Some of the most monumental changes, ups and downs and new discoveries in the life of a dog are in the first 6 months of their lives. A lot of people are frightened of the puppy stage, mostly because it's filled with the unknown. What happens in the first 6 months? What can be expected? What kinds of things should you know going into it? We are here to help answer some of those questions and hopefully give you a clearer (and less stressful) look into what raising a new puppy looks like, for the first 6 months! Let's dive in :)
1) Teething
Did you know puppies actually lose their baby teeth?
When they come home with you, they have some real sharp, dagger-like teeth, and because they have learned so much of the world up until this point through their mouths, they're still used to mouthing everything they see, including you!
It's important you teach your pup early on what NOT to chew.
It may be endearing at first that they retrieve your shoes and take them to their cave, but eventually that will be a bad habit you wish you wouldn't have allowed in the first place, so be sure to implement your boundaries from the beginning and redirect their attention with something they CAN chew.
When they snag a sock and start to gnaw, chasing them down only becomes a game, so slowly approach them and claim the item in question by putting your hand or foot over it until they let go or walk away. Never approach them suddenly and yank the item away -- that makes it a game and eventually they will lunge and jump to snag it back. Always claim it with your hand or foot and be patient in retrieving it.
Puppies will always pick up a lesson faster if they have to submit to the rule themselves, not just have it thrust upon them in haste.
Once you have retrieved the item you don't want them to chew, redirect their attention by giving them a toy they can chew. You will have to do this ALL the time in the beginning, but patience and endurance wins the race :)
Dogs release their anxiety by chewing, so always make sure you have a good, dog-safe option for their teething and chewing needs. Oftentimes they just need 20 minutes and a good solid bone (not a cooked one!) to gnaw on and they feel much happier, especially while they're teething.
Don't be surprised if you find one of their baby teeth lodged in one of their toys -- they do fall out and its a perfectly natural thing. Their adult teeth are thicker and not so pointy or sharp, thank goodness ;)
NOTE: When we were going through this puppy stage with our stud, we got a good number of bites and scrapes on our hands because he didn’t know how sharp his teeth were and he thought mouthing was a game. One of the things we did when playing with him if he was nipping at our hands was -- instead of leaving our hand outstretched, we'd curl our hand into a fist. That way it was too big for him to put in his mouth and there were no easy places to nip. He got the point and noticed jumping for fingers didn’t fly with us. Not every family will walk through this with their pup (we didn’t with our females), but it’s good to keep in mind just in case you encounter it! If you let nipping at hands or faces or toes be a game, they will continue to see it that way, so correcting it later (rather than during the puppy stage) is harder.
2) Breaking into Kennel Training
Lots of families ask how long kennel training takes, and the honest truth is it varies COMPLETELY from pup to pup, but the longest it will probably take for the ones who aren't taking to it quickly is about a month.
We have a post on our blog specifically about Kennel Training, so give it a read! It covers daytime kennelling and bedtime kennelling, from the day they come home with you!
Some pups will sleep 8 hours straight in their kennel right from the beginning, whereas others will wake up once or twice to pee for the first 2, 3 weeks, whereas other pups will cry every night for a month straight before they finally drift to sleep.
The important thing to remember is that you remain consistent! You are training your pup at all times, whether its a "training moment" in your eyes or not, they are picking up patterns and developing routines based on what normally happens.
Puppies hate boundaries. It's just that simple. Being confined isn't fun, and they will let you know it if they feel like it.
Read our blog post HERE to better understand kennel training and how to approach it.
3) Training them through fear
A good breeder will have exposed their litters to new smells, sounds, experiences, etc, before they go home to their future families. It is our job to start the process of healthy exposure to new things in doses they can handle, and then that job is passed to you as their pack leader when they go home with you.
Up to that 6 month mark, pups are in a stage where most everything is new and they have no idea what the heck any of it means. Enter -- them learning their fear response to things.
YOU are their teacher into all things new. What you should be doing with your pup from day one of it coming home with you is inviting it into new experiences where it discovers something new.
The point isn't to overload your dog or dump a whole bunch of NEW onto it and make learning a traumatic experience. The point is to introduce and walk through something new (even if it's small) with your pup every day.
Things such as: baths, blowdryers, grooming, construction sights, doorbells, knocking, children of all ages, meeting other dogs (that are safe and gentle), treadmill exposure at a slower than slow speed if you have one, car rides, water, people in hats, men with beards, uniformed people (delivery guys, police, security, EMT's, etc), things that roll (such as recycle bins with wheels, office chairs, scooters, roller blades) etc. are all really important things to exposure your pup to.
If they are showing they are quite fearful during an experience, don't continue till you're both blue in the face. Sometimes battles are won over time and it's a better experience for you both to come back to that lesson again tomorrow instead of doing it when your dog is in a negative state of mind.
