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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The first week of puppyhood- how to stay sane and create a confident adult dog
You did it. You got a puppy. Or maybe, you're thinking of getting a puppy. Good luck sifting through the copious amounts of content out there, all promising you the perfect pup. I'm here to make things simple for you. In the world of dog training, puppyhood is often overcomplicated and can lead to failure with the basics (you know, like your dog not pooping in your house). After years of experience raising puppies, my own and clients, I've come up with the simplest yet most effective skills to focus on the first week home with you. You know the drill, grab yourself a tasty drink and enjoy.
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Hello and welcome back to the Everyday Trainer podcast. My name is Meg and I am a dog trainer. Today's episode we're talking all about puppies and what the first week with your puppy should look like. So this is a really good episode if you're planning on getting a puppy or you've recently got one. You'll have a lot of helpful tips and tricks to make puppyhood very successful for you. So you know the drill Grab yourself a tasty drink and I'll meet you back here. All right, welcome back y'all. Happy to be here, happy that you're listening. As always, my tasty drink of choice today is Olipop. I love Olipop. I would die for an Olipop sponsor. I drink these all the time. This is my dopamine fix.
Speaker 1:So I am recording this from inside the house. I think the last couple of times I've recorded the podcast have been from the van and I'm really hearing the difference. The van is really like the best sound for recording a podcast and I'm also recording video on this one, which is why I am in the house and I have to say it's very different. It's so different for me, like there's just something about like being able to sit with like the headphones on and just like talk into a microphone and not really care about what I look like or if I'm like looking at a camera. So if you're watching this on YouTube and I'm like constantly like looking down and looking away, I'm sorry. That's just how it's gonna have to be for me to be able to successfully record this episode. So we're gonna talk about what it should look like the first week that you bring your puppy home.
Speaker 1:I have been bombarded by puppies and there's a lot of things that I'm seeing my owners do that I want to help you with and hopefully prevent some future problems from developing If you've gotten a puppy recently or you plan on getting a puppy, or maybe you know you have an older dog and you just want to know this information for the future, or, you know, share the dog training knowledge with everybody that you know right? So I love training puppies. It's literally my like, it's my favorite. If I could only train puppies, I would. I think there was a period of time where I really loved behavioral mod, because I loved, like, the challenge of getting a dog that was like super aggressive or fearful, that like didn't trust anybody, and then I would like gain its trust and there would be this big, like exaggerated change in the dog. You know, like for a while my ego really loved behavioral mod for that reason. But I have to say, as I've gotten older, like I love training puppies. They're just, they're easy if you do it right. And I know that everybody gets really frustrated with like the crate training and the potty training, but I already can't sit still for very long, so I'm already on like a two hour routine and I'm constantly outside. So like me and puppies just vibe me and puppies just get along and I love training puppies.
Speaker 1:Before I get into the nitty gritty of today's episode, I do want to just like touch base with you all about, like you know, what's going on in my life and the business and the everyday trainer and all that jazz. So recently within I would say last week or maybe two weeks ago we finished up our first round of my virtual shadow program, which was so cool Literally so freaking cool had people from all over the country come and learn with me and essentially what it was was a three week program where we covered everything from you know dog training fundamentals putting together a board and train program to the business structure how you can structure your business as a dog trainer, what an LLC is, what a CRM is, email templates, all that sort of stuff. So first week we covered dog training. The second week we kind of put it all together and I share like sample sessions of the dogs that I was training. And then the third week we cover all of the business stuff I talk about. You know how to set up your business resources like business insurance and CRMs, like HoneyBook, like there's just so much information that you don't know. You don't know until you start to go set up your business.
Speaker 1:So when I first started my training business, I remember it was very like gatekeepy, like I was very fortunate in that I had a trainer that I could go to and she was so open with me about everything that she did and you know I'm incredibly blessed that I had that. Not a lot of people do. So I essentially wanted to be a resource for the people who are looking to grow their business or streamline it or just like take their dog training journey to the next step. Because typically how a lot of people get into dog training is they have a dog with behavioral issues or they know somebody who has a dog with behavioral issues and then you help them. And then you start helping more people and then you're like, oh, I'm actually like good at this and this is like a really valuable skill that the world needs more of. I can, you know, turn this into a business. But making that jump from just kind of, you know, amateur dog trainer to dog trainer business can be really, really scary.
Speaker 1:So I set out to be the support that I wish I had when I was working on, you know, developing and growing my business into what it is today. So I essentially gave away all my secrets, everything that I do in my business. It's kind of like the behind the scenes of everything that I do in my business. It's kind of like the behind the scenes of everything that I've got going on and it was so awesome.
