You must constantly give a puppy your time and energy as an owner to encourage him or her to be well-behaved and grow into an adult that is happy and a healthy member of the household. Your puppy must receive proper nutrition, training, and the routine daily activities that occur in its life before becoming an adult dog’s way to a healthy, fit dog.
Many first-time puppy owners do not anticipate the amount of attention and commitment that a puppy will need during the first few weeks that he/she is with you. A puppy will learn everything it can and your puppy will remember everything you do with him/her during the first few weeks of his/her life with you, including how you feed your puppy and how he/she is introduced to daily routines.
This will be extremely important in how your puppy interacts with all things; people, other animals, and anything else.
Home Setup and Safety
In this area of your home, create a warm, cozy dog bed, provide your puppy with fresh water, and allow your puppy the space to freely move, without clutter with personal items. Crates or playpens are used by many people, as suggested by the Humane Society of the United States, to ensure safety and provide some basic training.
Puppy Proof Your Location
Puppies are naturally inquisitive. They may chew or bite and may also destroy things while they are exploring. It is, therefore, very important to remove from the puppy’s reach any items that can cause injury.
This will help to safely allow the puppy to explore in a controlled manner. From doing this daily and not getting lazy in your follow-up on this will make a difference.
All The Essentials For Your Puppy
You should have the essential supplies for your puppy prior to its arrival in your family. This will facilitate providing daily care and ensure a clean and comfortable living environment.
A proper diet using brands like Pedigree, and Royal Canin will ensure your puppy’s proper body development.
Required Items
- Soft bedding
- Water dish and a food dish
- The appropriate food for the puppy’s age
- Chew toys for teething puppies
- Collar and leash
By having this equipment available for your new pet, it will help both of you to transition smoothly during the first few days of being together, and will reduce the amount of disorganization and stress.
Feeding Your Puppy
You may feed your puppy different kinds of foods (dry, wet, or a mixture of both) and see what works for both you and your puppy. However, to reduce the likelihood of your puppy having a tummy upset, do not quickly change their whole diet; rather, it would be best to work on gradually changing it over a period of time (i.e., days).
Basic Training and Socialization
Short and fun training sessions also prevent the puppy from becoming bored with the training programme.
The Importance of Socialisation
Socialisation is defined as allowing the puppy to view others, animals, and various locations. This exposure decreases a dog’s sense of fear of a new situation. Puppies that are exposed to stimuli from young ages, develop into more assertive dogs.
Should you introduce your puppy to any new experience, allow your puppy an appropriate timeframe to adapt. Loud noises, crowded environments, and newly introduced pets should be introduced gradually, so not to create stress in the puppy.
Common Training Mistakes
New caregivers often make several mistakes: lack of consistency, using physical punishment, etc. New puppy owners that use these methods typically confuse their puppy, resulting in an undesirable behaviour.
- Do not yell or discipline your puppy;
- Do not skip training sessions;
- Use simple commands;
- Reinforce desirable behaviour immediately.
A consistent and non-restrictive training method will promote a trusting bond between you and your puppy and will also assist with the ease of your puppy’s transition to adulthood.
Health and Routine Care
During the first year of life, vaccination should occur at regular intervals (according to the schedule provided to you by your veterinarian); failure to vaccinate on time will increase the risk of your new puppy experiencing an illness. In general, your veterinarian will provide you with a vaccination schedule that you can easily follow.
In addition to taking your puppy to the veterinarian for routine preventative care, there are many other aspects of routine care for your puppy, such as grooming (brushing), dental care (cleaning your puppy’s teeth), and flea/tick treatment; keeping your puppy’s coat clean will help to avoid skin issues, and will help your puppy to stay comfortable.
Puppy Activities
Most puppies have tons of energy, but they get tired very quickly, so their playtime should be short in the amount of time they play, so they will have fun without chewing or barking due to boredom. The puppy’s level of energy will determine how long of playtime they can have with the puppy.
According to the AVMA, the amount of exercise your puppy receives (based on their age) will limit the risk of injury to your puppy while creating stronger joints.
- Soft toys
- Inside for a very short game of fetch
- Short walks
Puppies should have exercise but just not too much.
Grooming & Hygiene Basics
Grooming your puppy on a regular basis helps signficantly decrease infections and keeps them comfortable. Brushing your puppy helps eliminate dirt, loose hair, and tangled hair; while keeping your dog’s skin healthy.
New Puppy Owner Grooming Tips
Many new puppy owners don’t groom their puppy or do it incorrectly. Your puppy’s skin may reacts badly to Human shampoos.
Establishing a Trustful Bond With Your Puppy
Your puppy is totally dependent on you, and will depend on you, at least until he become use to you, and feels safe around you.
You can help your puppy to establish a faithful bond with you by using, and saying, “calm” when you talk to him, and touching him gently and performing repetitive activities at the same time each day.
Victoria Stilwell, a well known dog trainer, along with many other trainers, state that a puppy learns better by being calm and rewarded, rather than being trained through strict discipline methods.
Understanding Your Puppy Behaviour
To understand your puppy’s behavioural patterns, you must watch how they behave; such as, the way that he wags his tail, barks, etc. will tell you what he feels, and that he trying to communicate something to you.
Establishing Trust Through Routine
If you pay attention to your puppy, he will eventually learn faster. Providing a regular feeding, playing and grooming time to your puppy will make these times predictable to him.
American Kennel Club and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals both have statements on the importance of being responsible pet owners/parents.
Conclusion
Puppy raising requires consistent reinforcement, continued commitment, and 100% attention from you on day one. To provide and breed a safe, healthy, and positive adult dog from your puppy, give your puppy a safe atmosphere; give it good food; create ongoing providing training experiences; establish consistent activities and schedules, you provide/maintain the base for your puppy to become an adult dog, healthy and well-mannered
