A new puppy is a fantastic addition to any dog loving household. But along with the cute little puppy comes a whole range of important tasks and responsibilities.

A young puppy relies heavily on you as his/her owner, especially in those crucial first few months. You are responsible for shaping the character, temperament and behavior habits of your puppy as he/she grows into a mature dog.

With this in mind I have put together a 6 part plan which will help your puppy grow to be the adult dog you hoped he/she would be - it won’t just somehow magically occur automatically. For the point of this article I will assume that you are meeting the basic requirements of responsible dog ownership. Things like providing a warm, dry and comfortable bed and a safe place where your dog can get some “private” time alone.

The following 6 steps are the vital tasks that need to be addressed from the very first day your new puppy arrives home:

1. Puppy House Training / Puppy Housebreaking

House training your young puppy is an immediate and unavoidable task, but it doesn’t need to be a stressful drawn out process. The key to successfully house training your puppy is to make it as simple as possible to your dog. Be very clear and consistent with your house training rules. It’s as simple as communicating to your dog that it is good to go to the toilet here and it is not good to go there.

Be sure to reward a desired elimination and do everything in your power to prevent messy toilet training “mistakes” (through confinement and supervision).

2. Puppy Nutrition & Feeding

The food you provide to your dog has an enormous influence on your puppy’s health, behavior and longevity. There are many theories as to which method of feeding is best, but your three main options are raw food, homemade dog food or a commercial dog food diet.

It pays to do some research to determine the best dog food for your individual puppy, your circumstances and of course, your budget.

3. Puppy Socialization & Habituation

Puppy socialization is the one area where many puppy owners let there dog’s down. Socializing your puppy to other animals and people is a process that should never be overlooked or downplayed.

Puppy socialization is the introduction, exposure and desensitization to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch of everyday life. The socialization period conditions your puppy to be comfortable, safe and relaxed around all types of people, animals and environments.

Learn more about this process here - Socializing Your Puppy

4. Mouth Training

Mouth training or bite inhibition as it is sometimes called is a must for all young puppies. Your puppy’s mother and litter-mates will begin the bite inhibition process and then it is up to you to continue this important task. The whole point of mouth training is so your dog learns how to control the force of his/her bite - and also how to limit the mouthing. Your role is to guide your puppy and give them valuable feedback. If every young puppy was given adequate bite inhibition training there would be an enormous drop in injuries and deaths caused by dog bites.

5. Chew Toy Training

Let’s face it, most dogs love to chew. Now we can’t (and don’t need to) stop this chewing altogether but we can certainly teach our dogs which items are ok to chew on and those that are not.

The key to chew toy training is to establish good chewing habits as soon as possible. To do this you provide some hardy chew toys such as a Kong or Buster Cube and remove the temptation of other items by taking them away or confining your dog. Chew toy training will also help your puppy through the teething stage.

6. Dog Obedience Training

Puppies need guidance and direction to learn how to live successfully in our human domesticated world - otherwise they will just make up their own rules. It’s up to us to provide this guidance and set the boundaries of acceptable behavior for them. If you do this from the very first day your puppy arrives home you will help to establish excellent behavior habits and will prevent many problem behaviors from ever arising. Set yourself up as your dog’s trusted and always fair leader by using positive non violent training methods such as clicker training. Start out with some simple commands/behaviors like sit, down, stay, come and how to walk nicely on a loose leash.

If you bring a new puppy into your home you owe it to him/her to work through the 6 steps outlined above as a bare minimum. It will make a huge difference to how your dog’s life turns out and also to the relationship you share together. A bit of time and effort put into your puppy in those first few months will provide lifelong benefits - for you and your dog.

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