Speaker 1:By the end of it I did like consultations with everybody and, not going to lie, I was like a little bit nervous because the voice in my head is like that was horrible. They hated it. They thought that it was such a waste of money, like they already knew all the information that you're sharing with them. You know that like of money, like they already knew all the information that you're sharing with them. You know that like nasty little voice and, after talking with everybody, they're like, yeah, I am like so grateful that I did this, like this was so cool, I learned so much. Like I've already been implementing like some of the stuff that I learned with my clients and they're so impressed and I'm just like so grateful that you offered this. And I'm like, oh my gosh, that means the world to me genuinely, like it's so wild when you have an idea and you just kind of like throw it out into the world and you're like hope this works, hope that you know somebody benefits from this thing that I'm creating, and like spending all this time doing and you know, I hope they like it. Like I just don't know. You don't know until you do it. And I did it and it turned out great and now I have this awesome program that I can offer to you all.
Speaker 1:So, with that being said, we're going to do our next round of the virtual shadow program, starting June 3rd. This is going to be the last round that we do with the current pricing model that we have. So if you want to get in on the current pricing that we have, if you've reached out to us, we've sent all of the details and information. Now's going to be the time because I'm going to increase the prices here in the next couple months, so this is going to be the last round that we'll probably offer for a little bit. And yeah, I would love to have you.
Speaker 1:If you're a new dog trainer, you've had your dog training business for a couple years. You're just looking for a little, you know, help in structuring it, help in getting more clients, how to get your training business out into the world, all that jazz. I would love to be your mentor. So I'll include the link for that in the bio and basically, what we've been doing is just scheduling phone calls with everybody to make sure that it's a good fit for you. So we'll have a conversation about you know, like what your goals are, what you currently got going on, and make sure that it's a good fit for you before you just like sign on to something that you don't really know what it's all about.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that was like such a cool little thing that we did and I didn't talk too much about it because I was in that like nervous, like is this going to be stupid? Like are people going to hate this? Are they actually going to appreciate it and now that I got the verbal feedback that I sometimes need with the things that I do, I'm feeling great about it. So I'm throwing it out into the world and want everybody to do it with me and that's also kind of like the way that we can connect. I know that you know it can be kind of hard to connect with professional trainers when you're across the country and you can't like work with them in person. So this is kind of that space to do it and it's super cool. It's in the Mighty Networks app. So, if you don't know, I have a community page with a ton of free resources and content. So please go join the community page. It's a bunch of little awesome people who are super passionate about dog training and it's cool because there's just a group of like-minded people and there's no judgment, there's no mean comments like that's not allowed here Only love and support. So if you want like an awesome community of trainers and dog owners and you know people, people who just want to learn, then come and join my community. I will also include that in the link in the bio, but the virtual shadow program is kind of like a part of that. So it's really cool. You can do it all from your phone. It's an app. You can watch all of the videos, comment on things. It's really a group that you get to join, and the cool thing about the virtual shadow program is everybody who's already completed it will continue to be in that group, so you get lifetime access to it, and the girls who just finished the last round are going to be in there answering questions and kind of helping. You know all of the new students who are coming in. So just building a little community of future dog trainers that's. That's what we love.
Speaker 1:All right, let's get into our episode. I don't really have too many other like nitty gritty details of my life. You know, updates for you, which is good because I think for a period of time my life was a little bit chaotic, so the fact that I don't have anything like wild and crazy going on is pretty good for me. Um, you know we're just doing board and trains out of the house right now. Oh, I guess this is a little announcement that I should probably make. Um, starting in mid August, I will be taking off. I have a lot of really fun things planned for this year and as soon as I have the go ahead to share that with you. Of course, you know I'm going to share it on the podcast first, because you all know my deepest, darkest secrets here and I'm obviously going to tell you like everything that's going on first. But I'm I'm so excited I'm doing something new, an in-person thing in a new place and like I think you guys are actually going to love this actually. So as soon as I can you know, release the details on that, I'll obviously share it with you. But I will only be training dogs through August. So we are in what month are we? This episode is coming out in May. So June, july and half of August I'll be in Orlando. If you want to work with me, you know where to find us come to our website. So that's all the updates that I have for you right now. Next week I will hopefully have more updates of what's to come for the rest of this year. I'm literally so excited you have no idea.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's talk puppies. So I have been completely bombarded by the amount of puppies that we have had come in for training and everybody is doing the exact same thing. So if you have a puppy, I probably know what you're doing and if I'm not calling you out right now, good, you might be off to the right foot. So, most importantly, I want to talk about what the first week with your puppy should look like. I think you know dog training is so oversaturated with information. Everybody is throwing so much at you it's information overload. It's so hard to figure out what you should be doing, what you shouldn't be doing. But my approach to training is really keep it as simple as possible. Kiss, keep it simple, stupid. Okay, we're overcomplicating things, we are stressing way too much. The best thing that you can do for yourself and your puppy is to be as calm and chill as possible, and I have become super chill with the amount of puppies that I have in my house, simply because I know what works and I know what doesn't, and I know that there's no need to rush through the puppy training process. So let's get into what the first week with your puppy will look like.
