Happy New Year!!!
For those of you who may be struggling with the 2018 Judd x Bug puppies, some pro tips –
RULE # 1. Be the boss. Always. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot control the puppy (for example, she’s jumping on the table and counter despite you telling her not to), your puppy should lose the privileges of roaming free around the house. Think of it this way; your puppy’s crate and x-pen area are her “home base.” If she’s loose in the living room, family room, etc., and cannot listen to instructions, she loses the ability to be loose and must go back to her crate to calm down.
- Keep in mind that puppies also have a LOT of energy. A good off-leash run, 30 minutes of playing fetch and chasing the ball, and a long walk around the neighborhood should be done sometime in the morning so that when your puppy is loose in the house, she won’t be so “amped up” to play and jump on things. #atiredpuppyisagoodpuppy
- Once your puppy learns that “crate” is “home base,” it is completely acceptable to put them there when they are unable to behave loose in the house. A good chew toy while they’re confined during awake hours will help keep them from being bored and barking.
RULE # 2. Keep constant supervision. This is especially true if you only have one dog in the house. (It’s “slightly” easier for those of us who have multiple dogs because the older ones can keep the younger ones in check.) Once you are done actively engaging with your puppy, put her down for a nap in her crate. That’s when you can do other things, like cook, a load of laundry, etc. (Think of a puppy as a toddler! You do all your chores when they’re taking a nap.) Anytime you are unable to keep an eye on your puppy, she should be crated, or put into an x-pen in an area where she can’t get into anything. My young puppies are x-penned in the dining room with a few toys and chewies to keep them occupied while I do other things in the house.
RULE # 3. Mean what you say. If you have a hard time getting your puppy to come when she’s called, tether her to you and reinforce the recall. When you ask her to sit, you have to mean it, and there are consequences for “not” following directions. Ignoring her is a good one because puppies hate to be ignored.
RULE # 4. Be consistent. Determine what your routine is for any given day and stick with it. If your puppy should be sleeping in a crate all night, DO NOT break the rules and sleep with her on the sofa. 🙂 Not even once, at least until she has a solid understanding of where bedtime is every night. Otherwise, she will quickly learn that this is her favorite way to get through the night, and your subsequent nights will be very, very difficult to endure.
Leave a Reply