Puppy Tips 101 – House and Crate Training
The UK has taken the decision to outlaw the electric collars used by some to 'train' dogs.
I have to say this is a great move, but they shouldn’t even be in existence in the first place! Why would anyone want to electrocute a dog to correct their behaviour? It is beyond me. Positive reinforcement is the best way to train a dog, that and repetition.
EDIT... thank you to @bigtom13 who has quite rightly pointed out that they can be suitably used for life threatening avoidance training, for example snake avoidance. However in the UK, we do not have any deadly predators that dogs will generally come across in the wild, but I can see how they would be extremely useful in certain countries that do have dangerous animals that could kill a dog. Using these collars to punish a dog when they have been 'naughty' or had an accident is NOT a suitable use for this kind of collar.
My view is a little different from most, as the puppies I have are usually bred by me, so I start training them from the day they are born. This also helps the puppy owners that the other pups are rehomed to as they already have a head start with house training and sleeping in a crate at night (if they chose to continue with this).
I have been spending a lot of time with little Vinny recently and I thought I would write about puppy training from my personal perspective.
When puppies are born, they are kept in a small safe and warm enclosure. With Bulldogs, I don’t let the mum stay in with the puppies when I am not around as they are quite clumsy and often can smother the puppies by accident. But for the most part, I am with them 24/7, so mum stays in the enclosure with the puppies for warmth, feeding, bonding and socialisation. At this age, toileting is done by mum and by myself with a warm wet cotton pad if mum isn’t doing so well.
When the puppies get a little older, they start moving about and I create a toileting area separate from, but not too far away from their bed area.
Dogs are naturally clean animals and do not toilet in their beds. They will move as far away from their beds as they can to do their business and then return to their clean areas to rest, even at only a few weeks old.
If house trained from the beginning, they soon learn to recognise a specific place to toilet which makes it easier to train them as they get older.
I like to use either tea bag bedding when they are smaller (it helps to keep the pups clean) or puppy mats as they get bigger.
The puppy mats are great because you can move them further and further away towards the back door as they grow, and eventually outside. So the puppies learn that they have to take themselves outside to do their business. Eventually, you can get rid of the mats altogether.
If you have older dogs, training can be much faster as they teach the puppies where to go. Puppies will copy behaviour from older dogs, so always make sure if you are getting a new puppy that your current dog is trained well enough, or you could end up with 2 dogs that need training!
CRATE TRAINING
(https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=cratemate%20boutique)
As I mentioned before, from birth, the puppies are kept in small enclosures to keep them warm and safe. As they grow, so does the enclosure to give them enough room to explore, but also to allow them to feel secure. I am a huge fan of crate training for a couple of reasons.
- It gives your dog somewhere to call his own. If he has had enough of human contact or other animals, he can take himself inside his crate and know that he will be left alone.
- Toilet training is so much easier with a crate! As I mentioned previously, dogs are naturally clean animals and don’t like to mess in their beds; so if you are having issues house training overnight, keep them in their crate and they are more likely to hold their toileting until morning. Just make sure you let them out before bed and straight away when you wake up. They should soon get the hang of it.
If you have your new puppy and they have never been crate trained but you want to start, it can be hard at night time as they will cry. Sometimes they will cry even if they are used to a crate, because they have been taken away from their familiar surroundings.
The best thing to do here is find something to cover the crate. Make sure that you leave enough ventilation gaps and don’t cover them if you live in a really hot area without aircon or a suitable fan, but a cover can make them feel more secure.
Make sure you have a blanket or a toy from the breeder that has the scent of mum and siblings on it to help them to settle in their new home.
You can also leave the crate open during the day and encourage the puppy to go into the area by giving them treats when they are inside.
Positive reinforcement is key here, never punish a dog by sending them to their crate. They will associate the crate as a punishment.
If you have any puppy training questions, please drop me a message below, I would be happy to help!
Thank you so much for visiting, much love, BB xx
What a wonderful article, it really does cover the bases.
I've got one small argument, and Sam is going to experience it early this coming spring. The local fire department has a 'snake course'. We missed it this spring, but will take it the next time it's offered. It uses a shock collar and live snakes (carefully caged) to teach your dog avoidance fast. I have worked carefully with Sam at every opportunity, but will take the course for a reinforcement. Snakes are bad for doggys. Even a small sidewinder can hit a dog hard enough to kill it. A diamond back is really lethal.
Sam isn't crate trained. Not that I don't agree with it, just his personality never seemed to need it. He does have an identical bed at both houses (he has coparents :) that is his 'safe spot'. When he's traveling his bed is where he stays in the car AND in the motel. Works for him.
