What is the best advice that you can give someone who is about to get a new puppy.?

Im just wondering if you have any advice for me as i am about to get a new puppy.


I had a dog all my life but never had a puppy i was responsible for,completely by myself.


As far as obedence , crate training, potty training, routine, feeding...etc.What is the best advice that you can give someone who is about to get a new puppy.?
The best advice is.... Make sure you have the time to spend with the puppy. They take a lot of time, patience and hard work. I do mean this in a good way.





Most people just get a puppy and then do not think of what will happen down the road a few weeks, month or a year. They are only thinking of the here and now. When people purchase or adopt puppies, kittens or any pet it is a commitment for life, Not for a short time or until they get tired of the pet.What is the best advice that you can give someone who is about to get a new puppy.?
start training early, cuz if you wait to long, the dog will think its okay to do whatever
make sure your house is puppy proof and give it a lot of time and attention!
ALWAYS start your puppy off on PUPPY food, if you skip right to plain old dog food your puppy may get stomach problems. Training mats in frount of th door are smart sence untrained dogs useually go right in frount of the door, although im not promiseing anything. PLENTY of different tyoes of toys, see which toys your dog reacts to better and he'll be chewing that instead of furniture
Be ready to stay up half the night, be prepared for accidents and lots of them, keep valuables out of reach cuz a puppy will eat/ chew them. Train early with positive reinforcement only. be patient!


GOOD LUCK
Stock up on patience. I have a 6 month old, and she still isn't potty trained, though not for lack of trying. She soils her crate. Be careful about breed, and be prepared for a long training period. I was told it might take a couple of months consistent training to housebreak. I'm going on 4 now, and its not fun.
Be gentle and consistent when training him. Praise and love him when he does things right, and calm and careful when he does things wrong.





Remember that he depends on you for his food and fresh water, and to play with him.





Remember him and his needs when it is cold and snowy outside and you don't want to get up and take him out to potty.





If you love him and treat him like you would want to be treated, he will be your best friend for all of his life.
I would make sure I knew everything I could about my particular breed before my dog ever came home- not all puppies are created equally- that's why we have different breeds! Understand what makes your breed tick- what makes a herding dog a herding dog, etc.





Also, google some advice for potty training, etc.- decide on a plan, and STICK TO IT!





Find a local obedience training facility in your are and get some training- you'd be surprised how much just a little training can make your WHOLE life better!
I think the best advice to give to a potential puppy owner would be to research the breed you are thinking about getting. Too often someone sees a cute little puppy, it grows up and because of the breed they are not equiped to handle temperament, size. Money comes into an issue with veterinarian bills, the bigger the dog, the more expense.





It's very important to go into training classes early enough and not wait for the puppy to because this status seeking, teenager. It's heart breaking when people get a puppy, thinking they are prewired with instructions and when things don't go as planned, the puppy is removed from the home.





It takes especially alot of time during puppies first year, to potty train. I can't stress more about the socialization where people don't put in enough energy and time into it. I see too many dogs come thru training and most of the problems could have been avoided by coming to training by 10 weeks old. By 5-6 months owners are getting frustrated, the poor dog is confused, after all I am just a dog. Some people can't deal with a dog who might challenge them.





Food is important on my list. I think there is too much additives added to food, and dogs are getting allergies, as well as developing cancer more and more. Potty issues can be a factor when not on a good food as well as a dog's attitude when on food.





Who doesn't like a cute cuddly puppy tho. :)
Make LOTS of time for the puppy. I was very fortunate to be able to work from home for the first three months I had the puppy, and I needed the time to be around her. Not everyone is that lucky, so be prepared to make time for the puppy in the morning, when you get home from work, and during lunch if you can.





I also have a lot of friends with well socialized adult dogs. My dog learned more about dog manners from these adult dogs than she could have from me. If you know people with well behaved dogs, have your puppy meet them while she's still young.
Oh no, not crate training. Come on, let it be free like it should be. It's not a laboratory animal.
research, research, research and dont listen to 99% of the people on here. Most dont know what they are doing either.








Oh, good luck and you can email me directly if I can be of help.
Research.


Research the breed, puppies, training, EVERYTHING.


Use google, read every book you can get your hands on, talk to breeders, talk to trainers, anything you can do to get more information.


Don't forget to stock up on patience as well, your going to need it.
Research as much as you can or if you had dogs all life get the bread you know. When i got my dog 4 years ago the best thing i done was to buy some training pads for a dogs and take one with you when you go to collect the pup, rub the pad on the mother and wrap you pup up in it. When you get home the pup will go to this when it need to go to the toilet, once it is ready to change get a clean pad and dab it one the old one and keep repeating this until the dog goes outside.


Doing this should keep your house clean from dog muck and it won't take long before he is going outside.


Good luck with every thing.
Just tell them to go read,research %26amp; talk to as many doggy poeple as they can but nothing will ever prepare them for having a puppy,its like a newborn baby!





