You can start training your puppy practically as soon as you get him home. You can take him to puppy training classes of course, but it isn’t so difficult to learn puppy training techniques and teach him yourself. Dogs are like children and learn quickly through games. Try to play with your puppy as often as you can, and if possible get down on the floor with him. That way a bond will be established between you and the puppy and you can strengthen it through training. When he is about eight weeks old your puppy will be old enough to start learning how to retrieve things, bring them to you and lay them at your feet. He will find this fun and enjoy playing “fetch” for the rest of his life.

The best way to teach him this game is to keep him on a 10-foot leash. Rather than using a stick, use a toy he is familiar with or a soft ball. It is important to ensure that it isn’t too small, to prevent him from swallowing it. Take the toy and wave it in the air around his head to catch his attention, and then throw it at a distance of about 5 feet. Be careful not to throw it further than that or he might injure himself when he suddenly reaches the end of the leash. Make sure you use his name, for example “Prince, fetch!”

Run after him as he goes after the toy and give him a bit of praise, especially if he picks it up, but do not praise him too much at this point. If he fails to pick it up with his mouth, shake it in front of him until he does, and then return to where you were, trying to get him to follow you. Should he drop the toy you must make him pick it up again. When he brings it back, get the toy out of his mouth saying “Out” as you do so, so that he will learn to recognize this command. After that you can lavish all the praise you want on him.

It is important when training a new puppy to make sure he always has fun with this game and that it is not a source of stress for him. Little by little he will begin to understand what you want and what he needs to do to get praise from you. Once you no longer have to move towards the toy to get him to retrieve, you can begin to throw it in other directions.

Although Labrador retrievers are good swimmers, this is something they need to learn, and they need to strengthen their swimming muscles through exercise. It is not a good idea to push your puppy into the water or make him go in. When he is about three months old you can encourage him to enter a pond or lake and he will quickly understand what to do. You can help him get started by wading in with him at the beginning, and if he sees other dogs having fun in the water that will encourage him to get in on the fun.

Puppies that are raised by the sea become great sea-lovers, but you have to be sure to protect a young puppy from big waves. Take him to the shallow part of a sheltered bay to begin with. When you throw an object make sure it does not fall into deep water as it is easy to misjudge distances and your puppy might not be able to swim back if the object is too far away, and risks drowning from exhaustion.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s safe to let your puppy swim in your pool. He might go in alone when you are not looking and not be able to climb out when he gets tired.

You’re a new puppy owner and you want to find the best large breed puppy food for your dear bunch of joy. But… Is a trip to local pet superstore would be of help or will lead you to a more complicating task? Knowing that there’s a lot of brands and types of puppy food available, and they might be one of the best for your ever loved puppy… You stop for awhile, and think of ways on how to choose which of those options to use.

Care for what? Brands, manufacturers or the ingredients to get the best out of those options… Well, it is the ingredient that matters most. But before you got blinded or wild trying to read and then decode the ingredient sections of different dog food bags, continue reading and know where and what you should be looking.

Before you pursue your quest in finding large breed puppy food, know the place where not to go… The supermarkets, local grocery stores or dollar stores! True, you’ll only find food that won’t give your puppy what he/she needs to develop and gain proper nutrition. You don’t want to give your puppy foods with cheap ingredients, artificial additives and preservatives, and other fillers or junk foods, right? So, here’s a quick over view of what and where to find puppy food suitable for your puppy’s taste buds and nutrition.

Some of the best puppy food brands can easily be found through Internet. Other suggested places are specialty pet stores, good feed stores or even your veterinarian’s office. There are one or two superb puppy foods that can be found at the major Pet superstores, but you need to know exactly which ones they are. Browse the internet and you’ll find comprehensive lists of the best puppy food on the market and which one can be found in your neighborhood.

Seems like we have problem getting the best puppy food online? Of course not! Choosing and ordering puppy and dog food online is in fact fast and simple, it’s delivered right to your door. Good news when you have a large breed puppy that eats a LOT of food.

