Your Complete First Week Puppy Training Plan
Congratulations on your new puppy, or maybe you're planning on getting a
puppy in the not too distant future, either way. New puppy
ownership can be challenging. We often say here on the channel, if
you fail to plan you plan to fail. What I like to say is it's easier to
prevent bad behaviors than it is to fix them. And that's why in
today's video instructor, Lauren and little Maxdon't want to
make a little Max wait any longer. He's starting to get anxious. So
let's dive into things on that note. I'm Ken Steepe, I'm instructor
Lauren, and this is Max. Welcome back to McCann Dogs. Bringing a puppy home can be such
a roller coaster of emotions, especially during that first week where
everything is so overwhelming. You know, you're super excited to have this
puppy, but then you start to wonder, what do I do? And when should
I do it? So in this video, I'm going to help you through that because
I've had Max for about 10 days now, and I can completely relate
to those emotions.
Now, before we get into the five things that
you're going to do this week with your new puppy the biggest thing that I
want to hit home with you guys is to make sure that you're using
a leash on your puppy, especially for outside puppies are
so curious. They get into everything. They're picking up rocks, they're
picking up leaves, sticks, and who knows what else.
So you want to make sure that you do have
that leash on so that they can't just pick it up and take off. This is
going to be your best management tool. Now for inside. You can
definitely use the leash as well, but sometimes I find that the handle
of the leash gets stuck on furniture. So what we actually use inside, and
this is a bit of a secret. So come here, a couple of others have
something for you, okay? This is what we call a help line
or a white line. This is a nice, thin nylon web line. And it simulates the puppies being
off-leash here are going to show you five tips that you need to be aware of
for your first week home instructor.
Lauren's going to talk about some
foundational training exercises. She's going to talk about management
for your puppy and the ever-important potty training. Now I . It's super
light when it's on their color. This is our well, not so best kept secret because we share
with everyone about puppy training. You want to have something
like this on your puppy, in the house all of the time, this is a hundred percent when
they're out of their crate, obviously in the crate,
you can take it off, but whenever they're out in the house, they need to have something like this on
so that you can control them and manage their behaviors. Making sure they're not getting into
trouble for purpose of this video, I'm going to be working Max on my
leash here instead of using the line we recommend that you have
a six foot leash. Now, if you're using this in the house, you can go and get yourself
just a little cheap leash. And we recommend that you
cut the handle off that way.
It's not getting caught on furniture, but that will work just
fine within the house. So let's jump into it and get
started with your training. One of the first things that I
work on with my young puppies, right from the day that I get them is
taking food gently because it's not very nice to do any sort of training when
I'm getting puppy teeth on my fingers, especially the nail beds or it's the most. So the first thing I on is having
them take that food nicely. Now a couple of things before
you start with the puppy, you want to pay attention to the
food that you have.
The size, obviously that it's not too small or not
too big and the way that you're holding the food as well. So we recommend that you put the tree
in your fingertips and cover that with your thumb. And then when you
present it with the, to the puppy, you're going to present
it, finger tips down. And that's the best way to keep your
fingertips protected when you do this. So when I offer it to them again, I'm
going to have the food in my fingertips, covered with my thumb and
offer to him fingertips down.
So I'm going to let him sniff at it. Now what I'm looking for is
that he'll be nice and gentle. So I'm looking for snips and licks.
And if he is nice and gentle, I'm going to Mark with that keyword. Yes. And then I just released my thumb off
that tree. And allow him to get it. Good boy. Good boy, Max. Let's try that
again. So again, it's in my fingertips, fingertips down towards him
and he's sniffing and licking, being nice and gentle. Yes. Good
boy. Then I released that thumb. Remember it's yes, first. And then you're going to release
that cookie to them sometimes. What happens when you offer that cookie
to the puppy and maybe they're really hungry or maybe they just haven't learned
to be gentle with their teeth yet, but you offer that food. And first
thing that comes out are the teeth. So you really want to
sort of anticipate that. And when you offer the food to the
puppy, if you feel those teeth, you're just going to use a quick
ouch, and then take that food away.
