Category: Training

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Training

Is my dog dominant? Try the test!

The term dominance is unfortunately still misinterpreted in many online articles and social media as a character trait of dogs. Typical statements include: “If your dog, puts his paw on another dog, he is dominant”, “If your dog makes himself big and carries his tail up, he is dominant”, “If your dog behaves aggressively towards other dogs, he is dominant”, etc. Unfortunately, these statements are insufficient and sometimes even completely wrong! That’s why we would like to give you an overview of what dominance really is and why it is not a problem if your dog is dominant in a situation.

What is dominance?

Dominance is a relationship trait, not a character trait. This means that your dog cannot simply be described as dominant, but there must be at least one other dog that voluntarily (not forced) submits to your dog. Since this is a relationship trait, it is necessary for a relationship to develop between two dogs. Dogs that are just seeing each other for the first time have a hard time having a dominant relationship. Your dog would be the dominant one in a relationship if, over a constant period of time, he regularly asserts his interests over those of the other dog and the other dog just as regularly subordinates himself to avoid conflict. No conflict arises between the dogs because of the dominant relationship. Dominance is therefore avoidance of conflict and not the reason for it.

Important: In a dominance relationship, the dominant can assert his goals at any time, but he can also withdraw and renounce his right to assert himself.

Is my dog dominant?

Often misunderstandings arise in the relationship between humans and dogs, which lead to the belief that your dog is dominant over you. This can of course be the case, but it would then mean that you voluntarily subordinate yourself to your dog.

However, if your dog disputes your place on the sofa or shows his teeth when you come too close to his beloved bone, this has absolutely nothing to do with dominance, but it is a protest against your actions. Here the problem lies on the relationship level between you and your dog and can be solved with the help of clear structures and training. Our professional dog trainers will be happy to advise you on this in our Trainer Chat.

Many exercises, such as “No” and “Off”, can help your dog playfully learn to exchange resources with you. A lovingly constructed dipping ritual allows you to take everything away from your dog, as he has learned that he can get it right back or even expect something much better from you. This trust is a big part of your harmonious human-dog bond. If, on the other hand, we simply take something from our dog without our friendly ritual or even threaten our dog by leaning over him and snatching his stick out of his mouth, we are crossing a line! In this case, don’t be surprised if your dog bares his teeth at you or growls.

Summary

Let’s keep in mind again: dominance is a relationship trait that avoids conflict situations. For a dominant role in a relationship, it is necessary that both relationship partners know each other and that one dog voluntarily submits to the other to avoid conflict. The dominant relationship partner can assert his needs but does not have to.

Dogs can show protest behavior towards their humans, which has nothing to do with dominance. A dog can only be dominant towards its human if the human voluntarily submits to its dog. If your dog shows threatening signals towards you when you want to take something from him or sit next to him on the sofa, you have to work on the human-dog bond and trust, you can learn how in our app.

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Training

New Year’s Eve training with dog – the best tips

New Year’s Eve means stress for many dogs.

Loud bangs, hissing and weird burnt smells are new and unpredictable, especially for young dogs. That’s why it’s so important to prepare your dog, as early as possible for this time of year.

We show you the 3 best tips on how to have a relaxed New Year’s Eve with your dog:

1 Preventive noise training

To prevent your dog from developing a fear of noises in the first place, you should prepare him preventively for loud situations, such as New Year’s Eve, construction site noise or crafts in the house. It is important that your dog is allowed to approach the sources of stimulation independently and also to move away from them again.

Several studies have already shown that dogs who learned to deal with different noises as puppies very rarely suffered from noise anxiety in adulthood. Even in dogs that are already adults, this training can lead to an alleviation of anxiety.

To preventively familiarize your dog with different sounds, you can:.

  • Play your dog a playlist of New Year’s Eve fireworks (softly at first, then gradually louder) while giving him an activity he likes to do, such as solving a food puzzle or doing tricks.
  • Play the sounds playlist when your dog is playing with another confident and non-anxious dog.
  • Fill a box with rattling and rustling objects (that can’t hurt your dog) and hide various treats in it for your dog to find.