Now, let’s learn little things about the ingredients found in the best puppy food options, so you know which foods to buy.

First, look for food that could be a good source of protein. Real meat, not meat spin-off or grain.

Second, food that is all organic, human grade or natural ingredients.

Give your puppy one or two grains. Keep in mind that too much intake of grains can cause allergies, and particular grains such as wheat are common triggers.

In addition, large breed puppies grow very rapidly, but they mature slowly. A food containing too much calorie density or too high content of calcium or too high in protein can cause too-rapid growth. This will results in bone/joint problems as the pup grows.

The best puppy food varieties that are exclusively designed for large breed puppies should be cared not to overgrown your pup instead to sustain the exact balance of nutrients so that these problems don’t occur.

Now, take a little of spare time and snag to find the best large breed puppy food for your big gal or guy since this is so essential, so don’t withhold on it! A properly fed puppy is apt to grow and develop into a strong, active adult and have no further or serious health problems during his/her lifetime. Save on vets bills, and distress… Find large breed puppy food with an extra cost is really worth it!

Puppy Obedience Training – How to Succeed. When should you start Puppy Obedience Training? Puppies aged – 5 – 7 weeks

The age of your puppy plays an important part in deciding when you should start the training program…

5 – 7 weeks – This is the age where puppies start to act and behave like dog’s. The mother will start to wean the young puppies from around the forth week (although this can vary slightly.) From the forth week (approx) the mother dog will start to teach the puppy discipline such as the bite inhibition – this is the process of teaching the puppy how much pressure should be put on a bite (so the puppies don’t go around biting too hard on their litter mates.) The age from 5 – 7 weeks is also very important in a puppies development as it is the time when the mother dog starts to teach the puppy social skills – this will enable the puppy to learn how to interact with other puppies, dogs and humans. Important – If a puppy is removed too early during these stages of development it could have disastrous effects on the puppy and its behavior and obedience in later life.

The Importance of Housetraining early…

If puppies are properly trained at this very crucial stage 5 – 7 weeks + they will then learn the basic concepts of housetraining. Puppies (given the choice) will not natural eliminate in their crate/whelping box (if they have been taught this by their mother and not separated too early) even if it means having a quick stumble and wobble to the other side of the crate/whelping box. If for whatever reason (you may have left him to long in the crate/whelping box) your puppy eliminates in his den – he may then think that it’s ok and continue to do this.

Puppies aged 8 – 16 weeks.

This is a critical stage in the life and development of your puppy – if you get it wrong here then you are setting yourself up for major puppy obedience and puppy behavior problems in the future. At this age your puppy starts to realize whether it’s a great world to live in or a terrifying and scary world. IMPORTANT - If your puppy doesn’t meet and interact with other people, children and dog’s at this age he may become scared, and as we know a nervous and scared dog can lead to an aggressive dog. At this point if you are inconsistent with the housetraining process then your puppy will be inconsistent with housetraining in later life.

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Don’t be fooled!

You may think that your puppy is completely housetrained at this stage – he may even go towards the door when he wants to eliminate – however … This is where basic and very common mistakes happen in the training process – YOU are having unrealistic expectations… Just because your puppy THINKS that he is a big boy – he has learned the concept of the process of asking to go out – but biologically he is still a baby and may pee on the way to going outside because as a baby he still struggle with bladder control. At about 8 weeks your puppy can hold his bladder for approximately 2 hours and this will increase to about 4 hours when he reaches 16 weeks. Don’t expect your puppy to hold it – if you do you are asking your puppy to get a urinary tract infection.

Puppies aged 4 – 6 months.

This is where all your training is proven to work or fail!

If you thought everything was going well and your beautiful puppy was housetrained – don’t hold your breath as this where you could be proven wrong. At this age your puppy is very very easily distracted – just when you think he is about to pee he will go and chase a fly – this is normal. At this age puppies can hold their bladder for about 4 – 5 hours approx – without a potty break. At about 6 months your puppy should be able last about 6 7 hours.

