Month: May 2021

Categories
Training

3 reasons why your dog doesn’t want to stay in his basket.

” Go to the basket!” – and your dog jumps into the basket and stays there until you allow him to go out again.

“I wish!” you may be thinking.

Many dog owners only know the basket as a quick place to go when there’s a chew toy, or as a forcing measure when there’s a visitor, or as a punishment for unwanted behavior. And here is already the first problem why your dog does not stay long in his basket. The basket was never seen as a place of relaxation, but always in the context of an event (food, visit, punishment). However, the basket should be one thing in the first place, a place of rest and retreat. Your dog should perceive the basket positively, feel safe and be able to relax. Your dog should like to visit his basket, and voluntarily.

To help your dog learn to love his basket from the start, we have revealed the top 3 mistakes in basket training and how you can do it better.

1. the treat mistake

Most basket training exercises start with luring over food. Also in our app, we start the training this way. This is where the first mistake can happen. If you send your dog into the basket with a piece of food or chew bone and he gets up shortly afterward, you must block your dog or if he has already completely disappeared from the basket, take him by the harness or a house leash and lead him back. Back in the basket you can repeat the command “basket” and wait until your dog lies down. If your dog lies down in his basket for a while, you can throw a few pieces of dry food between his legs to reinforce the lying down.

2. rest and activity are not in balance

If we want to teach our dog to rest, at the same time it is also important to fulfill the need for exercise and mental activity. Starting the basket training without first satisfying your dog’s other needs is unfair. Who is relaxed when they are hungry, need to go to the bathroom, or haven’t moved all day? This doesn’t mean that your dog needs to be completely exhausted beforehand. You should just make sure that your dog is satisfied and has been a little physically occupied to need the rest in the basket as well.

3. giving up too quickly and not resolving the command

Really the most common mistake in basket training is that although the dog successfully goes into the basket on command and stays there for a while. But he never knows how long “basket” actually applies. Thus, your dog independently dissolves the command and will simply get up and leave the basket in case of a distraction or after a certain time. To avoid this mistake, you should teach your dog a release command, e.g. “Ok”. This command gives your dog permission to leave the basket. If you are just starting training, it is important to start with a few minutes and give the release after about 5-10 minutes. If this works well, you can extend the time to 20-30 minutes and then to 1 hour. We recommend that you always release the basket command after 1 hour at the latest.

We hope these tips will help you and that your dog’s basket will soon become his favorite place! If you want to start with the basket training right now, download the Pupy App here and watch the first training session right away!

We wish you lots of fun with your dog!

Your Pupy Team 🐶

Categories
Tips & Tricks Training

How do I spend the first days with my puppy?

Finally, the day has come. Finally, your new family member moves in with you! From now on, your life and the life of your puppy will change. You will become a family, a team and nothing will be the way it was before! Are you ready for this new life? – Then go for it!

To help you get started on the right way with your puppy, and to help you get through the first few days like a real dog pro, we at Pupy will give you all the tips you need to know for the first few days with your new furry little friend.

What do you need to prepare?

Preparation is in every situation in life, the basis for relaxation. We’ve made you a list here of everything that should be done before your puppy moves in:

Shopping List:

Also important:

  • Secure all objects, plants, chemicals, and electrical outlets from your puppy.
  • Find a good veterinarian in your area.
  • Write down the number of the veterinarian and the nearest veterinary clinic in your area.
  • Find out about the breed of your dog.
  • Find a small puppy group (max. 6 human-dog teams) and download the Pupy App to train with your dog daily and discuss your individual questions with our professional dog trainers.

The first day with your puppy:

Now the time has come and your puppy is sitting safely in his dog crate in the car next to you. Don’t worry if your little friend gets a little nauseous on the ride to his new home (it happens to even the bravest puppies!). You’re hopefully stocked up on kitchen roll by now, too. In time, your puppy will associate many great things with the car ride e.g. exciting walks, visiting his dog friends, outings, etc. If the drive to the new home takes longer than 1 hour, we recommend you take a short pee break on the way, so that no mishap happens during the drive.

When you get home, your first stop should be your dog’s new pee place. This is the place where your puppy will do his business in the future. Choose a piece of meadow that is easily accessible and where your dog can do his business undisturbed.

Now it is so far! Your puppy enters his new world. You have already checked your home the day before for its puppy safety one last time, so you can now let your puppy explore its new home with a clear conscience. It is best to take him to the room where you spend most of your time and where your dog’s basket is located. The best thing to do is to hide some welcome treats in the basket the day before. This will teach your puppy that it’s worth exploring the room and that his basket is a great place to be.

Take your time now to just watch your puppy, get to know each other, and enjoy this new beginning!

After about 2 hours, it’s time to head back to the pee place so that maybe you both can spend this day without any mishaps. If it has already happened, you know where to find your kitchen roll and the odor remover. But be careful: even if your puppy has already peed in the apartment, you should once again go with him to his peeing place.

For your puppy and also for you, this first day is especially exciting but also exhausting. Therefore, give yourself and your puppy enough space to calm down. Let your puppy sleep and rest when he retires and reflects during this time, your first impression of this exciting day. Are you proud of your puppy? What do you like most about it? Have you noticed any little peculiarities?

The first night:

At some point, even the most beautiful day comes to an end and the first night together is coming up for you and your puppy. It’s best to walk your puppy to his pee place before going to bed. Even if you don’t want your dog to sleep next to your bed, it’s important in the first few days that your puppy is allowed to sleep near you so that you can notice when your puppy needs to get loose again to release. It is best to place your dog box next to your bed (by the way, transport boxes with a roof opening https://tidd.ly/3bBo8Vd are well suited). Put your puppy in the box and give him a small treat before you go to sleep – this will become your ritual in the future and will signal to your puppy that it is now bedtime. If you notice that your puppy is getting restless at night, lift him out of the box and carry him (if possible) to the pee place of release, so that no mishap happens on the way. If something should happen – you know where the kitchen roll and the odor remover are!

By the way, it is quite normal if your puppy is a bit restless in his box at first. If he doesn’t settle down at all and you can’t even think about sleeping at some point, here’s what you can do:

  • Open the top opening of your box and hold your hand inside.
  • Keep stroking your puppy until he calms down.
  • Put yourself to sleep, leaving the top door of the box open if necessary.

Tip: If you really want to get your dog used to sleep in another room from the beginning, you will have no choice but to move your own sleeping space to where your dog sleeps for the first 1-2 weeks.

That’s it! Your first day as a human-dog team is behind you! Tomorrow is a new exciting day with lots of new impressions for your puppy. Want to know how to make this day great, download the Pupy app now and let our professional dog trainers create your personalized training plan for your pup.

We look forward to meeting you and your pup!

Your Pupy Team