2 conditioned relaxation

Conditioned relaxation is a real everyday helper that not only helps you in stressful situations with your dog, but can also provide peace and relaxation in everyday life.

In conditioned relaxation, your dog learns to relax in response to a word and a touch from you. To do this, it is important that you first train in a relaxed atmosphere, such as when your dog is resting. Your dog will also benefit from the fact that you also radiate calmness during this exercise, because mood transfer is an important aspect of the human-dog bond.

Train conditioned relaxation this way:.

  • Put your dog in “sit” and sit on a chair behind him.
  • Place both hands on your dog’s chest and slowly stroke down from there to his paws. As you do this, repeat the word signal “Cool.”
  • Do this exercise 5 minutes a day for a week. You can find detailed video instructions in our app.

3 Preparation and distraction

After your dog is prepared for New Year’s Eve, it’s time to prepare your home to provide as much protection as possible for your dog:

  • Don’t leave your dog alone on New Year’s Eve or during thunderstorms.
  • Consult with your veterinarian if your dog has already panicked on New Year’s Eve.
  • If possible, draw the curtains or lower the blinds to soften the visual and auditory stimuli.
  • Turn on a radio or your television to create another familiar sound source.
  • Nebulize lavender oil (if you used essential oils during conditioned relaxation).
  • Double secure your dog on the walk via harness and collar, or get a special panic harness if your dog is sensitive to sounds.
  • Walk in areas where there is little banging and avoid taking your dog out just before midnight on New Year’s Eve.

You want to prepare your dog optimally for New Year’s Eve? Then Lade start your New Year’s Eve training now and let our app guide you step by step to your goal.

We wish you a relaxed New Year’s Eve with your dog 🐶

Your Pupy Team

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Tips & Tricks Training

Mastering Dog Encounters – How does my dog learn to ignore other dogs?

Dog encounters should actually be something completely natural in everyday life with his dog. But for very many human-dog teams it means stress. Be it because your own dog pulls wildly on the leash, barks or jumps forward or because a strange dog rushes towards you and your dog unleashed – the encounter with other human-dog teams is not always easy.

Mastering dog encounters

This title alone, “Mastering Dog Encounters,” already causes many people’s pulse to increase slightly. However, today we want to show you that there is no reason to panic when meeting other human-dog teams, nor is there any reason why your dog should learn to ignore other dogs.

Teaching your dog to ignore other dogs would mean that we forbid him to interact socially with other dogs. However, since our dog needs contact with other dogs for a happy dog life, since it is even required by the Animal Welfare Act, and since it does not necessarily make a dog encounter any better, we do not recommend it.

It is better if your dog learns to be relaxed through dog encounters. For this, the following rules must be followed.

  1. Both human-dog teams (dog and human) must want the contact. Pay attention to your own dog’s body language and that of the other human-dog team.
  2. The dogs will not have contact until you give your dog the all clear.
  3. There is no playing on the leash.
  4. The leash always remains loose when in contact with other dogs.
  5. As soon as one of the dogs shows signs of anxiety, stress or fear, contact is broken and the dog owners communicate with each other.

How my dog learns to pass other dogs in a relaxed way?

Of course, you should first practice with your dog not to pull towards every human-dog team. You do this by practicing leash walking and impulse control with your dog.

Your dog should learn to resist quick stimuli, such as a thrown ball. Only when he makes eye contact with you will he get either a “go on” and you continue with him on the leash or an “ok” and he may fetch the ball.
In dog encounters, first increase the distance to other human-dog teams and reward eye contact here as well, either with food/game or if the other human-dog team agrees, with dog contact.
Your goal is to keep the leash loose. The looser the leash, the more relaxed you and your dog will be.

For more tips on leash walking, check out our app.

We hope you have fun training with your dog!
Your Pupy Team

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Training

Training for puppies: how best to start?

As soon as a little dog becomes a new member of the family, we start thinking about its training. Of course, we want only the best for the little one! But where to start?

Where do I start when training a puppy?

