General Care

The excitement of a new pup in the family is brilliant, just as when a child grows and develops so too will your pup, each stage of his development will bring excitement; the first night that they sleep through and do not cry when you leave them.
The learning curve that you will take depends on you and also the breed of dog you have chosen; general care and basic training takes time and patience.

General care;

A routine is important for both you and your pup, part of this routine should include exercise, grooming and training.
Exercise: To start with short walks are best, remember that he is still growing, to be over exercised at this young age could put too much pressure onto his joints and bones.
Shorter walks that last about fifteen minutes with a short training exercise will tire him more as he will have had both mental and physical exercise.
As your puppy approaches six months the length of exercise can be increased to two half hour walks a day and a training exercise should also be included.
As an adult dog your dog should be able to walk for as long as you want to be out with him, remember to keep consistent; you would not walk ten minutes a day and then run a marathon at the weekend! The reason for doing both training and normal exercise is that exercise promotes physical fitness and training promotes mental stimulation, when combined together gives a happier dog.

Grooming;

Grooming is also an important part of your pups’ daily routine. This gives you contact time should be fun for your pup, but, also allows for you to check his eyes, ears, teeth and feet in addition to brushing his coat to remove any dead hair and knots. Any contact that you have with your pup such as petting, training, grooming and exercise will increase the bond between you both.
A dog that has been well handled from a young age will enable him to be examined by your vet more easily. Remember that you do not need to have an appointment to pop in and see us for a social visit; such visits build a bond between us, you and your pup.
There are many types of combs and brushes available to purchase; please ask for advice if you are unsure what need for your dog.
Grooming your dog will also bring to your attention cuts and lumps that may otherwise have been missed.

Basic Training

Socialisation

Socialisation starts right at the start of your pup’s life with his mother and litter mates. This responsibility of continual socialisation passes to you as his new owner.
The wider variety of environmental experience your pup gets at a young age the more confident he will be as an adult, this would include sights and sounds. Remember to do this in a controlled manner, do not overwhelm him with too many sights/sounds at a time. Socialisation continues all the way through your dog’s life. The environment that you both live in is constantly changing; how you are feeling after a long day at work, he will pick up on each of your feelings and will react differently to each one.
Dog training classes will help with socialisation for both you and your pup; this includes different dogs and people that you may not normally come into contact with.
There are contact numbers at the back of this leaflet for local dog training lessons.

When does training start for your pup?

Training starts from the moment that your pup arrives home with you, the first things that he will learn is his name and also to become housetrained.

How to teach his name:

The name you have chosen for your pup needs to be simple – so that it flows easily when you say it. Choose a name that is not shortened, for example Pippin becomes Pip. The combined use of a full name and the shortened name will confuse a pup. Think of words that you are going to use, how close in sound is Bo and Mo to the word no!

The use of a crate:

Many people are using crates as an aid to training; this can be beneficial to both you as an owner and also to your pup.
To introduce the crate make it pleasurable, fun to be in; this can be done by feeding him there, treats given on his bed. If you have shut the door and he starts to whimper ignore him until he is quiet and then let him out, by doing this you are teaching that he does not get what he wants
The crate should be used as a safe haven for your pup; this can also give both you and other animals in the house a bit of peace and quiet from an energetic young pup. The crate should never be used as a punishment, otherwise you will find the pup resents going into the crate.
The size of the crate should be big enough to allow your pup to lie stretched out once he has reached his adult size; you should also have enough room for a water bowl.

House training:

The topic of house training is a very broad area, different people have different ways and methods that have worked for them and their pup.
For this reason here are a few tips to get you on the right path.
Take your pup out when he has:
1) As soon as he has woken up, think of potty training a child.
2) After he has eaten or drank.
3) When he has been playing or has got very excited.
Other signs to look for are that he is unsettled, wandering around, turning circles, or sniffing around more than he would do normally. At this point pick him up and take him out into the garden when he has urinated and or defecated praise him for being good.

The introduction of the collar and lead

After allowing your new arrival a couple of days to get to know his new home it is time to introduce the collar and lead, it is important to do this in stages – remember that he has not worn these before. The introduction of the collar before he is able to go out means that there is one thing less for him to overcome.
The collar should be as light weight as possible so that he almost is unaware of its presence, should he object to wearing the collar distract him with toys and games to occupy his mind. Once he is happy with the collar being on it is time to introduce the lead, again this needs to be light weight. The lead can simply be attached to his collar and be left to drag it around; he will need to be monitored so that he does not get caught up with it trailing behind him. The same distraction methods can be used as for the collar. After a short period of time pick up the lead, should the pup pull away from you encourage him to you with either a toy or titbit; this will give reassurance that it is okay.

Training

The training of your dog is a continual education for you both; there will always be something new to learn. Once a basic level of obedience has acquired there are a number of different awards that you can work towards; these are the Good Citizen Awards that are run by the kennel club, once you are ready then you will have a short test and on passing be able to progress to the next level.( there are three stages bronze, silver and gold)
To find out where your nearest training club is email gcds@thekennelclub.org.uk.
The kennel club also has an organisation for young people aged between 6 years and 24 years of age, this is called the Young Kennel Club, for further information please look on their website which is www.ykc.org.uk, the organisation is open to anyone in this age range and you do not need to own a dog to join.

A couple of useful numbers;
Whitnash dog training; is held on Monday evenings at Whitnash Community Centre in Acre Close,
Please contact Graham on 07831 548911, please not that courses must be booked.
Ashlawn Dog Training Club; held at Rugby Riding Club. This club runs the good citizen scheme from puppy foundation through to gold. The courses are 8 weeks long; the puppy class starts at 6.30pm on Monday evening.
Please phone Erica on 02476 313852, please note that courses must be booked