Speaker 1:Day one you bring your puppy home and you're cuddling them all day. Essentially, you're holding them. They're the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful things in the whole world. Who doesn't love puppies? Everybody loves puppies. Well, maybe not everybody, but I love puppies and I know that a lot of people really love puppies. So we get our puppy, regardless of the size that they are or if they're going to be a large breed. We're typically carrying them around everywhere, we're smushing their little faces, we're just giving them the baby talk, we're passing them around to our friends and family. All that stuff is fine and dandy.
Speaker 1:However, when you're driving home with your fluffy little baby in your arms, what I want you to think about is the future dog that you want to create and yes, you know we've got genetics and breed and all that stuff that's going to come into play of the adult dog that we have. But you determine what lifestyle your adult dog is going to have, and that starts on day one. And I know it's hard. I know it's hard to look into the future. Look past those big puppy dog eyes and the soft little ears. Look past that and really think into the future. You're investing into your future dog that first day that you bring your puppy home. So when you're carrying around your little baby German Shepherd all day and when it jumps up on your legs and you go and pick them up and you know you pet them and give them little, maybe fluffs. Ask yourself are these behaviors that I want my adult dog to do?
Speaker 1:When we bring puppies home, they're usually at the age where they're in this imprinting stage, so that is when their little brains are the most moldable. They're picking up on. You know habits and you know what works for them. The thing about dogs is they simply do what works. So if your puppy is jumping up and putting their adorable little paws on your legs and you're bending down and picking them up when they try that down the road six months later and your little german shepherd puppy is no longer eight pounds and is now 80 pounds, you're going to get frustrated when they're jumping up on you and you're going to call a dog trainer and you're going to say, meg, my 80 pound German Shepherd is six months old and is jumping on me and everybody that comes into the home and I don't know what to do.
Speaker 1:So puppyhood is all about prevention. It's all about preventing the bad habits that we don't know what to do. So puppyhood is all about prevention. It's all about preventing the bad habits that we don't want to see in our adult dog. So we're shaping those adult dogs that we want in the future. I know that it's hard, but I need you to sacrifice those dopamine hits right now, because it will so be worth it to have a dog that doesn't have bad habits that you later have to fix through behavioral modifications, possibly corrections down the line. So when it comes to training puppies, I'm force-free. I'm not really using leash pressure. I'm not really using too much. It's all about prevention. We're preventing those bad habits from forming, but you need to be very mindful of what you are reinforcing.
Speaker 1:So day one, we're carrying our puppy everywhere, we're giving them constant affection. But the thing about puppies is they're not human babies. They can actually walk and function quite well without us carrying them around. So what happens is we carry them around everywhere, we treat them like babies, and then we have adult dogs that can't function because in their mind they're still just soft little baby puppies. They can't go up the stairs, they can't jump into the car. We've picked them up their entire lives Like, why? Why are they all of a sudden? Why are we making them do these things?
Speaker 1:So when you have your puppy like, you need to think about this. You need to think about what do I want my adult dog to be able to do Walk in and out of the home. Yes, you don't need to pick your dog up to carry them inside. You don't need to, you know, pick your dog up to have them go on stairs, like that's all the stuff that we want to do in the imprinting age. So when you have that cute little, adorable eight week puppy, I want you to put their paws on the ground. Stop carrying them everywhere.
Speaker 1:I know that they're cute and you can obviously like pick them up and cuddle them every now and then. I'm not a heathen Like. I love puppies. I love puppies. I will cuddle the fuck out of a puppy, okay. But on the flip side of that, I also make very confident puppies and adult dogs, and by doing that, I ask them to do things that are mildly scary for them and I'm talking mildly scary, like walking over a grate. Okay, what we would normally do is oh, the puppy is scared, I'm going to pick them up. I'm going to pick them up and you know they don't have to walk over that. Or I'm going to pick them up instead of teaching them to walk up and down the stairs, and then six months later, you have an 80 pound German shepherd who's scared to go upstairs because in their mind they can't do it because you've always picked them up. So don't treat them like a human baby, especially in that first day. I'll give you, you know, I'll give you a pass for, you know, the first couple hours or whatever. But really training starts the day you bring your puppy home. So we're setting the expectations for how life is going to be from that point forward and remember, we're preventing behavioral issues from happening. So what do we want to do day one? First, we want to make sure that we have a crate. We need to have a crate for our puppies.
Speaker 1:I keep puppy training very simple. I know everybody's like Meg, what's your list of necessary things that you need when you bring a puppy home? Like, what do you need when you bring a shelter dog home? I, I literally could like live out of a backpack, like, I am the simplest person. I wash my body with a bar of soap. I wash my face with a bar of soap. There is no skincare routine. You think I have a list of things that you need for your puppy. I don't. Now can you have more things? For sure, I'm not going to like take that away from you, but when it comes down to it, we really want to keep it simple.
