by Phillip Paris

Printed in the Williamson County Sun on December 31, 2000

With Christmas now behind us, for those of you that Santa Claus gave a new
puppy to, now is the time to start your training. Your little fur ball
will soon began to grow and if you're not careful, you could experience
some real training dilemmas. In this issue, we are going to recap some of
the prior articles that dealt with some training concerns in respect to
having a new puppy.

Puppies are able to learn how life is at a very early age. It is up to you
to show it how life with you will be. You want to start by establishing a
bond with your puppy. One of the ways to do this, other than spending time
with your dog, is to set a structured feeding schedule. Never allow your
puppy to free feed, that is, to always have its' food down so that he can
eat whenever he feels like it. I recommend twice daily feeding. Not only
will this aid you in potty training, but the act of you giving your dog
something that is a necessity to him, creates a bond. You are providing a
very basic need that the dog understands. Also, by being in the role of
the provider, your dog will begin to view you in a different light and as a
leader. Establishing leadership is very important in having a well-trained
and well-behaved dog.

Avoid giving your dog little "Scooby Snacks" or treats all of the time.
These should be saved for rewarding good behavior in which the dog has
earned the treat. Should you give him treats all of the time, how much
importance will that treat have when he does do something right? Make a
treat something special in which you will have a motivational tool for
training.

The next thing that will be important for you to do if your dog will be an
inside dog is to get him crate trained. This is where your dog gets used
to sleeping in a crate, or kennel. This is very important for many
reasons. This provides a safe place for your dog while you are away and at
times when he needs to be out from under your feet. The way that crate
training works, is that your dog will establish this place as his "den".
He will view this as his home, and with this comes certain rules. Once
your dog has acknowledged that this is his place of abode, which is usually
about 2-3 weeks, he will not use the bathroom in it unless it is an
emergency. He will not want to potty where he knows that he will be
sleeping. Part of this, was taught to him by his mother when he was very
young. At night, you should let your dog sleep in his crate with the door
closed. Initially, he will wake you up in the night by crying because he
has to go potty. Don't get mad, this is a good thing. This is the
beginning of the learning process. Through these repetitions, he will
learn that if he cries, then you will get him and take him outside and he
can relieve himself. In the beginning of crate training, your dog may cry
and whine when you first put him in the crate, don't confuse this with a
potty cry. He is just not sure about the crate at first and may cry a
little. The worst thing that you can do is to take him out of the crate
every time he cries. This will teach him that if he doesn't feel like
being in there, then all he has to do is cry and you will come and get him.
If he cries when you first put him in there, just ignore it and he
eventually will tire himself out and go to sleep. One rule to remember, is
to never leave food or water in the crate with him. He should have been
fed long before going to bed and should have had time to potty before bed.
An up and coming column will deal extensively with the importance of crate
training.

One the most important things that you should be doing with you new puppy,
is socializing him to the world. You can prevent many anti-social
behaviors and aggression to people and dogs by socializing your dog at a
very early age. Get him used to being around people and other dogs as soon
as he has completed his vaccinations. This is very important. Poor
socialization is a leading cause of aggression in dogs that will appear
later on in their life. I can't tell you how many calls I receive about
aggression and I find out that the dog has led a very sheltered life. Can
you imagine the fear that you would have if you had never been allowed away
from your home and how afraid you would be when you encountered new people
and animals? This leads to fear aggression in dogs. It can all be avoided
with proper socialization.

We have only covered a few of the important training steps that you will
need. Always seek professional help early on if you feel that your
training is not going the way you had planned. Early training can lead to
a very successful relationship with your dog and can prevent many problems.

As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to send them in.
You never know, your question could be the next article of discussion.

I hope that you all have a Happy New Year with lots of success!