Dont let the pup off with anything you wouldnt let a full grown adult dog do.





As we talk ive got a 12week old border collie sleeping in his cage %26amp; i have bags under my eyes,my hair hast been styled since i got him,my kids cant remember my name %26amp; i feel i havent slept in days but hey its all worth it!!!!!!!:)
Ask a professional dog trainer for some tips. It really helped my cousins
Just alot of love and patience.It pays off in the long run, Because a dog is your best friend.
1. Dont but from petshops OR online


One reason for doing obedience training is to establish a foundation from which you and your dog can learn to effectively relate to one another. The first thing obedience training does is to create a common language for you and your dog. This, in turn, lets your dog know the proper response (behavior) that you expect in place of socially maladaptive behavior.





The obedience trained dog can respond properly to your commands, instead of neurotically trying to please and becoming ever more anxious with your displeasure. This dog acknowledges the people in the family as the leaders and becomes more secure and calm in this bond of love and authority.





Obedience training can be used to help fulfill some of your dog's basic needs, such as exercise, the security of knowing what's expected, a feeling of accomplishment, and constructive social interaction. Obedience training will give your pet a job to do and can be useful in redirecting some of the mental energy of an animal that was meant for work.





Dog Obedience Training Styles


There are many styles of dog obedience training. Here I'm going to mention what I consider the two main types. In future articles I will explore some of the less well known styles of training, some of which are becoming quite popular. This page and the next two pages should help you decide on the best style of training for your individual pet.














Two Most Popular Obedience Training Styles


The main types of training are leash/collar training and reward training. I consider the leash and collar training to be a hard training style, and reward training to be a soft training style.





Both styles are very old; however, the leash and collar has been used more and is considered the traditional style. I think this is because most obedience training has traditionally developed from military dog training. There are several reasons why this method would be preferred to using food, such as the nature of the dogs being trained, the task or mission of the animal, and the temperament and background of the military handler/trainer.





Although obedience training with reinforcement has become very popular in the last 5 years, the leash and collar is still the best way to do many kinds of dog training. Especially in situations where you need a great deal of reliability, and at times when the dog would be highly motivated for not obeying, such as obedience with a police k-9 who is highly motivated to fight.





The leash and collar can be used with varying degrees of force. This could be from very hard correction to mild leash prompts. However, when the leash is used, it is best not to nag the dog with ineffective correction.





Generally with a leash based obedience training system, the dog is first taught a behavior, usually with the leash. Once the dog displays that it knows the command, the leash is used to correct the dog for not obeying, or when the dog makes a mistake. Usually with this style of obedience training, the leash is the main form of controlling and communicating with the dog.





In order for a dog to be fully trained, I think that the dog should be trained to trust the handler and allow the handler to at least place the dog into a position or posture that the dog does not want to assume. This does not necessarily require a lot of force, but it does require some physical manipulation. This manipulation is safest and most easily done with a leash. At least this much leash training should be incorporated into even the most advanced reward training systems.





One thing that must be understood is ';the leash is just a tool.'; By learning to train a dog with the leash, one should in the process, eventually acquire the skills necessary to train a dog with whatever tools are at hand.





Even if the only tools at hand are your body and your intellect. One of the important skills that a handler can learn with the leash, is how to develop a leadership role in the dog's life. In this aspect of dog training the leash is a tool to help show the handler certain principles of leadership.





Leash training can never replace developing the proper leader/follower relationship between the owner and the dog. Although doing leash training will increase the bond between you and your dog, it cannot replace the bond of trust that can only come through treating your pet fairly.


Many people think that reward training is the modern method of dog training. It's my belief that reward training predates leash training. It is reasonable to believe that reward training was fairly well developed by early humans. This would be especially true for the priests of people who kept animals as a form of worship.





In my library I have a book from the 1930s that describes many modern reward training principles. This is before much of the scientific research about operant conditioning was published. This shows that people who live and work with animals (especially dogs), often have a better feel for the real world than the institutionalized authorities. As I have been known to say, ';if you know about dogs, you know about life';.





When considering the historic significance of reward styles of training, it's important to remember that the scientific study and application of these systems is only about half as old as leash training.





It has only been within the last 10 to 15 years that reward training has come into vogue. One thing I've noticed about many of the trainers who practice a reward style of training is that they often talk quite poorly about trainers who use a leash style of training. When I see this verbal aggression, I always think that they are not as skilled at practicing reinforcement as they are at preaching it.





People who only do reward training believe that part of the answer to dog behavior, is the only answer. On the other side are leash trainers who say reward training will not work unless you always carry rewards with you. These trainers sometimes talk poorly about reward training. They simply don't know enough about reward training and/or just don't believe in it. However, they're not hypocritical in their views when they say bad things about reward training, in that their training system is a more confrontational style.





Clicker training has become all the rage in recent years. Again, in my library I found a book describing this fashionable 1990s training fad in the very early 1960s. Clicker training is very effective, especially for people with poor verbal discipline.





