Most people think puppy behaviors are so darn cute — chewing on shoes and hands, jumping up on us and guests — that they don’t think to teach them how to behave appropriately early on. In reality, this lack of teaching appropriate ways of being is unintentionally reinforcing these puppy behavior problems and why they grow into them, not out of them. The only reason for puppies to become destructive chewers, be out of control, jump on people or playfully bite us is because we don’t start teaching appropriate behaviors right away.
Teach your pup that putting “four on the floor” will get him the rewards and attention he wants. Photography ©hnijjar007 | Getty Images.
Puppies are growing and able to learn at a very early age. In fact, training begins the minute we bring puppies into our lives at 8 weeks of age. The myth that training puppies shouldn’t start until they are 6 months old couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The myth gained traction because puppy classes didn’t begin until puppies were fully vaccinated, and this didn’t happen until they were 6 months of age, in the days of old. Thankfully, over the past decades, we have gleaned much about the importance of early puppy development, enrichment, socialization and training.
Today, thanks to studies by veterinary behaviorists and dog training experts, we now realize the importance of early training, beginning as soon as they are able to see and hear, at about 3 weeks of age.
They are learning from their littermates, mother, their environment and their caregivers how to be a dog, socialize with each other, other species and, of course, us. This early training continues from the moment we bring them home, through to maturity, between 1 ½ to 3 years of age.
What this means is that puppies are learning appropriate and inappropriate behaviors based on how we are raising/teaching them, in these early weeks. It’s up to us, as their guardians and advocates, to teach them the behaviors we want rather than correcting behaviors that we don’t want.
It’s up to us as our puppy’s guardian and advocate to teach him the behavior we want rather than correcting the behavior we don’t want. Photography ©Mark Rogers.
Puppies explore their world through their noses and mouths. You can say that puppies see their world via their noses. Those noses are capable of smelling 100,000 times better than humans, and we need to allow for this by creating a safe and enriching smell-sensitive environment.
Often, what puppies smell goes directly into their mouths, and that’s why puppy-proofing your home before he arrives is crucial to properly raising a puppy. What many may perceive as bad behaviors are just normal puppy exploration behaviors that need to be redirected to behaviors that we do want instead of thinking that we need to punish them for normal, instinctive puppy behaviors.
Puppies repeat behaviors that work for them. Photography ©chris-mueller | Getty Images.
Being proactive by meeting your puppy’s instinctive physical, mental and emotional needs will set a precedent for appropriate behaviors that will manifest into a healthy, well-adjusted adult dog.
Thumbnail: Photography ©Mark Rogers.
Editor’s note: This article appeared in Puppies, a special issue from Dogster magazine. Look for Puppies on a newsstand near you!
Award-winning writer Jill Breitner has been training dogs since 1978. Her passion lies in teaching people about dog body language. Jill created the Dog Decoder app (available in Google Play and iTunes) as a way to enhance the human-dog bond by understanding them better. You’ll find her at play near the ocean. Follow her at dogdecoder.com, facebook.com/dogdecoder and on Twitter at @shewhispers.
3 comments on “Will Your Puppy Outgrow These Bad Behaviors?”
My husband and I recently adopted a 7 month old black Lab Mix named Lacey. We’re new pet parents and this is Day 5. We have her on a schedule for eating, walking to do her business, playing and sleeping. When my husband takes her outdoors, she will pee and pooped. Today, I took Lacey out for her morning “business” and she did nothing. We were outside for 20 minutes. As soon as we came back inside, within in 5-7 minutes she peed and pooped in the kitchen. Please help!
Hi there,
Thanks so much for reaching out! We suggest working with a pro behaviorist or trainer. These pieces might provide some insight, too:
https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/house-training-dogs
https://www.dogster.com/dog-training/house-training-a-puppy
https://www.dogster.com/dog-training/how-to-deal-with-your-dog-peeing-in-the-house
https://www.dogster.com/topic/puppies/