Puppies aged 6 – 12 months.

This is when your little puppy starts to develop sexually – this brings it’s own problems.

If you own an unneutered male – because he is developing sexually he may start to raise his leg and pee on the furniture. If you own a female then she may have her first heat anywhere between 6 – 12 months. If you have been consistent in your housetraining then your puppy should be able to hold his bladder between 7 – 8 hours between potty breaks. Don’t make the common mistake of thinking that your puppy is completely house trained at this age – many people let them have the run of the House when they are out – only to find accidents around the House – This is because puppies may not associate their den’s/crate with the entire House until they are about 1 year old or more.

Getting a new puppy is always an exciting adventure, but training them can be a feat. Free puppy training tip lists are readily available, and can can be very useful when attempting to train a new puppy at home. The following paragraphs will discuss some ways to locate these free puppy training tip lists including:

• paper publications
• animal organizations
• the internet
• other pet owners

Paper publications for animal lovers often have free puppy training tip lists included inside. It is a good idea to check the cover, then the table of contents to find the free puppy training tip lists. Sometimes the paper publications may offer past issues that contain the free puppy training tip lists you desire. These back issues are often available for purchase by mailing in the order form.

Another great source of free puppy training tip lists are animal organizations in your area. Many veterinarians, dog training services, humane societies, and pet supply stores will offer free puppy training tip lists in the form of free literature. You can visit these different establishments in your area to obtain these free puppy training tip lists to help you with training your new puppy.

The world wide web is a huge source in obtaining free puppy training tip lists. With the internet growing so rapidly in popularity, more and more trainers and pet owners are sharing their knowledge through web pages. By browsing these different web pages, you can find many free puppy training tip lists, as well as many other aids in training your new puppy.

Finally, the last source of locating free puppy training lists are from family and friends. Many pet owners enjoy sharing their knowledge, and would gladly give you free puppy training tip lists. Who would know better about training a puppy than someone who has done it?

While the joys of adopting a new puppy can be enormous, the stresses of training that new puppy can be just as huge. Obtaining free puppy training tip lists is easy and can be extremely effective in aiding in training your new puppy with less stress. With free puppy training tip lists so easily available, reducing the stress of training your puppy will be a breeze!

To get your puppy off to a good start, schedule a veterinary check-up within the first 48 hours of bringing it home. You can then get a clean bill of health, a schedule for future vaccinations and spay/neuter surgeries and advice on food, training, parasite preventatives and trainer recommendations.

What to consider before getting a puppy?

* Investigate the breeds and mixes.
* Ensure you are familiar with the breed’s adult size & personality traits.
* Estimate costs of regular veterinary care, flea/tick and heartworm prevention.
* Estimate costs of grooming, food and how it fits into your lifestyle or family life.

How to keep your puppy safe?

* Create a safe environment at your home. A puppy, just like a human baby, finds the tiniest nooks and crannies to get into and they often get into trouble playing with computer cables, electric cords, cleaning products, pantyhose, etc. Hide or contain wires and cables, put baby locks on low cabinets (little paws and noses can pry doors open), pick up stray strings, needles, paperclips, shoelaces, and move valuables, books and breakables to new heights.

* Crate – search for one with enough room for your puppy to turn around, lie down and sleep but not too spacious as this leaves room for it to eliminate in areas where it doesn’t sleep.

* Until your puppy has finished all rounds of immunisation, he should not mix with a lot of strange dogs or be where there is a high volume of other dogs walking, as he needs to be fully protected before venturing in public places.

What are the handy things you need to have to care for a puppy?

* Use non-tipping metal food and water dishes – this helps keep the dishes from sliding.

* Buy some stain and odour neutralizer – your puppy will always be drawn to areas where “accidents” took place, a good neutralizer will eliminate odours from its urine or stool.