Speaker 1:The more simple that you can keep the training, the more successful it's going to be. So what you really need is a crate that is large enough for your puppy to stand up and turn around in, but not so large that they can poop and pee on one end of the crate and then go and sleep on the other. So with crate training, we're doing a few things. One, we're giving our puppies a place to settle and decompress and relax away from us. Two, we are preventing them from chewing our baseboards, chewing on our shoes, eating things that are unsafe for them. Three, we are preventing them from getting into the habit of pooping and peeing where they shouldn't be pooping and peeing. Naturally, our dogs do not want to poop and pee on themselves. So when we get a properly fitted crate, our puppies are not going to want to poop and pee in the space that they sleep Right. So that is the value of getting a crate right away. Now I suggest getting started with crate training immediately, because it's going to set the tone for how things are going to be moving forward in your house.
Speaker 1:Dogs are environmental for how things are going to be moving forward in your house. Dogs are environmental. I tell people that when they move it's always a great opportunity to implement new structure. I tell people all the time that you know like the dogs learn in the board and train program. The dogs learn all the things at my house, but it's so important that I help my owners integrate it back into their house, because dogs are environmental and they'll go right back to the same behaviors that they learned in that environment. So this applies to our puppies as well. The first day that we bring them home, set the tone for how things are going to be moving forward.
Speaker 1:Do not let your puppy sleep in the bed. Everybody does that. They're carrying their puppy around all day long, and then they're like I just the first night. I just feel bad for them because they're no longer with their siblings and they're crying a lot. So I'm just going to sleep in bed with them the first night. It's not going to be a big deal. And then it happens the second night, and then it happens the third night, and then you're like all right, finally I'm going to start creating my puppy at night.
Speaker 1:And then what's going to happen?
Speaker 1:They're going to scream. They're going to scream bloody murder and you're going to go oh my God, I cannot do this, I cannot do this. You're going to go and let them out. You're going to sleep in bed with them and you're going to keep doing that. And then you're going to call me. You're going to say Megan, I can't leave my house. My dog screams so much and I can't put them in the crate. They hate it so much. They lose their mind. I don't know what to do. I have a doctor's appointment. I haven't taken a shower. Please help. And I'm saying this because these are the phone calls that I actually get. So what I'm seeing with people is they're typically sleeping in bed with their puppies. Right away. Please don't do this. It's just setting the tone for how things are going to be moving forward. And then, when you do try to go to crate train, your puppy's going to hate it, right, because they've been sleeping in bed with you this whole time. Right, what I would suggest you do you can either have the crate in your room or, honestly, you can be in a separate room. You don't have to feel guilty about that.
Speaker 1:But what I did with Minka, my little Malinois cuppy cake, is I actually sat her on my nightstand so that her crate was like level with the bed and I sleep in bed with Zoe and Lucy. So Zoe and Lucy were in the bed with me and then Minka was sleeping in her crate, but her crate was like facing us so she could still see us. But she was practicing sleeping in her crate. She fussed, she fought it. At first she was sad, but eventually she fell asleep. First night it was rough, don't get me wrong. It was rough, but we stuck it out. The next night it was rough, don't get me wrong, it was rough, but we stuck it out. The next night it was a little better. She fussed only for a little bit and then she went to sleep the following night. Amazing, I was truly blessed. She was pretty easy. But I was doing all the things right the first day. Another thing I wasn't giving her like a stupid amount of like affection, right.
Speaker 1:So if there's too big of a contrast between life out of the crate and life in the crate, of course your dog is going to hate the crate. So you know, minka was three months old at the time. She was fully capable. She was on the ground just following me around being a puppy, doing puppy things. I wasn't carrying her around like a baby. I didn't have her strapped to my chest like a baby. So the crate wasn't that different than life outside of the crate. It was just like a space that she had to stay in. You know it's not like we went from she's constantly touching me to okay, now I'm not touching her or anybody, and this is horrible.
Speaker 1:So make sure that there's not too much contrast between you know life in the crate and life out of the crate. That could obviously make your dog really hate the crate. But you definitely want to start crate training right away. If you don't, you're just pushing back your problems Because the thing is, the crate is the safest place for your dog to be. I unfortunately had a client dog pass away a couple weeks ago and this has happened to us before. It's much more common than you would think because the dog was not crated and they get into things that are unsafe for them. So the if you love your dog like you, will create them when you're not actively watching them.
Speaker 1:It's not a cage. We're not like using it as a punishment. It's a. It's a safe space for them, them, and that's what we want it to be. That conditioning starts the first day you bring your puppy home. So make sure that you have a well-fitted crate before you bring your puppy home. You know, it's just big enough for them to stand up and turn around. In that way, we can prevent those potty accidents from happening in your home. So another thing that I want you to get started with right away is measure out your puppy's food, and this can just be their regular kibble or whatever type of food that you're feeding them, and that's what you're going to use to reinforce all the things that you want to see more of Now.
