When bringing home a new puppy, you need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Chances are, your puppy will be an angel compared to what you expect of him/her, but at least you would have covered all bases. As with anything else in life, it is always better to be over-prepared than to be under-prepared.

The most obvious supplies are usually at the forefront of any new pet-owner’s mind. These include feeding and water dishes, a leash, a collar or harness, teething toys, a bed, some sort of confinement and sleeping quarters for the puppy, wee wee pads, food and of course treats.

When choosing feeding and water dishes, consideration must be given to the size of the puppy. Dishes too large may prevent a tiny puppy from eating and dishes too small may provide too little food for a large puppy. Pay particular attention to the amount of food the puppy is currently eating and the height of the puppy when choosing dishes.

A leash and a collar are two very important items as a puppy needs to get used to walking on a leash even before he/she is ready to go outside. Speak to your veterinarian before taking your puppy out for walks but in the meantime you can get your little furry addition to warm up to the leash by walking him/her inside the house. When choosing between a harness and a collar, attention must be focused on the size of the dog. If a dog is very tiny and fragile, a harness may be a better option because it will prevent accidental injury to your puppy when restraining him/her with a leash.

Teething toys are a must in any household with a new puppy. Puppies, just like babies, lose their puppy teeth and gain adult teeth as they grow. Because of this, they constantly like to gnaw on anything in sight. If you provide your puppy with quality teething toys that entertain him/her then the puppy will continue to chew on the provided toys. You must be sure to select toys that you know your puppy will be entertained by. If the puppy is not entertained, he/she will look to other “toys” around the house to play with.

Choosing a confinement area for your new puppy also needs a lot of planning and thought. Puppies should be supervised at all times if they are freely running around the house. However, there will be times when no one is able to supervise the puppy (when you are sleeping or out of the house etc). During these times, the puppy needs to be confined to a crate or a safe area of the house. If left alone, puppies can be destructive and they can cause harm to themselves. The easiest and most popular form of confinement is usually a crate or an exercise pen. However, you may also choose to have the puppy confined to a gated off section of the house like the kitchen, hallway or bathroom. Whichever form of confinement you choose, you need to choose the proper bedding and soiling area for that arrangement as well. Wee wee pads work well as a scented paper that encourages a puppy to go to the bathroom. These pads will help to ensure that a puppy has an area to go to the bathroom when you are not there so that there are not many soiled areas of the puppy’s sleeping quarters. These pads should be placed away from the puppy’s bed so that the puppy can differentiate between the sleeping quarters and the bathroom area as puppies inherently do not like to soil where they sleep.

Feeding your puppy is also another important factor in preparation planning. As far as treats are concerned, they should only be given to a puppy when the puppy has done something to earn a treat. Always follow the guidelines on the packages to ensure that you are not over-treating your puppy. As for feeding your puppy, you need to ensure that you have the same food for your puppy that the puppy has already been eating. Changing your puppy’s food too quickly can cause upset stomach and diarrhea. Keeping your puppy on a constant, healthy formula is the best way to guarantee your puppy a healthy transition to your home.

After all these factors have been considered and decided upon, you need to make an appointment to have your puppy examined by a Veterinarian to keep him/her current on vaccines. If all goes well, then it is up to you when it comes to training and caring for your new puppy. You can always seek the help of a professional trainer if you are not able to train the puppy properly or you can read training tutorials online or buy training books specific to your breed of dog. 

With the proper planning, care and attention, your puppy will be acclimated to your household within a short period of time. Always remember to socialize your puppy with people, kids and other dogs so he/she will be well rounded as an adult. Puppies need lots of sleep, lots of care and most importantly, lots of love.

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CRATE TRAINING:

By putting your Bulldog puppy in a crate you are giving him or her a sense of security and a place they can call their own. Dogs actually like having a “den” to cuddle up in. By putting your Bulldog puppy in a crate while you are gone it will also give you peace of mind knowing that they are in a safe place, away from harm, and not doing any damage to your belongings or themselves.

Crate training will also help with potty training. Make sure you put Bulldog puppy on a regular schedule for meal times & potty breaks and use the crate when you are gone or need your pet to rest. Bulldogs will typically not “go” in their home. They like to keep it clean and will hold it until you can take them outside to eliminate. Remember to always praise your Bulldog puppy when he or she eliminates in the area you want him/her to outside.

Bulldog Puppies have very small bladders so they cannot physically hold it for very very long. I would suggest that you take your puppy out every 2 – 4 hours. As your puppy gets older, naturally they will gain the bladder control and be able to hold it longer. Eventually this time should increase to 8 hours or more.