Contrary to what you might think, your puppy’s training starts as soon as he moves in with you. This is because puppies need a clear structure to which they must gradually become accustomed. You can start, for example, with housetraining. Before you pick up your puppy from the breeder, it is important that you think about where your puppy will do its business in the future. Even before your puppy gets to know its new home, it will immediately go to this valid peeing place – so that the first mishap is already avoided. From this point on, it is best to take your puppy to this wee-wee spot every 1.5 to 2 hours.

You can also playfully teach your puppy some rules on the first day. Puppies learn bite inhibition easily by stopping play with your dog whenever he uses his milk teeth too much. You can learn more about bite inhibition here.

Of particular importance is learning to rest. Puppies need up to 20 hours of sleep a day! Therefore, before your puppy arrives, set up a sleeping area that is in a quiet, yet central location. Put a chew item on this place to attract your puppy to this place in a very casual way.

Socialization

The socialization of your puppy begins at the breeder with the opening of the eyes. From this point on, your dog will be presented with a variety of stimuli over and over again to prepare him for life at your side. When your puppy comes to you at about 10 weeks, it is up to you to continue this important stage of development. Present your puppy with different stimuli that are important in everyday life. Maybe you take him on a short car ride, introduce him to other dogs, walk near a playground to show him that there are also small, loud, and yelling people, or let him watch a construction site from a distance.

For the socialization of your dog, you have approximately until the 12th-14th week of life. During this time, it is important to present your dog with stimuli that are as varied as possible, but do not overtax him! Always think of enough breaks and rest periods (20h sleep!).

The right communication

Also, interspecies communication wants to be learned on both sides. Study your dog’s expressive behavior and try to understand it. In turn, you can help your dog actively interact with you. In manding, your dog learns to communicate and actively ask for attention through a specific behavior, such as a sit. The social communication between you and your dog is largely responsible for your subsequent human-dog bond. Therefore, we advise you to invest extra time in this area. In our app, you will learn how to improve communication with your dog and will be guided step by step.

Basic Training

Of course, you can already train some basic commands with your dog. The most important basic commands include:

  • Sit
  • Down
  • Box or basket
  • recall
  • Leash leadership
  • No (abort command)

These commands can and should be integrated playfully into the daily routine at the beginning. So your dog can practice sit and down just before food is served. You can use the stop command at the latest when something falls down in the kitchen (you are allowed to do this consciously) and recall and leash handling can easily be integrated during play. For the box or basket training, we advise you to start slowly and not to train for more than 5 minutes. It’s best to have a little snack waiting in the basket or dog crate every now and then, so your dog learns that this place is definitely worth a visit.

For more tips and tricks on how to get started with dog training, check out our app!

We wish you lots of fun with your dog

Your Pupy Team

Categories
Training

The basics of dog training

What is important in dog training?

Every new dog owner wants a well-trained dog with whom you can have lots of fun, experience great things, and have a loyal companion by your side. For this, there is no way around good dog training. The question of how you train your dog is of particular importance. Because no matter what you would like to teach your dog, the way you do it determines how successful and sustainable your education is.

How do I train my dog?

You must start educating your dog as early as possible. In the best case scenario, your breeder or the caretakers at the shelter or foster home have already done a great job that you can build on for the next few weeks.

There are 4 things your dog should learn in the first few weeks with you:

  1. communication
  2. everyday suitability (housetraining, recall, leash walking, basket or box training, staying alone)
  3. social behavior
  4. problem solving behavior

Communication

Dogs are social animals and like to communicate. To encourage this in a controlled way, you can capture certain behaviors in your dog by rewarding them, such as eye contact. If your dog looks at you, it’s best to reward this behavior with something that motivates your dog, such as food, toys, or social interaction. When dogs learn how to communicate early, it can have a particularly positive effect on their social behavior and cognition.

Of course, as a dog owner, you must also learn how to communicate with your dog. Since dogs communicate physically to a large extent, it’s important to learn and use this type of communication when raising your dog. For example, preemptive gestures can body language your dog or lean back can invite your dog to come to you.