* Buy a brush, nail clipper and a comb if your puppy will eventually grow into a dog with a medium to long coat.

* Get an adjustable collar, identification tag and a six-foot nylon or leather leash with a small clip. Try to avoid chain collars or leashes.

How to house-train (potty-train) your puppy?

* House-training a puppy is not difficult if you’re consistent and stick to a schedule. You will probably be feeding three times a day. First thing in the morning, take the puppy out of its crate and quickly take it outside to where you’d like it to eliminate. Be patient, and as soon as your puppy starts to eliminate, CALMLY praise it with “Good dog” (or whatever term you’d like to use). When your puppy has finished all its business, take a few minutes to play or cuddle it. What you want to teach your puppy is the sooner it eliminates, the sooner it gets to play with you. When playtime is over, bring it inside, feed your puppy breakfast and let it have water. In about 15-20 minutes, take it outside again and repeat the routine. Once back inside, if you have time to monitor your puppy, you may let it explore its surroundings. After that, put it back in its crate.

* Never leave your puppy in the crate for more than its limit in controlling its bladder. Usually a puppy can hold it for as many hours as its age in months. For example, a 2-month old puppy can stay in the crate for no more than 2 hours, as long as it has eliminated before being crated. Repeat the feeding, elimination, play routine at lunch and dinner, then no more water or food 2 hours before bedtime. If the weather is very warm, a few ice cubes in your puppy’s water bowl will quench its thirst but not stimulate its bladder like water will. Generally, at 8 weeks to 3 months, your puppy will have developed better bladder and bowel control and is capable of sleeping through the night. But remember to take your puppy out first thing in the morning!

* When your puppy pees on one spot, he tends to go back to exactly the same place over and over because your puppy recognises the smell. Therefore take your puppy to the same spot every time. If your puppy does it in the right spot, lavish him with lots of praises! Use your happy voice, your puppy will soon know he did it right and will want to do it right the next time.

* If your puppy had an accident somewhere inside the house, make sure you clean the floor or the carpet thoroughly to neutralise the smell. A good quality pet odour remover should do the trick.

* Each time you want your puppy to defecate or urinate, teach you puppy a specific word by repeating the same word many times, for example “go poop”, “go potty”. By repeating the same words each time, it will become another command for your puppy and he will be able to do it when you mention the command.

* Ideally you will have a dog door installed so that your puppy can be trained to go outside when it needs to eliminate. If this is not practical, keep an eye on your puppy, try to observe how your puppy normally acts before he pees, and take him outside as soon as you see the signs. You can also teach your puppy to ask for the door, but that might take some time.

* Establish a routine – for example, after a nap or before play time, take your puppy outside to eliminate.

What are the development stages and behaviours you can expect from a puppy to a dog?

* The Juvenile Stage: 3 to 4 Months

The Juvenile stage typically lasts from 3 to 4 months of age, and it’s during this time your puppy behaves a little more independent – he might start ignoring the commands he’s only recently learned and tries to exert his new-found independence with its “I don’t have to listen to you” attitude!

You will need to apply firm and gentle reinforcement of commands and training at this stage. Your puppy might even start biting you, play biting or even a real attempt to challenge your authority. A sharp “No!” or “No biting!” command, followed by several minutes of ignoring him should take care of this problem.

When you bond with your puppy, avoid games like tug of war or wrestling with him. He may perceive tug of war as a game of dominance – especially if he wins and wrestling is another game that can rapidly get out of control. As your puppy’s strength grows, he will want to play-fight to see who is stronger – even if you win, the message your puppy receives is that it’s alright to fight with you but this is NOT the message you want to send out!

* The Brat Stage: 4 to 6 Months

Your puppy will demonstrate even more independence and wilfulness during the Brat Stage which begins at about 4 months and runs until about 6 months. You may observe a decline in his urge to please you – expect to see more “testing the limits” type behaviours. During this time he’ll be going through a teething cycle and will also be looking for things to chew on to relieve the pain and pressure. Frozen doggie bones can help sooth him during this period.