Speaker 1:The first week of puppyhood. We are keeping things so, so simple, and I'm saying first week, but this can really go on as long as you need it to. Everybody wants to rush through puppyhood with their dogs and honestly, there's literally no need. I used to be like this, like when I would get puppy clients. I would be like, oh my gosh, I have to have this like perfectly well-trained puppy and honestly, it kind of backfires, like when you do too much, too much obedience, too much like advanced stuff. It really hinders the dog and doesn't create the right habits that we want. So my goal with puppies is obviously prevention. We're preventing all of the behaviors that we don't want to, you know, continue into adulthood or, you know, manifest into adulthood. But another one of our goals is to also just teach our puppies to be confident confident with the environment, confident with the life that we provide them. So that kind of plays into, you know, like not carrying your puppy around, teaching them to climb upstairs, all that sort of stuff, like letting them problem solve, is going to create a confident dog.
Speaker 1:A lot of the adult dogs that I'm getting are so wildly insecure, like it's not even funny and it's because we're just following them around, like you know, micromanaging their every move and making sure that they, you know, are comfy and happy 24 seven and that, like nothing ever makes them upset ever. That's crazy, that's crazy. I have people who are literally not leaving their homes because they're scared that like their dog is going to be uncomfortable if they leave. And I'm like, yeah, your dog might be uncomfortable, but like they're gonna be okay, like you're not actually putting them in any sort of situation where they're in harm, and so when you come home and they're fine, that's, that's a learning moment for them. They've learned like oh okay, well, I actually am going to be okay and nothing really bad happens when my owner leaves the house.
Speaker 1:But what we're doing is we're either never leaving our house, and so our dogs never have an opportunity to see us gone, and then, of course, they're going to lose their ever loving minds, or we walk out of the room and then come back in we're like hey, it's okay, it's okay, you're fine. You're fine, you're fine, I'm right here, I'm right here, right, that's also crazy. We cannot be doing that. Because I get these adult dogs for training and they're so insecure they can't be away Like. They're never left alone. If they're not the center of attention, they lose their ever loving mind.
Speaker 1:Like we're just creating all of these like children. I know you've like gone to school with somebody like that who was like an only child, who like got whatever they wanted and their parents were like obsessed with them and they could like do no wrong. That's essentially like most of the dogs that I train, and it's so wild to me because they're kind of assholes, like these adult dogs that I get are kind of assholes. So this is like my guide to like not having an asshole adult dog, I guess, but it really starts in that imprinting stage, in the puppyhood stage. Like we have to teach our dogs to be confident. Like we have to stop coddling our puppies and treating them like human babies. They just are not human babies. They're fully capable, even at eight weeks old. Like we got to get them climbing over rocks or logs and take them on hikes and let them explore all that stuff. We'll get into that in just a second.
Speaker 1:So the first week, what I want you to focus on is one crate training. We already talked a little bit about that, about the crate, that sort of thing and potty training. That's it. Until you have those two things, I don't really want you to work on pretty much anything. Keep it super simple for yourself, because guess what? You're going to be sleep deprived, most likely that first week. So why try to add sit and down and, you know, loosely walk and speak and roll over and paw and all of this stuff? No, no, no, no, no, no. Simply get your puppy on a crate schedule, get them potty trained. The more days that we have with zero incidents, no potty accidents or chewing on your furniture, things like that, the faster you get through that stage.
Speaker 1:Right, everybody wants to jump through potty training and crate training and it's boring. That's why nobody wants to do it. It's fun. Like that's not fun. What's fun? Teaching paw? Teaching paw is fun, right, we're getting our puppies working for their food and we're like, oh my gosh, this is so much fun, right. But like, when it comes down to it, like, I don't really care if you have a puppy that can do paw, if they're still shitting in your house like, come on, so make it super, super simple for yourself.
Speaker 1:I don't want you to literally do anything until you have a puppy that is crate trained and potty trained. Don't rush the process. There's no need. You can teach things in literally one session. Teaching things like obedience skills is not difficult at all at all. Crate training and potty training it's boring, but it's very, very difficult for people. So those are the things that I want you to focus on.
Speaker 1:So let's get into crate training and what that looks like a little bit. We're measuring out our dog's food every single time. Every single time your puppy goes into the crate, I want you to grab a little handful of their food and I want you to toss it into the back of the crate. Ideally, our puppies go into the crate, chew on their little kibble, we close the door, we walk away. We come back. We walk away, we come back and an hour or two later we take them out no-transcript. So if you're not there yet in your potty training and you're like, no, they'll definitely have an accident. Walking from their crate to the door, then pick them up. That is the one time that I'll say you can pick them up.