Everyday skills

Certain basic commands are important for your dog to be able to handle everyday life with you in a relaxed manner. The first of these is housetraining. You should immediately after your puppy has moved in, go out with him regularly, about every 1-2 hours, so you avoid mishaps and your puppy quickly learns his new place for the large and small business. If a mishap does happen, clean it up without comment and clean the area with an odor remover.

Recall and leash leadership can also be practiced playfully by practicing them again and again during play or the small walk. Likewise, you can accustom your dog to his basket or dog box with small surprises in the form of food and gradually make progress there.

However, you mustn’t overtax your puppy at any time. Integrate the things into your daily routine in such a way that you yourself do not have any stress and practice rather only 2-5 minutes and build it for it more frequently into your daily routine.

Socialization

Also, the contact with other dogs, different people, children, and inanimate things must be learned and must take place during the first 14 weeks and at best be repeated between the 4-6 months. It is not about that your dog has to play with all dogs because playing works best with people of the same age, care should be taken that your dog can collect and store many different experiences.

Examples:

  • A car while stationary and moving.
  • Construction site noise.
  • Children of different ages.
  • Umbrellas (open/closed/when it rains).
  • Things falling down in the household.
  • Streetcars, buses, train station
  • Riding in the car
  • Large and small dogs with floppy ears/short hair/long hair/without tail/with tail/flat nose/long nose etc.
  • Bridges
  • Garbage cans, garbage collection vehicles
  • etc.

Problem Solving Behavior

Dogs experience stress, anxiety, and fear all the time in their lives. For them to cope with these conditions, they must learn to recover from them quickly. This is best accomplished when your breeder has already begun to lovingly tease the little puppies with little stress ears over and over again. If your dog is already at home with you, you can, for example, set him small solvable tasks, before which he is a little scared at first, but which he overcomes with your encouragement. You can find such exercises in the different categories of our app, please have a look at the category “Puppy training”.

How long can you train your dog?

How long it takes to train a dog varies somewhat depending on the dog’s personality. What is certain, however, is that you should definitely have completed your dog’s socialization by the end of the sensitive phase (around 3-14 weeks). Repetition between 4-6 months is also important, as this is the time when various links in the brain are erased and others are further strengthened.

After puberty, your dog is still capable of learning new things and he should continue to be mentally stimulated. However, behaviors will not be as permanently stored as they are during the time your dog is being raised in the first 12-14 weeks.

Do you want to lay the foundation for your dog’s training? Then download our app now.

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Training

How to use a long leash in training my dog?

A long leash is a great tool in dog training – provided it is used correctly! In this blog post, you will learn for whom the long leash training is suitable, which long leash is the right one for your dog, and how to use the long leash in practice.

The long leash training is suitable for:

  • Training puppy and young dogs
  • Dogs that do not know you yet
  • fear dogs
  • Anti-hunting training
  • hunting dog training
  • recall training
  • Training of different signals at distance
  • Dogs, with emotional and/or social support needs

Which long leash is the right one?

You can find long leashes in different lengths between 3 to well over 15 meters. If you want to practice certain aspects of behavior with your dog, such as recall or orientation to you, less is always more. The reason for this is that we are in a training situation. So the further your dog can move away from you, the more difficult it will be for you to lead him over the leash.

The type of leash is also crucial and depends on what you want to train with your dog. Especially popular are the currently leashes made of biothane, which is a water-repellent material, but depending on the provider also very slippery in the hand. So if you have a dog that tends to have impulsive reactions and also likes to jump into the leash, it is better to take a material that is non-slip in the hand. Many long leashes also have a hand loop. This loop may seem practical at first look, that you can put it around your wrist, but in most cases, it carries a high risk of injury. It is not uncommon that either your hand gets caught in the loop when your dog runs off or your dog runs off with the leash and gets caught somewhere with the loop.

Our recommendations for a suitable long leash:

  • 5 meters length
  • No hand loop
  • Part rubberized

How to use the long leash in dog training.

