So much contradictory info on puppy training. What are your thoughts.?
So I am learning all the in’s and out’s of bringing a puppy to our home.
I find depending on web site – or people there is so much contradictory info.
Crate train – don’t crate train
Puppy pads – no puppy pads…etc etc.
Put them outside….keep them indoors.
the list goes on and on.
I just want the real deal of what to do for the best of my dog.
Do you have any thoughts on sleep/crate training, toilet training, behavioural managment (i.e. creating a calm, adjusted happy dog).
Or have you come across a couple of really great web sites that can help me?
I just want to get a firm plan of action BEFORE she arrives.
Thanks so much
My dog will deffinately be an indoor dog – a part of the family and will go outside a couple times a day to potty. I actually don’t think anyone should get a dog and then leave it outside. Whats the point really and poor dog is alone all the time.
Kudos to you for doing this research BEFORE bringing your new friend home! It can be daunting sifting through the tons of information out there, especially if this is your first dog (or at least your first puppy in a long while). What it comes down to is figuring out what works best for YOUR lifestyle. Most of the training options out there work to get results that you want as long as you pick one and stick to it consistently….otherwise no one would recommend them. What works best for you and your dog may not work as well for another owner and another dog.
Here are my thoughts:
Crate training…I firmly believe that all dogs should be trained to calmly accept a crate if at all possible. This isn’t to say that all dogs should be crated whenever you’re not home. In fact, most dogs can and should be graduated to having free run of the house eventually. For young puppies, the crate can help make housetraining faster and keep them from chewing on electrical wires or other potentially deadly household objects. For all dogs, being able to calmly accept a crate will be a huge asset in the event that the dog ever has to stay at the vet (for a spay surgery, for boarding, if they eat something they shouldn’t, or if they become ill). Unfortunately, vets CAN’T let dogs have the run of the clinic and for some conditions restricted activity is a MUST. Dogs that are crate trained are FAR less stressed about being caged at the vet, which will speed healing. Crate training also gives the dog a space of their own…and better yet it is usually a portable space. This can make traveling and staying in strange places (relative’s homes, hotels, etc) less stressful because the dog has a place they can go that they percieve as familiar and safe.
Puppy pads, in my opinion, are a bad idea if you want your dog to potty outside. What dogs are learning more than location when you potty train them is a preferred surface. If you use puppy pads, they will learn that they want to go on this paper-like surface and you will have to start from scratch when you try to transition them to grass. If you want your dog to pee on the grass, why not just teach them to do it there in the first place? That way you don’t have to train them twice and they don’t get confused about which surface you want them to eliminate on.
Outside vs indoors…this is really going to depend on you. Some people still feel that a dog’s place is outside and while they love their dogs very much they would NEVER bring their dog inside except in extreme weather or severe illness (and even then only on the porch/mud room or in the basement). Personally, I feel that all dogs benefit from living in the house as part of the family. Dogs are social animals and they enjoy just hanging out with you even if you aren’t actually doing anything with them. No matter how dedicated or how hard they try, owners of outside dogs are still not going to spend as much time with their dogs as owners of inside dogs. Outside dogs are much more prone to problem behaviors such as jumping on people and nuisance barking, more likely to pick up parasites, more likely to suffer with infections or diseases before their owner notices, and at a much higher risk for poisoning and theft. Very young puppies should never be left outside by themselves.
As for training in general…I am in favor of positive training vs punishment based training. Studies have shown that ANY kind of training results in a better behaved, better adjusted dog than no training at all. But these same studies have also shown that dogs raised with positive methods have fewer and less severe behavioral problems than dogs trained with punishment based training.
A really great book that will help you understand how dogs learn as well as give some excellent training tips is Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson. I would strongly recommend you pick up this book and read it cover to cover. I would also strongly encourage signing up for at least a basic puppy obedience class. Group classes are a GREAT bonding experience and even the best trainers benefit from having an outside eye to bounce training ideas and theories off of.
Kikos Kitchen Nightmares!- Training your dog to get over their fears clicker training