I have used a clicker in training since the early to mid 80s. I first introduced a reward style of training into my programs in the late 70s.





At that time, most of the dog trainers I knew said that reward training would not work and not to use it. When I worked for these people I just quit telling them how I trained, and they would be surprised at the results that I achieved.





Usually reward training will incorporate food rewards or a reward that is in some way associated with getting food (this could be a toy). Reward training is the only way you can train some complex types of behavior.





I think it would have been much more difficult to teach my dog to ride his skateboard had I only used the leash and collar. For this type of training, rewards were the most effective approach. Reward training is also the most effective way to teach many types of police and military skills, such as scent detection, tracking, and criminal apprehension.





Reward training can be effective in teaching obedience commands. Basically we can think of all behaviors we bring under command control, simply as units of behavior. If we look at training from this point of view, we can see that teaching a trick is the same as teaching an obedience command.





In reward training a lure is often used to get the dog into the desired position. The purpose of the lure is to get the dog to perform a desired behavior of the dog's own volition, without any physical manipulation from the handler.





Getting the dog to perform a behavior without touching the dog makes a lot of sense, especially when we consider that a dog's initial reaction to touch is defensive. In general, touch masks all other stimuli. This would mean in theory that if you touch the dog it will be paying more attention to the touch than to anything else, such as the command you are using (discriminating stimuli).





Once the dog has performed the desired behavior, it is rewarded or reinforced. Most reward training styles also incorporate a conditioned reward of some type. Probably the most common is a word such as ';GOOD'; and the now famous clicker.





To get past the complaint of the staunch leash trainers,'; no reward, no behavior';, we need to incorporate scheduling into our reward training programs, as well as the conditioned rewards.





To make a reward trained dog reliable involves the same thing as making a leash trained dog reliable. One of the secrets to making a dog reliable is working the dog around distractions and proper socialization.





Too many times reward trained dogs are only trained inside the house or back yard when only the handler is present. On the side of leash training, we see people working the dog when they take it OUT on walks. To build in reliability, work your dog inside the house, in the yard, on the street, and in the community. It's a good idea to have friends come to the house to help you train your dog. This will give you a chance to train the dog with company.





The other thing that will help make a dog more reliable is to teach the dog to pay attention. ';If you have your dog's attention you will have control of the dog.'; There are techniques in both reward training and leash training that will encourage the dog to pay attention to the handler.


Although obedience training with reinforcement has b
Get ready! Tottally diffrent from a dog, It's a little shocking, You forget how helpless they are. Paper towels you will need lots of these, When like me you realize.....These guys don't come potty trained:)


And lots of kisses and loves:)
The best thing you can teach any pup is a good bite inhibition - thereby ensuring that dog is safe around other people and dogs for its entire life.





The next thing I'd suggest is clicker training - great fun for you and your pup - see this video here:





http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IC367wKGi4鈥?/a>





And you can start young too - see this incredible video of a 14 week old pup owned by Mary Ray - all very achievable with clicker training:





http://www.stumbleupon.com/demo/?review=鈥?/a>





Best of luck x
if you're crate training, make sure you cut off your dogs water 3-4 hours before they go to bed. when you cut off their water, take them outside to potty, then again a few hrs later when you put them to bed, then a third time as you are going to bed. this will stop them from waking you up every 2-3 hrs during the night to go pee because they have nothing in their system. letting them have water up until you put them to bed will keep you up all night.
I think you have gotten some great advise so far!





I am going to suggest you take lot's of pictures!! They grow amazingly fast and I still regret not having many puppy pictures of my beagle. I have a ton of my second dog (a basset) but really wish I had thought of that the first time around.
as far as obedience goes, take is slow, as fast as your dog is capable of. start off with just its name, and daily routine before anything more advance. then go for sit, lie down, and stay. these are the most basic and important commands. most puppies will not go to the bathroom in their crate, because they see it as their den. to potty train, whenever you are not directly interacting with your dog, have him in his crate, and take him outside to go to the bathroom frequently. this way, since he wont go in his crate, and cant go while just with you, he will go outside, and will be praised. sooner or later, he will get the idea that going outside is good. if he goes on the floor inside, scold, but dont yell. if that makes sense. for routine, try to keep his routine generally predictable at first. after a while change things a little so he will be better at dealing with changes when older. give him 3 small meals a day, or two large ones. he will eat when hes hungry, pretty easy. last tip....be sure to socialize with all different kinds of people and other pets and animals, to be sure he turns out a great dog.








good luck!
immediatly teach him not to bite even if it's cute because it pays off later, A stern ';NO BITING'; Command will do the trick because if you wait too long you end up with a 2 year old dog like mine that can get very aggresive when playing and bite sometimes drawing blood when he doesn't really mean to hurt you because we never trained him not to bite. Also teach the ';Come'; command right away because we didn't teach our dog that and it ended in developing asthma from chasing him when he ran out the door 7 times, it's also very scary when he got out and can cause a lot of stress. Thanks and happy puppy searching.