Free Tips for Training a Puppy

For this Omaha puppy training session we helped Olive and her family with training a puppy, including potty training and the critical socialization period.

Olive is a ten-week-old Jack Russell Terrier. She came to her new home for the first time the day before our in-home session. I worked with her guardians a few months ago to help their other dog Huxley, a nervous Jack Russell Terrier.

They set up this puppy training session to make sure they got off on the right foot together.

They had two main concerns. First, Huxley was playing too roughly with the puppy. He also seemed very infatuated with her. The second concern was the possibility of Huxley’s anxious behaviors transferring to the pup.

Huxley was lively when I got there for the session. I spent some time calming him down. This helped him relax so I could work with Olive. It took a couple of minutes, lots of treats and a cow’s ear, but soon enough Huxley was content to lay on his perch and get a good chew in.

Tips for Potty Training a Puppy

Since Olive began doing the potty dance right away, I kicked off the session with some potty training tips and suggestions.

A few additional potty training secrets:

• Puppies usually do not gain steady bladder control until they are 12 weeks old. This means that 12 weeks is the earliest you can expect a puppy to be house trained. This is why you should plan on taking a young pup out at least once every hour.
• Most puppies achieve house training around five months of age.
• Never scold a pup for eliminating in front of you, even if it’s inside. This often makes potty training harder. The pup may avoid telling humans when they need to go. Instead, they might find a place to hide and go there.
• Focus on positive potty training; rewarding for successful eliminations.
• Puppies usually need to go outside at three key times. First, 10 minutes after they start playing. Second, 15 minutes after they eat. Lastly, right after they wake up.
• Taking Olive outside after any of these three times will help accelerate the puppy potty training process.
• If a puppy is busy with something and then suddenly stops, they probably need to go outside. Sniffing around or walking in circles can be signs that they need to relieve themselves.
• If a puppy is busy and suddenly gets up to run across the room, it often means the pup needs to poop.
• A good bedtime plan for puppy potty training is to stop feeding the puppy at least three hours before bed. Also, remove water access one hour before bedtime.

After wrapping up the potty training, I turned my attention to Olive’s current state of development. Puppies go through a few Fear Periods. During these periods, puppies are susceptible to single event learning where one single experience can impact and stay with the dog for the rest of their life.

During a fear period, you want to avoid taking any chances on activities and encounters that may not be positive.

Critical Socialization Period for Puppies

Currently Olive is in one of the last Fear Periods, known as the Critical Socialization Period (CSP). This lasts from 3 to 12 or 14 weeks and during this time, exposure to new people, animals and experiences is crucial. I posted a detailed article on the importance of this time in the Quest Ed section of the website.

It’s likely that the family’s other dog, Huxley, did not have a good CSP. Because of this, he is very cautious and anxious around people and new situations.

The key point is that the more experiences Olive has, the more confident and calm she will be. This will help her feel relaxed around new things for the rest of her life. I posted a list of Critical Socialization Period experiences on the CSP article link above.

The CSP is time that her family will never get back as a pup only goes through it once. I strongly recommend that the family download the checklist.

They should create a new column. In this column, they can add a “low,” “medium,” and “high” value. This way, they can prioritize the list. They can help Olive experience things she is more likely to encounter as she grows up.

As I finished the CSP discussion, the mother asked if this would help Olive avoid being scared of the vacuum cleaner like Huxley. The short answer is YES. But I had the guardian pull out the vacuum cleaner so I could explain in greater detail.

As you can see in the video above, the approach worked for Huxley. This was surprising since he was already afraid of the vacuum.

But this is a great example of how spending a little time now will prevent a lifetime of headaches with Olive later.

Next, I shared some puppy play tips. This will help keep things under control when Huxley and Olive play together.

• Don’t let the dogs play too roughly. Stopping them when they get excited and giving them a doggy time out will help them calm down. This will teach them an acceptable level of play.
• If either dog tries to move away and the other doesn’t stop, it will be important that the humans intercede.
• Signs of distress from rough play include: whining, moving away and air nipping.
• Humans need to avoid playing too roughly with the puppy too. The humans are teaching the pup how to play. They should remember to play gently. This will help the pup learn a softer play style.

Puppy Training Suggestions

I also suggested the family ask Olive to sit before petting her or giving a treat. This is a super simple act that will pay off long term, called petting with a purpose.

I also recommended taking the pup out as much as possible and to have treats. That way anyone who wants to pet the pup can give a treat instead (after she sits for it).

We call it Manding when a dog does something to earn praise or a reward. Getting Olive into the habit of sitting in front of people before they pet her will help her learn good manners.

I finished things up by showing the family how to get Olive to come to them as well as how to sit. It only took a minute for her to pick up on each exercise so this is one smart pup.

I suggested they enroll Olive in the Dog Gone Problem’s Puppy Class. They should also check our YouTube page for easy commands and tricks to teach her.

Despite many rumors to the contrary, puppies can be taught. In fact their little brains are like sponges at this age as they are hungry to learn and develop. Taking advantage of this time when the dog wants to learn helps dog owners boost their puppy’s learning and intelligence.

By the end of the session, the humans learned what to watch for when the dogs played together. Olive sat and came when called, and Huxley even approached the vacuum cleaner!

ROADMAP to SUCCESS

• Take Olive out once an hour as well as after the three times she is most apt to go.
• Removing food and water access prior to bed.
• Set a goal of teaching Olive at least one new trick or command a week for the next 3 months.
• Contact us to ask for the Critical Socialization Period checklist and prioritize what to tackle first.
• Expose Olive to the CSP activities on the list that she is most likely to encounter later in life.
• Invest as much time as possible in socialization experiences for Olive for the next 2-4 weeks.
• Avoid exposing Olive to any people, animal or experience where there may be a negative result. Wait until after she is 14 weeks if there is any doubt how the encounter may go.
• Invite as many guests as you can over the next 2-4 weeks. This will help Olive get used to meeting and interacting with new people in a positive way.
• Visit the Quest Ed section of our website. You will find over 100 tips for training a puppy. These tips include tutorial videos on socialization, training, and behavior development.
• Intercede if any play between Huxley and Olive gets too intense. Wait for both dogs to settle down before allowing play to continue.
• Enroll Olive into our Puppy Kindergarten Class.