Speaker 1:Ok, so immediately, every single time your puppy comes out of the crate, I want you to walk them outside, to where you want them to go potty. Put them down in the grass. You're going to say go potty. You might need to pace around a little bit. Be boring here. Don't do a lot of talking to your puppy, because if you're talking too much, they're going to be too focused on you and we want to get them sniffing. Sniffing is the goal. If they sniff, then they're most likely going to go potty. So we're pacing around, we're being super boring. Pace, pace, pace. They start to sniff, they squat, wait for them to finish. Yay, good job, good potty, good Throw a party Food Feed.
Speaker 1:Have some little kibbles in your pocket Feed, reward that. Go for a walk, do a little, you know, like exploring, expose them to the world, come back inside. If they go potty outside, they are allowed to have more freedom in the house. So this is the one thing that I want you to do with training have some little kibbles in your pocket. When your puppy's following you around the house and they stop and they sit, I want you to mark that with a good and feed. Walk around your house, they stop, they sit, they look up at you. Good and feed. Now we're just using their kibble. So, just a couple pieces of kibble.
Speaker 1:Good, we're doing a couple things here. One we are loading our marker word. Good is our marker word. It's how we mark a behavior, to tell a dog that is good. That's what I like, food is coming. I'm going to reward you.
Speaker 1:The sooner we can condition our dogs to a word or a sound that means food is coming, the better our communication is going to be and we're going to be able to mark behaviors that we want to see more of. Okay, so what I'm having you mark is the dog sitting and looking up at you. Okay, so we're loading our marker word. We're teaching our puppies what good means. Good means food is coming, keep doing what you're doing, and we're also rewarding our puppy for keeping all four paws on the floor and giving you some eye contact, checking in with you. It's really, really hard to train a dog that literally never checks in with you. What a crazy concept. So in that imprinting stage, in that first week with your puppy, they sit down, all four paws are on the floor, they look up at you. Good reward. That's all I want you to do Now.
Speaker 1:If you want to go real extra, you can take that skill out into the world. Go to a park, sit on the bench, let your puppy watch the world go by. When they check in with you good food, they check in with you good food. We essentially want to teach our puppies that all the good stuff is going to come from you, the handler. I don't want strangers petting your puppies. I don't want your puppy greeting other dogs on leash.
Speaker 1:We like to raise our puppies like service dogs, in that we want them to be neutral to the environment. We want them to be neutral to other dogs, neutral to people, and that all starts with the rewards coming from you, not those things. So your puppy playing with another dog is a really rewarding thing. If you let your puppy pull over to another dog on the walk, that can lead to reactivity, because one day you're not going to allow your puppy to pull up to another dog and they're going to get frustrated and they're going to start barking, and that barking is reactivity. So everything that we do with our puppies is about neutrality. So that's really all I want you to do, the first week at least. At least you do not need to rush the puppy training process.
Speaker 1:Okay, so another little thing that I have to touch on is vets will tell you to not take your puppy out at all until they've had all of their vaccines. I cannot emphasize enough how horrible, truly horrible, this advice is and you can ask pretty much every dog trainer. Just, it's so horrible. This is the worst advice that you could ever possibly give someone. One in my six years of being a dog trainer, I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever experienced a puppy getting sick because we've taken them out. I've never had a client whose puppy has gotten sick. I've never known somebody whose puppy has gotten sick. I just don't believe that that is as big of a threat as our vets have made it seem. Ok, two it is so incredibly damaging to your dog or to for them to never step foot outside until they're what 12 weeks or more, like that is. That's literally insane. Like that is so insane to me.
Speaker 1:It's no wonder why we're getting all of these adult dogs that like literally can't function because they are deprived, like we're taking animals and we're not letting them step foot in grass. I don't know if you know this, but dogs get a lot of their microbiome from soil. So when we don't allow our puppies to go outside and romp around in the dirt, like, they'll literally have no immune systems, and then we have allergy or dogs with allergies that are on Apoquil, and Apoquil is just an immune suppressant. It's not actually fixing the root cause of the issue. The root cause of the issue is most likely the fact that your puppy hasn't been exposed to enough dirt and earth to have a solid microbiome and we're feeding them garbage food, so they probably have gut issues. That is the root cause of the issue.
Speaker 1:Don't even get me, see, I'm going to go down a flip-flapping rabbit hole on the advice that vets give anyways, let's reel it back in. Take your puppy out. Take your puppy out. Expose them to the world. Now, while I say this, do not take your puppy to heavily dog populated areas or dog friendly quotes here, dog friendly places, because, yeah, maybe that's putting your dog at risk. I'm going to, I'm going to throw some bullshit out there and this could be, you know, untrue, but I'm just going to say most dogs that are out into the world that you're most likely going to come across are already vaccinated and aren't like carrying the diseases that can be so scary. Just, you know, don't take your puppy out to dog parks or doggy daycares or like big boarding facilities Like you know, most of them do check for vaccines and stuff like that. But, like, if you don't want to take the risk, then don't take it in those areas.