Your puppy may try to assert his new “dominance” over other family members, especially children. It is common for puppies at this age to ignore commands to return or come to their owners, which can be a dangerous, even fatal, breakdown in your dog’s response to you. If you turn him loose in a public place, and he bolts, the chances of injury or even death can result – so don’t take the chance. Continue his obedience and basic commands training, but make sure to never let him off his leash during this time unless you’re in a confined area.

Your puppy will now begin to go through the hormonal changes brought on by his growing sexual maturity and you may see signs of rebelliousness. (Think adolescent teen-age boy!) If you haven’t already, you should have your puppy neutered (or spayed if you have a female) during this time.

* The Young Adult Stage: 6 to 18 Months

From 6 months to approximately 18 months, the Young Adulthood stage takes place and is usually a stabilising time in your puppy’s life. He’s young, he’s exuberant, he’s bursting with energy and yet he’s learning all the things he needs to become a full-fledged adult dog. Be realistic in your expectations of your dog at this time, just because he’s approaching his full growth and may look like an adult dog, he’s not as seasoned and experienced as you might expect.

Slowly increase the scope of activities and training for your dog. You can start more advanced training during this period, such as herding or agility training. Otherwise, extend his activities to include more people and other animals – allow him to interact with non-threatening or non-aggressive dogs.

Puppy Housebreaking / Housetraining Procedures and Methods

Puppy housebreaking should start just as soon as you bring your new puppy home – and it is the best way to teach your purebred puppy to go outside when it has to relieve itself. How long does it take to do puppy housetraining?

The easiest answer is: as long as puppy housebreaking takes. I had one German Shepherd puppy that housetrained herself pretty much in just over 3 days, and I have had others that took closer to 2 weeks.

All puppies and breeds of puppies are different and not all can be housetrained in the same amount of time. Housebreaking can easily vary from puppy to puppy.

Additionally, keep in mind that eventhough this article deals primarily with purebred puppies (due to the focus of this web site) that many of these housetraining techniques can also be used with most any other puppy breeds- pure or mixed breed.

When you get your new puppy home the first day, start puppy housebreaking him /her immediately. After he has been briefly introduced to his home and new surroundings, give him a drink of water and immediately take him outside to relieve himself. Take the puppy to the housebreaking area that you chose before bringing him home.

Remember, choice of this housebreaking spot is crucial as it enhances the housetraining – so take careful consideration of where “the housebreaking spot” is before bringing your purebred puppy home. This is the spot where you want the puppy “to go”.

There is a direct correlation between the time you actually put into the puppy housebreaking process and the speed in which the housebreaking of the puppy successfully occurs.

This is a very crucial puppy housebreaking step so be patient and wait until the puppy relieves himself. It may take a while especially with all the new things happening to your new puppy, all the new smells, unfamiliar objects, etc. Do not play with the puppy however until after it has “done it’s business”. If you do it may make the puppy forget about going at all. Since housebreaking is all new to the pure bred puppy it doesn’t know what it’s purpose of being in “the housebreaking spot” is in the first place.

As soon as your puppy finishes, praise it excitedly and immediately take him inside. From that point on, take the puppy to the same housebreaking spot each time and encourage him with a command such as “go potty”, “hurry up” or whatever you choose.

Be consistent using this single command only with the process of puppy housebreaking so that the puppy will learn to associate this act with the command. This will be a huge help in the future, especially when in a new environment or location when traveling, visiting relatives/friends, etc. Being completely housebroken and completely reliable is the final outcome you are looking for.

You must watch them like a hawk at all times – in the beginning of housebreaking especially. If you can not keep an eye on your purebred puppy for some reason please put them in a safe and secure puppy proofed spot (such as a crate or some other small room with easy to clean floors, such as linoleum, closed off with a baby gate so you can peek in as needed). If you are consistent in your puppy housebreaking in the very beginning, ESPECIALLY when it is inconvenient to you (late at night, while you are watching your favorite TV show, etc.), you will actually help the new puppy housebreak itself to alert you when it “has to go”.