So we'll show you with Max
here. Always being good. Oh, I feel teeth out and
I take that food away. Then what I want to do is make sure
I'm delivering it back to him quickly. So I deliver straight to his
mouth. If I feel teeth again, it's just another quick. Ouch. And pull it away. Ouch. Yes. Good boy. Yes. So after a couple of quick "ouches" and
quick delivery back, he figured out, Oh, I'm not getting the cookie
when I use my teeth. So I should be a little bit more gentle.
And that was my opportunity to say yes, and then give him that reward. The reason why delivering so quickly
to them is important is if you're delivering that food super
slow, you see what happens. They start to jump up for that food. So it's actually going to do the opposite
of what you're trying to get from the puppies. They're going to try
and snap at the food even faster.
So once you say you're out, you pull
that food away, make sure it's a nice, quick delivery. Back to them.
It's a skill of taking food. Gently is not just a training exercise. This is one of those things that
basically becomes a lifestyle. So yes, you want to work the drill itself, but remember this is happening all of
the time. So whenever you're working, any other training with your puppy, you are still keeping those manners in
mind and working that little ouch and pulling the food away. If you happen to feel teeth in
those first couple of days, home, one thing that I like to work on with
my puppies is just basic luring because this is going to be the foundation
for a lot of my training.
So it's important that he understands
how to learn in that method. So what I do to start off just using those
treats is just getting him to follow. Yes. Good boy. Good job. Then I'm gonna see if he
can follow this way. Yes. Notice that I'm not moving too quickly
and I'm not having him walk too many steps. If I move too quickly,
I'm going to lose them. And if I have them do too much at once, he's going to lose interest
without getting that reward. Yes. You're being such a good
boy. Good job, buddy. I might just have him go side to side
or do a couple of little spins again. It's just getting him. Yes. Good
job. But to follow that food. Now, remember we talked earlier about taking
the food gently that doesn't go out the window just because I'm training
something different. So if I feel teeth, I'm going to use that.
Ouch. Take the
food away and then deliver quickly again. And then I can try my
luring. Yeah. Good boy. So manners always come first three
common positions that I want my puppy to learn when I'm Loring is the
sit position. So for that, I just lure a little bit
above his forehead. Once I
see his bum hit the ground, I can yes. And reward. The second
one is going to be the down position. And it's usually easiest from a sit. I'm just going to lure from nose to
toes and wait until those elbows hits. He asked good boy sometimes for new
puppies that can take a few seconds. So be patient on that and
then a stand position as well. This is especially helpful at the vets
when they have to do their examination.
Yes. Good boy. Now notice when
I'm doing this with Max here, that I'm not actually saying
the commands at this moment. I'm not necessarily training the
positions themselves or the commands themselves, but just following the
food and going into those positions. Yeah. Good boy. I'm luring Nice and slowly for him to
follow. Yes, that's excellent. Okay. Boy. Good job bud. Yeah. Yes good puppy. Excellent job. When you bring your puppy
home for the first day, you can start potty training right away. Sometimes what people do is think that
they can put that off because the puppy is so young, but those first couple of days really
set precedents for your puppy's lifestyle and expectations.
So you want
to get started right away. Now, first couple of things, obviously
we we've talked about the crate, having that crate, managing your puppy during those downtimes
will prevent a lot of accidents in the house. So definitely a
crate is highly recommended. We also recommend that you do take the
puppies outside on that leash and that they're wearing the leash
within the house as well, so that you can prevent
those accidents. Now, how do you know an accident's going
to come? How can you prevent it? Couple key things to keep in mind are
when puppies typically go to the bathroom. So obviously first
thing, when they wake up, that's going to be a key point
after eating or having a big drink. And after any big play
session or training session, they'll definitely need to go to the
bathroom. So keep those moments in mind. And if, even if they're
not giving signals, I would still give them a chance to go
to the bathroom because you'll probably find that they end up going anyways.
Now in between those key times, you still may find that your
puppy needs to go to the bathroom.
So when you have them out, you
definitely want to be watching them. So, and again, having that line during
your supervision, but watch first, some key signals from your dogs. Now,
every puppy is a little bit different, but some really common ones will
be the puppy getting a little bit distracted. So there'll be disinterested in what
you're doing or what they might've been doing. They might go to a
particular spot in the house, which is usually the same spot,
every time to do their business. And if they're sniffing or circling. So
those are going to be keys that, Hey, they're about to go to the bathroom. And
you want to stop them in that moment. You know, encourage them to
go outside using your command. I asked my puppies if they want to go
outside and you have to go outside. Hey, Max, do you have to go outside? That's a good boy. And then I take them out on that leash
and continue to say the word that you're going to use for your potty.