Getting your dog used to the long leash.

Before you even start training your dog must get to know the long leash. The long leash should always be attached to a harness to prevent injury to the neck vertebrae. When you put your dog on the long leash, give him a little more leash at first until your dog reaches the final length. It is best to tie a knot at the end of the leash to give yourself a fixed point. Praise your dog verbally as long as the end of the leash is not yet reached and, if you like, reward your dog’s eye contact with some food. When your dog reaches the end of the leash, say “Slow down” and gently tug on the leash until your dog responds with a step back or eye contact. As soon as your dog loosens the leash, you stop gently tugging and verbally praise your dog. If your dog makes eye contact, you can also reward him with some food, a social game, or something similar.

Gradually, your dog will learn the limits of the leash and, if the leash length remains the same, he will even be able to keep the distance independently without pulling. Stay fair and give your dog the signal “Slow down” ready just before he runs into the leash. Mark for it with a knot in the leash (approx. 20 cm before line end), the distance, where you give your dog the signal.

Use the long leash in recall training.

Especially in recall training, it pays to take your dog on a long leash. For a successful recall, your dog must understand that he must run to you on the recall signal “Here”, no matter what stimuli have previously taken his attention. For this, it is important at the beginning that the word signal “Here” is conditioned at a relatively short distance. Once your dog understands what to do with this signal, you can gradually increase the distance and incorporate distractions into your training. If your dog does not listen to your recall signal, you can remind him by gently tugging on the leash that the command is valid, even if the distraction seems exciting. So for recall, it’s not only your will but also your way of demanding the command consequently that is important to train a reliable command.

Do you need help with training with the long leash or recall training? Then download the Pupy app now. Train with our step-by-step video instructions or chat with our professional dog trainers and find a personalized way for your human-dog team.

We hope you have fun training with your dog!

Your Pupy Team

Categories
Tips & Tricks Training

Dog Training – How to set gentle boundaries for your dog

Do these situations sound familiar to you? The doorbell rings and your dog immediately rushes to the front door? Does your dog immediately jump into the leash at a dog encounter? Or just won’t stay in his basket, even though you sent him there?
All these problems can be solved by setting gently boundaries. We at Pupy would like to explain to you today what a boundary is, why it is important to set boundaries, and how you can gently and successfully set boundaries for your dog.


What is a boundary? A boundary is the occupation of a space that your dog is temporarily or always (it’s up to you) not allowed to enter. The point is not to punish your dog but to establish a very clear rule.


Why are boundaries so important? Through set gentle boundaries, you give your dog orientation and security. He does not have to decide for himself how to behave in different situations, e.g. when visitors come. This ensures that your dog has less stress. In addition, boundaries can avoid conflict situations. A good example is given by dogs among themselves: If a dog lays claim to space opposite the other, e.g. his own basket, he usually makes himself big, fixes and growls at the other dog if necessary, if he approaches too close to his resting place. The other dog has now two possibilities, either he accepts the boundary and goes out of the way of the conflict or he crosses it and triggers a conflict. Most dogs will avoid the conflict and accept the other dog’s boundary. This is usually followed by an appeasing behavior e.g. licking the muzzle and turning away the dog, which is now looking for another place to rest.
How do I set gentle boundaries for my dog? Of course, we humans communicate somewhat differently than dogs, nevertheless, we can imitate certain behaviors successfully so that our dog also understands us.


Small exercise:

  1. Stand in front of your dog.
  2. Make yourself tall and walk towards him.

What happens?

  • Most dogs, now take a step back or even sit down.
  • Now turn away from your dog again and take the tension out of the situation.

What happens?

  • If your dog stays on the spot, he has understood the boundary.
  • If your dog approaches you again, you go towards him again, this time until he sits down. Then you turn away again.
  • If your dog has accepted the boundary, you can now dissolve it again by crouching down and calling your dog to you in a friendly manner and praising him verbally, and playing with him if necessary (food is not necessary here!).

Congratulations! You’ve just successfully set a boundary for your dog and also dissolved it.