Another thing to consider when purchasing a crate is to make sure that you buy a crate big enough to accommodate the full growth of your pet. When your pet is a puppy and you are crate training, make sure that the crate has a divider panel. You can adjust the placement of the divider panel so that the puppy does not have full use of the crate thus creating the “den” feeling that will make your dog feel comfortable and cozy. In this situation the dog will not want to go in its den and will keep the area clean. If you give the puppy the full area of the crate it may be too large and the dog will make one area of the crate his potty area and the other area as his sleeping area. Adjust the divider panel so that your Bulldog puppy has enough area to get up and stretch but not enough room to eliminate. I like the life stages crate you can view it here: http://www.champbulldogs.com/bulldogbooksupplies.htm

Crate training your Bulldog puppy or dog is just a smart thing to do for you and your new bullie baby. It will give you the sense of security and peace knowing that your pet is not getting in harms way while you are away

 

HOUSE TRAINING:

So how do we house train our new Bulldog. What if he or she just doesn’t seem to get it? Believe it or not, it’s simple.

I have two key words for you:

Confine and Observe.

While there is a great deal to know about food and water scheduling, timing can vary from dog to dog. (Feeding only two times daily “first thing in the morning” & again around “4 – 6pm in the evening” is a good start. Try to limit water after 7pm.) Now w e’ll just concentrate here on the main concept which is to confine your Bulldog dog to an appropriately sized crate when you cannot observe him.

A properly sized crate is large enough for your Bulldogdog to stand up and turn around, but hardly bigger than that. If you have a puppy in a large crate, he’ll think he’s got a bedroom with a bathroom built in. He’ll wee in one corner and sleep in the other.

The correctly sized crate consists of bedroom only with no “bathroom.” So if your crate is too large, go to the pet store and purchase a crate divider so you can temporarily reduce the accessible area.

Your Bulldog should be in his/her crate unless you can observe him 100%. This means that when your Bully is loose, he/she has your undivided attention. Consider attaching a 6 foot light cord to the collar so you can more easily locate the dog, and prevent her from leaving the room without you. Simply step on the cord to stop him/her.

At the first sign your Bulldog puppy needs to go, whisk him/her outside. Those signs include circling, sniffing, anxiousness, whining among other symptoms.

When you’re not observing your bully puppy with full attention, you confine her/him to the crate. That being said, you do need to ensure your dog has liberty periodically so he’s not all day in the crate. By being diligent now, you’ll be able to give your Bulldog years of liberty with no worries. So it’s well worth the investment in time at this stage.

Be sure you spend time playing with your Bulldog puppy, and also let him or her wander outside the crate. Avoid tossing your bully in the crate as punishment. Alleviate your guilt feelings by placing toys in with him/her.

This method makes it impossible for your bulldog to have an accident. You’re either right there to take him/her out, or he’s in the crate where your bulldog normally won’t want to go. When you’ve had a month with no accidents, you can begin to let you bulldog earn a little more liberty, five or ten minutes at a time.

That means he/she can be out of your sight for a few moments at a time. But only a few. You want to build slowly on a record of success until your dog literally forgets that the house ever contained a bathroom.

For each week with no accident, you can give your bully a few more moments of liberty at a time. However, if there is an accident, go back a step, and reduce that liberty. One accident in the house erases progress made for the several previous days.

Confine and Observe your way to house breaking success. In the course of just two or three months, you’ll have a dog you can trust in the home. It’s going to be worth the effort!getting hungry?

TO or NOT to use puppy training pads. If you use pads it will be harder for your puppy to understand it must go potty outside.

Potty training a dog is one of the most frustrating things you will have to do. Take heart in the fact that once your dog gets the potty training, you won’t have to teach it again. In many ways, potty training can be rewarding too. Not only can you help your bullie to stop making messes on your favorite carpeting, but you can develop a strong relationship of trust and bonding with them to.

Here are 5 steps to make potty training successful in your home.

1.Use a crate. Crate training is very effective. A crate is used to allow your pet to have a place to sleep and teaches them to control their bladder. They won’t soil their bedding. Then, when it is time to get up and go out, you can easily do just that. The bulldog learns from the start that you control potty time.

2. After meals, give your bulldog puppy 15 minutes and then take them out. Food is a trigger not only to eat but also to go. When it comes to potty training success, allow your pet to get outside when the urge is approaching. What’s more is that you shouldn’t leave food out. Put it down for them at the designated time and allow them to eat for 15 minutes to 30 minutes and remove the bowl. Soon he will learn and that again allows you to control potty time.

3. At Champbulldogs.com we always pick a potty spot. Select the area of your yard that you want your pet to go in. Take them to that spot every time to go. This will help your puppy to learn that when he needs to go, he needs to come here. What’s more is that the smell of urine is yet another trigger to your pet to go.

4. Remember that rewards need to be emotional, and therefore it is more successful to give them a reward of a patting and rub down then it is for you to hand them a treat. Also, treats are food which triggers potty time again!

5.Reward success, and limit punishing accidents. Although you will be angry and you will want to punish your Bulldog remember Bulldogs respond much better to love.

Caring for your bulldog is hard work, but very rewarding! When it comes to potty training, success will come much faster when you install these five tips into your program! Best of luck potty training! Champbulldogs.com