I use hurry up while they're doing
the business so that you can label and actually have it on command as well. Potty training is one of those topics
where it's definitely better to be proactive and err, on the side of caution than it is to
sort of push it aside and have accidents happen in the house. So if you feel
that your puppy needs to go out, you're better to give them that chance
then to wait a little bit longer. But sometimes what happens is you
take them out and they don't go to the bathroom. Maybe they're
distracted, there's leaves blowing, there's wind there's noises. And they
don't actually go to the bathroom when, you know, they have
to, if that's the case, what we recommend that you do is just pop
them back in their crate for even just five minutes.
Give them a second just to relax and
then take them out and try again. You'll probably find that
they will go that second time. But what you don't want to do is bring
them back in the house, let them be free. And then, you know, within a minute
they're going to have a pee on the carpet. So again, pop them in the crate and
then try it again in a few minutes. Now emergency recall training that actual
come command I do with my puppies at a little bit of an older age, but obviously you need a way to be able
to call your puppies at that first week and on.
So what I like to do with my puppies
is work a little puppy recall and some response to name out response
to name is, is so crucial. I use it day to day with my dogs. Now a couple things to keep in mind
when you're working response to name, be careful that you're not repeating
their name over and over and over again. Otherwise you become a broken record
and it just ends up sounding like a nag.
So you want to be careful about that
one. So when you're teaching your puppy, their name one great exercise that
has a ton of value and impact on your puppy is just simply loading their
name and putting value to it. So how you're going to do that is you're
going to show them the tree and have their focus to start.
You're going to
say their name and a nice, happy tone, no Ferris, Bueller teachers out there. So you're going to say their name and
a happy tone and then just deliver the cookie. So simple as this, Max. Max, Max. Good boy. And when he's going to learn it, his name means something fantastic that
that treat is coming. Hey good boys.
He's eager already. Max, good boy. Max. Good boy. And I will do this
exercise at least twice a day. I'll either use high value
treats like I have right now, or even just their kibble. I'll take
just a small handful. I'll do this name, exercise. And then when that's done, I'll let them have the rest
of their meal in their crate. Now a lot of breeders will actually
teach a puppy recall too, just a pup, pup pup, but some don't some puppies don't
know that one when you get them home. So on that first week, this is a
nice fun exercise to be able to do. And it works really well as that recall.
So what I'm going to do is, again, show him that treat first. I'm going to use just a pop up
and then encourage them to me.
Yay. Good bye. And when I feed notice, I'm feeding nice and close to my leg. I don't want to teach him to go too
far out where I can't quite reach him. Cause he'll learn to come just
as far where I can't get control. So I want to draw him in nice and close.
So I'll show you that again. I'm going, I have the food on his nose call pup
pup pup and then back the away. Yes. Good boy and feed. Nice
and close to my leg. Next thing we're going to
talk about is crate training. Now in the first day home,
not just the first week home, you want to be utilizing your crate as
much as possible to get them used to it and also to manage the puppies and making
sure that they're not developing any bad behaviors over that first week.
You know, a lot of puppies are curious, you know, they're checking out their
leashes tugging or chewing on carpet.
So your crate is going to be
your best little babysitter. If you want to put it that way at making
sure that they're not getting into trouble on a day-to-day basis. So when you work your crate training
you really want this to be a nice, fun exercise for them and a nice
fun place for them to go. You know, my out dogs will often seek out the CRI
on their own and just go and have a nap without me asking them. So it really is just sort of a safe Haven
and nice place for them to be when I work this, I often will
work it with kibble, but also work it separately
with some high value treats.
And all I'm looking for is the, for the puppy to show some interest in
the crate, if they do, I'm going to yes. And reward them in the direction of the
crate door so that I'm just encouraging them to get a little
closer and a little closer. And eventually they should make
their way inside the crate. And if that's the case, I'll throw the cookie far inside just to
encourage him to go the rest of the way in.