Thanks for a terrific article. It's really good for people to have an idea what they are getting into with pups. I'm sure I'd love one of your pups that have been trained with love and affection.
Thanks Big T! That is indeed a valid argument and I would say for a lifesaving training aid such as this, there is certainly an argument for using the shock collars. I have to say now you have mentioned this, I seem to recall watching a tv programme where they used the collars to train the dogs not to approach snakes. It was fast and effective and I guess for something as important as this, it is definitely a better alternative to death!
However in the UK we are lucky in that there are no venomous snakes here in the wild that are likely to kill a dog, so there really aren't any reasons to use the shock collars. I can see how they would be useful though in a country that does have these natural preditors.
What I am opposed to (and I probably should have put that in the article) is using these collars to punish a dog when they have been 'naughty' or had an accident. I don't think they are suitable for that kind of use.
Thank you for opening my eyes to a suitable use for the collars! :D
BB xx
And I couldn't agree with you more. We have dogs on our route that wear 'bark collars' and bark through it. You can see them flinch. It really pisses me off, because dogs can be lovingly trained to stop their barking. Sign of a very lazy owner.
To be perfectly clear: I don't agree with shock collar training with the one exception: Fast and dirty for life threatening consequences. Years ago I met a bird dog trainer that used a shock collar to train dogs to not be interested in other species. I never agreed with that, and my bird dogs always figured that out in short order. If I didn't shoot they soon weren't interested in that species. My Springer could tell the difference between a hen and rooster pheasant. The Shorthair would set hens, but show her disgust with me for not shooting :) After a couple in a row she would come and walk right beside me for a while. If I didn't like what she set, I could find my own :)
Dogs are really intelligent, probably more so than most people I know! haha They pick up on our non-verbal keys as well as verbal commands. we just need to learn how to communicate with them properly. It sounds like you have always been very in tune with your dogs!
I once had a conversation with a 'dog' trainer and they said something that has always stuck with me... " to train a dog, you first need to train their human".
I will never understand how anyone could think that something like electrocution is okay for animals when it's accepted as not okay for humans. Anything for that matter!
I don't have a dog (right now) but I was always curious about the process - which you've laid out very nicely. Also <3 bulldogs!!!! I drew one a few days ago for inktober :P So much fun to draw!
Ive just checked out your blog. Your drawings are fantastic! I especially love the bulldog. What a fantastic way to remember Louie. 💕🐶💕
Those electric collars are a horrible idea. I'm having a hard time leaving Luna alone, she's very clingy.
Ah no, whats wrong with Luna? Could it be separation anxiety?
I don't know, she's only 8 mths. I think i should have started leaving her earlier but with me being disabled i don't go out.
Yes, she is probably not used to being left alone. There is a really great article here:
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/home-alone-separation-anxiety-dogs
It is harder once they reach this age, but not impossible to do. Start with leaving her for really short periods of time, even just out of the room for a few minutes. gradually build it up. She needs to understand that you will always come back x
I am going to have too as we are all going out for my daughter's 21st, i don't leave her if she's is stressed. I'll def read that and start leaving her for short periods :) x
These are some fantastic tips!
Thanks for sharing these, hopefully it will be helpful to anyone out there thinking of getting a puppy, or already struggling with one. :)
Thank you @squishyquid! :D
Completely agree with you that shock collars shouldn't be used if it isn't strictly needed (such as the case Bigtom mentioned).
Great tips that you've provided, I'll definitely use them when I get another dog eventually!
Thank you @daan! Glad you found them useful, hopefully it will help people to house train their pooches faster :D
I would never dream of shocking our little guy under any circumstance. That snake thing and dangerous animals just does not hold up, imho !!
My heart stopped when i read taser lol my heart cant take jokes like that where dogs are concerned 😂😂
Totally understand. I honestly probably should not even joke about that. Not in good taste. My bad
I'd seriously like to know how you would snake train my dog. You are not allowed to hit or cause pain in any way. I have training only words to let him know when I'm pissed and he needs to change, but letting him get close enough to a snake to be able to use them could be lethal. What do you suggest?
I always found crate training helped the dog in the end, as it gives them a 'safe place' they can go to when they feel threatened or comfortable if they have to be house sit.
I think you'll like today's 'familiar' in my witch drawing ;)
I LOVE todays familiar! 😁😁😁 A perfect expression of bulldog contempt lol
Yes crates are good for a number of reasons. Mine are all crate trained and they take themselves in there when they want some 'alone time'. It can get crazy with 5 dogs lol
Great post, you have a lot of good information here. I have had dogs in the past and struggled with training. We tried crate training but it did not work for us. Reading your post I am guessing it could be because we would would put him in there when he misbehaved, this was many years ago. Live and learn, next time we will be better.
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