Speaker 1:Do, please, please, take your dog out into grass, please, like. Take your dog out to a field. Take them hiking with you. Take your puppy hiking with you. Go to a field, let them roll around in the grass and, like actually be a dog, like fulfill their needs.
Speaker 1:I know that this is like a crazy concept, but your dog is an animal, we're animals and it's no wonder why we're like, as a society, like depressed and anxious is because we sit inside all day and we have like blue lights in front of us. So y'all know that I'm a hippie and I wake up and there's no lights in my house. There's only lights right now because I'm recording a podcast and it's literally killing me right now because this light is so bright. But I wake up in the morning, we get our morning light, we sit outside. I'm outside a majority of the time. I I genuinely believe that that is the key to happiness and healthiness with ourselves and our dogs. So do that for your puppy.
Speaker 1:Take them out, expose them to the world while they're in that imprinting stage. Take them through drive-thrus, take them on random little field trips with you, take them as many places as you possibly can while they're young, because what that's going to do is it's going to normalize all of those things. Most reactive dogs or dogs with behavioral issues have not been abused or anything like that. They're just simply under-socialized and under-exposed. When dog trainers say under-socialized, they just mean exposure, training, taking them out into the world, all that sort of stuff, not necessarily your dog being friends with other dogs or people. So we want them to be neutral with those things, but we do want to expose them to. You know, walking down busy roads, walking past a bus or a bicycle, people on rollerblades walking past other dogs, like, if you don't expose your puppy to those things, then when they see them as a adult dog, or maybe when they're in their fear period, they're going to lose their mind, right, because they're like what the heck is that? And that's how we develop random fears or reactivity and problem behaviors.
Speaker 1:I'm really good at raising puppies. Like I said, puppies are my favorite. Puppies are my jam. I love it because I literally just turn them to little adventurers. I take them on trails, we go on car rides, we go on hikes, like we do fun things. I expose them to the world and it really prevents so many issues down the line.
Speaker 1:And I was talking to somebody recently, actually, and I was like you know what's crazy is? I get all these puppies in and they turn into like really good adult dogs and people don't really know how much I'm doing with their puppies, like how much in the longterm I'm doing for them and their puppies because they haven't developed behavioral issues yet, right, like when you're doing behavioral modification, you're getting dogs that come in with problem behaviors and they leave better, right. So it's very easy to see the change that the training makes. But the thing about puppies is like they usually don't come in with problem behaviors, they're just puppies, right, they're just puppies. So it's tough because owners don't really see like all of that value. But I get the puppies and I'm like, wow, I'm so glad we got this puppy, because if we didn't like expose them to all of this stuff, you know in this training like they would probably be like a really aggressive dog or a really reactive dog or a really fearful dog. And you know you can like tell the owners that but they don't really know. And unless you work with a lot of puppies like you know, you know when you get a puppy and you're like, wow, I'm glad I got this dog as a puppy and not as a behavioral mod in six months, you know, because there's so much that we can do to prevent problem behaviors from ever even happening.
Speaker 1:So to keep it super simple for yourself, stick to a crate schedule. We're talking. Take your puppy out every couple hours. A general rule for how long your puppy can stay in the crate is their age in months. I used to say their age in months plus one, but we're just going to go with their age in months. I used to say their age in months plus one, but we're just going to go with their age in months. So if they're three months old they can be in the crate for three hours. That's obviously not ideal with puppies. I say, you know, take them out at least every two hours. You know, four months old, four hours, that sort of stuff.
Speaker 1:If you have a full-time job and you have a puppy, I recommend getting a walker to break that time up. It's really not fair to ask a young puppy to hold it for anything over I don't know four hours. I would say. So if you work an eight hour day, try to get a walker to come to your house, let your puppy out, whether they take them for a quick little walk or just hang out in your yard. Make sure that they go potty and then they can go back into the crate and then you let them out as soon as you get home from work. But let's say you work from home, which I know a majority of you do, because no one leaves their puppies ever, and then I get all these dogs with separation anxiety. So if you work from home, you need to practice crating your puppy when you aren't actively watching them.
Speaker 1:So your routine should really be puppy comes out of the crate immediately, takes them out to go potty. If they go potty, great, they can hang out with us in the house for a little bit. Give them a little toy to chew on, hang out with them, play with them, use their food to you know, mark and reward that eye contact, that sort of stuff. And then they go back into the crate. And then we do it all over again all day long, basically. And then we do it all over again all day long, basically.
Speaker 1:Um, I lost my train of thought. I was going to say something else about that. Oh, if you take them out and they don't go potty, they have to go right back into the crate because they're not empty. You know that they're probably going to go. So take them out. 30 minutes later, give them another opportunity to go potty. So take them out 30 minutes later. Give them another opportunity to go potty. If they don't go potty, they have to go back into the crate. Okay, so we take them out, they go potty. They get to hang out in the house with us.