So we'll see what Max does here. He hasn't done any crate training yet
and he's only been home for a few days, so we'll see what kind of a. He offers us. Yes. Good boy. So he motioned
towards the crate there and a yes. And reward towards the Creek door. Yes.
Good boys still seeking out that crate. Yeah. Good. So now that he's in, I'm going to jackpot, I'm going to throw a whole bunch of
cookies in the back there for him to seek out. Now your is going to be
your best assistant when it
comes to managing your puppy that first week home. So here are four things I want you to
do with your puppies during that first week to really help with your management. One important thing for
getting the puppies to like
their crate is feeding every meal in there because they do spend a
few minutes eating and you're able to close the door at that point.
So they learned that the Creek is a nice
fun place where they get their food. So you can see he's keen ready to go here. So what I'm going to do is just take his
bowl and put it way in the back of the crate so that he has to go all the way
in. I'm going to take his leash off. He goes in for that
great.
Or for that food. Now you can see his bugs all the way in. I'm just going to gently give him a
little encouragement to get his bone, the rest of the way in. And then I'm able to close that door and
he's in there while he eats his food. And of course I can let
him out when he's done, or if I choose to use this as my assistant
and keep them in there a little bit longer, maybe I have other dogs to
feed or kids or my own dinner to cook. He is happy just to stay in there for a
few minutes until I'm ready to take him out. So the next thing to keep in mind when
it comes to your crate training is making sure that you don't have anything in
there that the puppies are going to get into trouble or hurt themselves with. We really want you to make sure that
there is no bedding in the crate.
So notice he's in there
just with his dinner bowl, which I will take out in a moment. And I also don't have any water in there
and a lot of people want to give their puppies water, but when you're working on potty
training having too much access to water in the crate sorta causes them
to have to pee more often, which is gonna make your potty training
a little bit more difficult when they're in the crate. It should be pretty
bare. So no bedding, no water, and also no harmful toys where they
can chew and maybe ingest that. So things like stuffies or tennis balls, those are all what we
call interactive toys. And those don't belong in
the cradle of the puppy. So if you are looking for something
for them to entertain themselves, when they're in there for a little bit, a Nylabone is a really good choice
to be able to leave in the Creek. The next thing with crate training is
making sure that you have an appropriate sized crepe for your puppy.
Max is only nine weeks old.
So you can see that this is
a relatively small crate, but this crate right now is
actually the perfect size for him. They really only need enough
room to be able to stand up, turn around and lie down.
And he's able to do that. Nice and comfortably in
this crate, this moment, obviously in the next few weeks, he's
going to outgrow it, but for right now, it's perfect. Now we've talked about already how crate
training can help you with your potty training. If your crate is too big, often what happens is the puppies
create a bedroom with an ensuite. They tend to use the bathroom on one
side of the crate and then sleep on the other. And if you are trying to potty train that
can really hinder your progression on that potty training. Now, one common question that we get with
new puppy owners is where to put their crate when they first get their puppy. Now I recommend that you either
have a portable crate. So this one, I can take them out and it's nice
and light with a handle on top.
I can carry it around to
wherever I need it in the house. But you definitely want something on
the main floor or your main sort of location throughout the day, as well as
something close to your room at night. Now at night, my puppies for
the first couple of nights, we'll spend it right beside my bed.
If I get a little bit of fussing, I can just sort of stick my fingers in
there and give them a little shush or console them a little bit.
But I try not to do that for too long
because puppies in the first few nights do need to go outside. So if I'm not able
to shush him within a couple minutes, that's my cue to take him outside. Now,
some people also like to have the crate, maybe on their bed or on their
nightstand. I don't quite go that far. But it would only be a couple of nights. And then I'm going to start moving the
crate closer to where he would spend the nights as an adult. So it might start the side of my bed
then maybe towards the foot of my bed, on the floor. And then maybe
at the edge of the bed. And if it's in another room, I'm slowly
gonna move that crate towards that room. So he gets more comfortable spending a
little bit of distance from me being a new puppy owner can be very overwhelming,
especially in that first week. But what do you do after that? So
for a schedule for puppies by age, check out this video right here. If you feel like you need more
personal support for you or your puppy, make sure you check out our
online puppy essentials class.
That link will be in the
description below. And on that note, I'm instructor Lauren, this
is Max, Happy Training..
