crate training you really want this to be a nice, fun exercise for them and a nice fun place for them to go. You know, my out dogs will often seek out the CRI on their own and just go and have a nap without me asking them.
So it really is just sort of a safe Haven and nice place for them to be when I work this, I often will work it with kibble, but also work it separately with some high value treats. And all I'm looking for is the, for the puppy to show some interest in the crate, if they do, I'm going to yes. And reward them in the direction of the crate door so that I'm just encouraging them to get a little closer and a little closer.
And eventually they should make their way inside the crate. And if that's the case, I'll throw the cookie far inside just to encourage him to go the rest of the way in. So we'll see what Max does here.
He hasn't done any crate training yet and he's only been home for a few days, so we'll see what kind of a. He offers us. Yes.
Good boy. So he motioned towards the crate there and a yes. And reward towards the Creek door.
Yes. Good boys still seeking out that crate. Yeah.
Good. So now that he's in, I'm going to jackpot, I'm going to throw a whole bunch of cookies in the back there for him to seek out. Now your is going to be your best assistant when it comes to managing your puppy that first week home.
So here are four things I want you to do with your puppies during that first week to really help with your management. One important thing for getting the puppies to like their crate is feeding every meal in there because they do spend a few minutes eating and you're able to close the door at that point. So they learned that the Creek is a nice fun place where they get their food.
So you can see he's keen ready to go here. So what I'm going to do is just take his bowl and put it way in the back of the crate so that he has to go all the way in. I'm going to take his leash off.
He goes in for that great. Or for that food. Now you can see his bugs all the way in.
I'm just going to gently give him a little encouragement to get his bone, the rest of the way in. And then I'm able to close that door and he's in there while he eats his food. And of course I can let him out when he's done, or if I choose to use this as my assistant and keep them in there a little bit longer, maybe I have other dogs to feed or kids or my own dinner to cook.
He is happy just to stay in there for a few minutes until I'm ready to take him out. So the next thing to keep in mind when it comes to your crate training is making sure that you don't have anything in there that the puppies are going to get into trouble or hurt themselves with. We really want you to make sure that there is no bedding in the crate.
So notice he's in there just with his dinner bowl, which I will take out in a moment. And I also don't have any water in there and a lot of people want to give their puppies water, but when you're working on potty training having too much access to water in the crate sorta causes them to have to pee more often, which is gonna make your potty training a little bit more difficult when they're in the crate. It should be pretty bare.
So no bedding, no water, and also no harmful toys where they can chew and maybe ingest that. So things like stuffies or tennis balls, those are all what we call interactive toys. And those don't belong in the cradle of the puppy.
So if you are looking for something for them to entertain themselves, when they're in there for a little bit, a Nylabone is a really good choice to be able to leave in the Creek. The next thing with crate training is making sure that you have an appropriate sized crepe for your puppy. Max is only nine weeks old.
So you can see that this is a relatively small crate, but this crate right now is actually the perfect size for him. They really only need enough room to be able to stand up, turn around and lie down. And he's able to do that.
Nice and comfortably in this crate, this moment, obviously in the next few weeks, he's going to outgrow it, but for right now, it's perfect. Now we've talked about already how crate training can help you with your potty training. If your crate is too big, often what happens is the puppies create a bedroom with an ensuite.
They tend to use the bathroom on one side of the crate and then sleep on the other. And if you are trying to potty train that can really hinder your progression on that potty training. Now, one common question that we get with new puppy owners is where to put their crate when they first get their puppy.
Now I recommend that you either have a portable crate. So this one, I can take them out and it's nice and light with a handle on top. I can carry it around to wherever I need it in the house.
But you definitely want something on the main floor or your main sort of location throughout the day, as well as something close to your room at night. Now at night, my puppies for the first couple of nights, we'll spend it right beside my bed. If I get a little bit of fussing, I can just sort of stick my fingers in there and give them a little shush or console them a little bit.
But I try not to do that for too long because puppies in the first few nights do need to go outside. So if I'm not able to shush him within a couple minutes, that's my cue to take him outside. Now, some people also like to have the crate, maybe on their bed or on their nightstand.
I don't quite go that far. But it would only be a couple of nights. And then I'm going to start moving the crate closer to where he would spend the nights as an adult.
So it might start the side of my bed then maybe towards the foot of my bed, on the floor. And then maybe at the edge of the bed. And if it's in another room, I'm slowly gonna move that crate towards that room.
So he gets more comfortable spending a little bit of distance from me being a new puppy owner can be very overwhelming, especially in that first week. But what do you do after that? So for a schedule for puppies by age, check out this video right here.
If you feel like you need more personal support for you or your puppy, make sure you check out our online puppy essentials class. That link will be in the description below. And on that note, I'm instructor Lauren, this is Max, Happy Training.