A puppy should be taken out immediately (to a prearranged housebreaking area outside): when it wakes up first thing in the morning (before if you manage to get up before the puppy),

after each and every meal,

after each and every nap,

and again before he goes to bed for the night.

Another good housebreaking tip is to take up the puppies water early in the evening and to not feed or water it after say, 6:00 at night, otherwise you may have to make more housebreaking potty trips than usual outside to let the puppy relieve itself. Keep the puppy on a strict housebreaking schedule, both feeding and elimination, and you will have puppy housebreaking success much sooner.

More Puppy Housebreaking and Housetraining Secrets: From Housebreaking to Housebroken

Know in advance that a very young puppy will probably not be able to go through the night without relieving itself so get used to taking it out during the middle of the night until it grows enough to sleep through the night.

You wouldn’t expect a young human baby to be toilet trained in a week, would you? Give the same consideration to your new purebred puppy. He will not be able to be considered reliable as far as housebreaking goes either after only a few days.

The puppy is a baby with a small bladder and weak sphincter muscles. Like human babies, your new puppy will be able to go longer between housebreaking breaks as it grows older and will soon become completely housebroken if your are vigilant in the housebreaking process.

Oops… found a mistake, now what?

If you find your puppy has made a mistake in the house and you did not catch it in the act, simply clean the spot without comment. Clean up all residue and clean the area with a bacteria/enzyme digester. These housetraining aids are available at your pet supply or grocery store. This will get rid of both the stain and the smell. And the smell is the most important part to get rid of. Even if you can’t smell the urine, believe me, your puppy can and he will be encouraged to go back to the same spot again unless you remove ALL urine odors. This is absolutely critical in housebreaking your puppy.

If you find the puppy “in the act”, scoop him up as quickly as possible with his tail between his legs (to help prevent spillage) and take him out asap. Say “out” or “quick” as you take him out but never NO. Since No is used for negative things you do not want your puppy to think that eliminating is wrong, no matter where he does it.

If the new puppy thinks that eliminating is bad he will probably start hiding it from you and you do not want that to happen. That is a whole other behavioral issue to contend with and believe me it’s much better and easier to prevent behavioral problems before they happen than having to deal with them later.

Generally speaking, most puppies are naturally clean dogs – assuming they had the right start clear from the beginning. Puppies raised in small runs or cages develop dirty habits right from the beginning making housebreaking harder. Since they are used to playing and sleeping in their own excrement they will not have any problem with continuing to do so. This is not the puppy’s fault, it’s just what they were accustomed to from an early age.

Keep in mind, housebreaking puppies raised in these type of situations can be much harder and more time consuming than usual but housetraining can still can be done.

Overall, puppy housebreaking problems are often more of a human problem than a puppy problem. If the new owner is steadfast in keeping a watch on the purebred puppy in the beginning of ownership, especially during the first 2 weeks of housetraining, then puppy housebreaking can accomplished and the new puppy will become a reliable member of the family as far as bathroom visits are concerned, and will soon be completely housebroken.

Remember, as the new owner you must be patient with the entire housebreaking process. Each puppy will housetrain at his own speed and with your help. Take him out religiously as outlined above, and keep him on a strict feeding/bathroom housebreaking schedule (as well as anytime the GSD puppy acts as though he has to “go out”). It is very important that you learn to read your puppies potty signals during the housebreaking process: sniffing out “a spot”, circling, whining, going to the door, etc.

Finally, think about how you would like to be housetrained if you were in the puppies place? The puppy won’t enjoy being yelled at, jerked around or frightened any better than you would. A kinder, gentler and more patient puppy housebreaking approach will yield much better results, help your bond with your new puppy and develop a more confident housebroken dog. And isn’t that what we all want as purebred dog owners in the first place?