However, DO NOT reinforce fearful behaviour by cuddling and having pity on them. Giving your dog affection when it's exhibiting insecure behaviour seems like the right thing to do, but it's not. It further reinforces the pattern of fear.
4) Pre-Teen Drama
Some dogs hit this stage harder than others, but I'll be honest, it's just something you have to walk through. Around that 4, 5, 6 month age, your pup may start to act a bit rebellious.
They may have been amazing during all of their training and have picked up all the right behaviour only to one day act like they can't hear you and start being naughty. Don't be intimidated. This is so totally normal! They are starting to come into their maturity and it's normal for that time to bring some rebellion and lack of interest in good behaviour.
What you should do in this time is continue to be consistent, continue firm-but-kind boundaries, make sure they are being challenged mentally (training exercises) as well as physically (going on walks and runs) and make sure you correct the behaviour when naughty. Don't be pushed around at this time -- even though your pup may appear like it doesn't care what you think, it's still looking to you for cues as to what is and isn't acceptable and is always learning from you.
*regarding exercise during the first 12 months of a pup's life, you will hear people say "don't over-exercize your dog!" as their bones/joints/ligaments are still solidifying & changing and too much exercise can hinder their development. While it is true that OVER-exercizing a growing pup is bad, exercise is vital to a healthy, well-balanced fur-baby. So, here's our take: employ common sense and pay attention to your dog. If it starts lagging during a walk/run, sits or lays down, it's tired and it is done. Don't exercise beyond what your pup tells you they can handle.
Mad amounts of repeated jumping & agility are really the only thing pups under one year shouldn't engage in, because, well...those forming joints.*
Capture your dog’s attention by getting their eye contact!
This is so important from early on! Teach them to look to you for permission, whether it be to get up on the couch with you, get the go-ahead to have that piece of food that fell, or before giving them their meals. Once they are paying attention to you and waiting, go ahead and invite them up on the bed or to go ahead and eat. Seems strange when you are used to human psychology, but this is quite appropriate and VERY healthy for the relationship between you and your dog.
5) So Called "Puppy Aggression"
We've heard it before...around 4 (ish) months old, some families become concerned their pup has aggression issues because it growled at them when they went to take its toy.
Don't be concerned! Your puppy isn't dealing with deep-seated aggression issues, its just trying to see if it can get away with being the "man in charge". In the dog kingdom, dogs growl when they want each other to know that territory is theirs. Thing is, you don't want your dog telling YOU what you can and can't do. It's supposed to be the other way around.
So again, don't be pushed around, and don’t let them make the rules. You want them to enjoy their toys, bones, food or favourite treat, but if they growl when you get close to it, that’s something you want to address. By address, we mean calmly show you are the one in charge and you claim the item in the way we mentioned in point 1; approaching calmly and claiming the item by putting your hand over it and waiting for them to give it up. This shows them you are in charge and they can enjoy the item in question but they can’t hoard or be grizzly about sharing it. The last thing you want to do is get freaked out by a growl and step back and let them continue that behaviour. It’s not an “issue“ you need to be worried about, but it is something you want to consistently correct when you see it come up. They will grow through it as you continue to show them the right way.
Remember: you don’t have a tazmanian devil, just a puppy in need of confident direction and constant consistency. You can provide that!
Another thing you can do when they exhibit any kind of behaviour you don't want to encourage--is snap your fingers, make a "tsch" sound, and gently nudge either their hind quarters or at the base of their neck/shoulder area. Don't gasp in horror too loudly--this isn't a mean gesture! The snap of your fingers gets their attention, as does the "tsch" sound, and the finger nudge is very similar to what their mama did when they were doing something they shouldn't as a very little puppy--but she would do it with her teeth, lol. It's natural to dogs and they will understand the behaviour.
What we have listed above are the behavioural stages you may encounter, so you feel confident about addressing and walking through them if you encounter them. Don't pre-stress about it or try to hype yourself up for "the worst" -- that won't be helpful for you or your pup. Always remember that these are normal stages in their development, just like kids have.
What we haven't prepared you for is the cute aggression you will experience, where you feel so overwhelmed with love for them you just want to squish them like putty. Or the joy it brings you and your household to watch a puppy clumsily discover new things and look so adorable in the process. Or how satisfying it feels to have them always wander to where you're sitting and lay down on your feet.
There is so much joy that comes with a new puppy, there's a reason it's actually considered therapy to sit in a pile of them.
The more you and your pet work together the more bonded you will be! Press in, be confident in yourself as the pack leader, always stay consistent, make sure their needs for challenge are being met and lastly, HAVE FUN and enjoy this stage! There's ups and downs to it but also loads of happiness.
Check out our previous blog post for a little breakdown on other popular puppy topics such as potty training, nipping, jumping and more HERE.
תגובות