How can I use this technique in everyday life? You can use this technique of setting boundaries in everyday life whenever you want to separate a certain space from your dog. This can be a real room, such as the kitchen, or a certain area, such as the area in front of the front door when visitors come, or the area in front of your feet when your dog should walk on the lax leash.


As you can see, boundaries can help you with a variety of concerns with your dog. The important thing to remember here is that there are dogs that like to test and question their boundaries. If your dog growls at you when you set boundaries, or shows any other behavior that seems unusual to you, you should definitely discuss this issue with a competent dog trainer. Feel free to contact us about this in our trainer chat in the Pupy app.

If you have any questions about this or any other topic regarding your dog, you can always contact us via our trainer chat. We look forward to getting to know you and your dog!
Have fun training with your dog!


Your Pupy Team

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

Categories
Training

How does my dog stay relaxed alone?

It is a piece of freedom to leave his dog alone at home for a few hours. Even if we would like to spend a lot of time together with our furry friend, it sometimes happens that our darling has to stay alone for a short time. Whether it is for the weekly shopping, a hobby that we pursue, where our dog can not come along or a doctor’s appointment. For such situations, your dog must learn that it is not bad to stay home alone and gain the confidence that we will always come back as his social partner.

How you manage to get your dog used to staying alone step by step you will learn in the following tips:

1. create an atmosphere for your dog in which he feels comfortable.

Set up a place for your dog where he feels comfortable and cared for. Before you even start to teach your dog step by step to stay alone, it is important that your dog feels at home. Set up a basket or a dog box, where he can also come to rest in everyday life. Make this place attractive to him by hiding great treats there or giving him a chew bone as soon as he visits this place. It is important that your dog’s resting place is in a place where he is undisturbed but still gets some of the edge of the action.

2. practice leaving your dog alone step by step.

Begin to teach your dog to stay alone as early as possible and as slowly as necessary. It is perfectly fine if you leave the room for 1-2 minutes while your dog is busy with a chewing stick in his basket. Short walks to the basement or to take out the garbage are also wonderful for the first training sessions. It is important that you do not sneak out. Your dog must be aware that you are leaving the room, because this is the only way he will trust you not to leave suddenly. You can announce your going out with a “I’ll be right back.” When your dog gets comfortable with you being gone for a short time without him, slowly start to increase the time.

Only come back when your dog is calm.

We recommend that you install a camera so that you can monitor whether your dog is calm or not. Alternatively, you can use a baby phone. It is quite normal if your dog runs around the apartment for a short time or protests with short barks and yelps. Your task is to wait for the moment when your dog is calm. Then go back to him, greet him with a “hello” and short calm petting. By getting on eye level with your dog, you prevent him from jumping on you. Sometimes it is also helpful to give him something to carry or chew on to avoid a boisterous and tumultuous greeting.

4. Don’t leave your dog alone until he has learned.

“Just a quick shopping trip, will be fine” – NO! Don’t leave your dog alone until your dog has really learned. If you leave your dog alone when he can not yet safely stay alone for a certain time, it can happen that your dog suddenly panics. By not being able to intervene in time, your dog will associate negative emotions with being left alone and, in the worst case, you will be completely back to the beginning of training. It is better if you organize a dog sitter or other caregiver who can watch your dog until your dog can safely and relaxed stay alone for more than 1 hour. Before that, you should not leave him alone, even if the supermarket is not far away, something can always come up and you stay away longer than planned after all.

5. Cover your dog’s basic needs before leaving him alone.

Make your dog physically and mentally happy before leaving him alone. Take him for another short walk, train or play with him for a few minutes. Also, make sure your dog has eaten and has access to plenty of fresh water while you’re away. For more ideas on how to keep your dog physically and mentally occupied, check out our app.

Get started now!

We wish you all the best in training your dog! In our app, you’ll find everything you need for successful training in the “Stay Alone” category. If you need additional help with Stay Alone training or have any other concerns with your dog, you can always ask your questions through our Trainer Chat. Our professional dog trainers will be happy to help you and together we will find a solution.