Effective Training

Eternal vigilance

Eternal vigilance

Despite the utmost vigilance, accidents are almost sure to happen occasionally during the first week or so. In such an event do not smack the puppy or threaten it in any way. If you do, he will associate being punished with performing a perfectly natural and necessary function and may be cowed or bemused by being chastised for no apparent reason. 

The next time, he wants to relieve himself he will probably hide in a corner or under the furniture. If you are able to catch him in the act say no sharply, scold him and put him outside. While he is away themes should be cleared up and the surrounding area thoroughly rubbed with a disinfectant or sprinkled with pepper. The reason for this is that it is natural for a dog to return to a spot smelling of urine or faeces when it wants to relieve himself again, and to leave a smelly spot on the carpet or floor is to tempt him to repeat the transgression in the same place. If a puppy is kept in a flat or building without access to a garden, a tray or heap of sawdust, wood shavings, dry earth or torn-up paper may be made to serve the purpose. 

The routine to be followed is much the same. Place the puppy on the tray at frequent intervals instead of taking him outside, watching him and preventing him from wandering until he has done what is required. All puppies like to bite and tear any article which appeals to them and often chew upholstered furniture, mats, carpets or shoes unless firmly checked. The desire to bite or nibble anything which comes their way arises partly from playfulness and partly from the need to exercise the jaws and help the teeth to grow. The best way to prevent household possessions from being damaged is to provide toys of some kind which a puppy can bite, chew and worry to his heart’s content and learn to regard as his own property . anything of suitable size that is chewable will be accepted readily and come to be greatly prized. 

A piece of stout rag or sacking knotted into a compact shape, a stuffed leather glove or old slipper are all suitable. But perhaps the most convenient and safest toys to supply are a raw knuckle bone of a size suitable for the puppy to which it is given a solid rubber ball, rubber bond or rubber ring. Precautions must be taken to see that he ball, bone or ring is made of hard, solid rubber and not likely to be affected by being chewed by the puppy’s sharp teeth. Some toys of this kind sold for dogs, though they appear to be solid consist of a layer of hard rubber covering an inner core of rubber sponge. 

The solid skin is liable to be torn and fragments of the softer interior pulled off. If these pieces are swallowed they may seriously injure the puppy. It is necessary, therefore, to make sure that the article is really hard and solid before letting a puppy have it to gnaw.