Speaker 1:But, with that being said, make sure that you're supervising them. This is not a free for all. If you need to, you can get a little playpen. I love playpens for puppies, I love it. If you want to do playpen and crate throughout the day, you can totally do that to give your puppy a little more freedom and space. And if it makes you feel better, great, do that.
Speaker 1:But our goal with our puppies is that when they're out, we're with them, we're actively engaging with them, we're supervising them. We're talking about quality time. I don't want you to take your puppy out and then sit on your phone and scroll and your puppy just kind of like wanders around. That is not valuable. If you're going to do that, just put your puppy in the crate, because at least you're crate, training them, you know. So play with them, take them outside, do something engaging with them. If you're engaging with them, you're working their brain. You know we're doing fun things. That's going to tire them a lot more than just, you know, letting them wander around your house. So make that time super quality.
Speaker 1:Engage with your puppy when they are out of the crate. When you're not able to actively supervise them, put them in the crate. It's going to be the safest place for them and puppyhood is all about prevention. So we're preventing problem behaviors, we're preventing accidents in the house and we're preventing them from chewing your favorite shoes, getting ahold of socks, swallowing things that they should not be swallowing. Okay, the crate is your best friend, I promise.
Speaker 1:Now, as far as whining in the crate goes, try to do your best to not take the puppy out when they're actively whining or crying. Dogs do what works. If whining and crying gets them out of the crate, then they're going to keep doing that. What we want to do is we want to teach our puppies that it's not their job to let us know when they need to go out. We want to decide that for them, they're just babies. They're just baby little animals. So we're going to put them on our routine. Okay, I know that people get hung up on that. A lot is they'll be like. Well, my puppy's whining, he must have to go out. Make sure that you're letting them out consistently enough and then you don't have to worry about that.
Speaker 1:Um, another big thing to kind of go in with potty training is monitor your puppy's water intake. Yes, give them, you know, access to water, but some puppies will just like drink and drink and drink and drink and drink and just like fill themselves up like water balloons and literally make themselves sick and like pee everywhere. So if you have a puppy like that, you might need to pick up the water after a little bit of time to make sure that they're not like constantly filling themselves like a water balloon, and then also pick up the water, you know, before bedtime. So let's say you're going to bed around, you know, 10 PM. Consider picking up the water around seven so that you can do a potty break right before you go to bed and then that way you can get a couple hours of sleep. Your puppy should be able to hold it a little bit longer throughout the night.
Speaker 1:I would say if you have like an eight week old puppy, you're probably going to be getting up at some point during the night. If you don't have to throw a party, because that is truly a blessing, okay. Sometimes we get puppies that sleep through the night immediately and like count your blessings, go get a lottery ticket or something, because that's wonderful for you and I'm so happy that you get to have that. Ok, yeah, so that's really kind of the first week of puppyhood. I want you to keep it super, super simple for yourself.
Speaker 1:Hood, I want you to keep it super, super simple for yourself. Just focus on that potty training, that crate training, using your marker word good and exposing your puppy and, honestly, this stuff can take you really far, like that can take you up through six months If you just want to practice those things. There's no need to rush the process or, you know, rush into having a dog with a loose lead walk or you know anything crazy like that. I want you to just focus on the basics and until you have the basics, don't bog yourself down with more to do's or stress yourself out about, you know, being behind in puppyhood. I think the main thing is we want to make sure that you are sane and not super stressed and feeling good, because our dogs feed off of our energy and if we are, you know, sleep deprived and so stressed about all the things that we have to do all the time, your puppy's going to feel that and they're going to grow up in that environment and be that type of dog. So that's kind of what we want to avoid and I just want you to keep it super, super simple for yourself because, at the end of the day, the more simple that we can make our training, the more sustainable it is, and there's so much information out in the world, I think the best thing that I can do is make dog training simple and attainable and sustainable for you know, for all of you, all of all of you who are here listening right now. So we're going to go ahead and wrap it up there.
Speaker 1:If you have a puppy, good luck, you got this, you totally got this. Puppyhood is wonderful and beautiful, and just think about the adult dog that you want to create. And if you need a little more help with puppyhood and kind of training basics, please go and join the everyday trainer community. You can do that by finding the link in my bio on any of my socials. We'll also include the link in the show notes here so you can go and join that community. I also have a puppy guide available in our store, along with our everyday trainer guide as well, so you can purchase those as well, and it has like a sample schedule in it and all that jazz.
Speaker 1:So much for being here. It truly means the world to me that y'all you know join me and listen to me. You know just dump into a microphone every week. So thank y'all. Thanks for that. Thanks for being here and supporting. I don't usually pander for reviews, but if you like the podcast and want to leave us a review, I will love you forever. Thank you all and we'll see you back here next week. Thank you.