Training Your New Puppy

Every interaction with your puppy is a training opportunity.

The first few days of bringing your new puppy home are extremely important. Don't let the excitement of your new puppy sway you from the rules you have set in place. It's very confusing to a dog to allow them on the furniture or to jump up on you at first and then later decide that you don't like it. You must set your boundaries from the start and stick to them.

It will be very tempting to let your puppy out of his crate and up on the bed with you so that he doesn't cry all night, but by doing this you are starting a whole new set of problems. By letting your puppy out when he whines and cries you are teaching him that when he fusses you are going to give him what he wants meaning whenever he wants out of his crate, back inside, up on the couch, up on your bed, your food at the table, or anything else, he is going to whine and cry and bark because he has learned that doing so gets him what he wants.

If that doesn't convince you to want to keep your pup in his crate, also remember that by allowing him freedom at night you are setting him up for failure because your puppy does not know how to hold his bladder all night and you are likely to wake up to a big mess the next morning. Not to mention all the items your puppy will likely find to chew on in order to soothe his aching teeth and gums.

It's hard to ignore the crying of your new bundle of fur. Your new puppy has just been taken away from his mom and litter-mates. He is vulnerable and impressionable. What he needs now is security and routine. It sounds like a good idea to take a few days to spend with your new puppy, but this is actually the worst thing you can do. Your puppy needs to get used to the routine of the household from the start. If you are gone during the day or night, your puppy needs to get used to this right away. Otherwise he's going to be even more confused and upset when he's been used to seeing you all the time and suddenly you are gone. This creates separation anxiety in dogs and can become an extreme health problem if not addressed. To help your puppy sleep better through the night, think about getting a Snuggle Puppy which is a soft puppy toy with a warmer and a heartbeat that helps your puppy to not feel alone and mimics being back with his mom and litter-mates.

Remember, your puppy is very impressionable. Puppies learn very quickly when given the proper instruction. Never hit your puppy or give harsh reprimands. Your puppy does not mean to misbehave, as he is simply being a puppy. And if he does something wrong it is because he has not been taught the rules. Teach your puppy to play with his toys. Make them fun and exciting. If you catch your puppy chewing on furniture, tell him "Off!" and immediately give your puppy a proper chew toy and praise him for chewing on it.
Grannick's Bitter Apple Spray works great as a chew deterrent. This no chew spray has a taste most dogs find unattractive and will help stop your pup from chewing on the item that has been sprayed.



If you don't catch him in the act, don't do anything, your puppy will just be confused. Many people believe their dogs know when they have done something wrong because they look guilty, this is not true. Dogs do not feel guilt, that is a human emotion. The dog looks that way because he knows you are angry and he is trying to send calming signals by crouching down and giving you sideways looks so that you will not hurt him.

When training your puppy, remember these key things:

• Be patient.
• Be consistent.
• Be confident.
• Use treats/toys.
• Try the replacement theory.
• Hold the leash properly.
• Utilize confinement (the crate).
• Learn from others (socialization).
• Stop the biting (teach bite inhibition).
• Use discipline, not cruelty.

For all of your puppy supply needs such as toys, chews and treats, visit Mickey's Pet Supplies.
Take 15% off your first order with code FORPUPPY. with any order from our For Puppies category, excluding Orijen Puppy Food.

For more tips on training, go to www.calm-training.com or email Heather at calmtraining@outlook.com

Does your dog have a Jumping problem?

Most dogs engage in friendly jumping as a way to greet people or play with them. First and foremost, most dogs have been trained to jump-up since puppyhood. When the young pup jumped and pawed, most people patted it on the head and scratched it behind the ear, because they were too lazy to bend down to puppy level. And then one day the dog dutifully jumps-up to greet its owner, who in turn greets the friendly furry with a whop on the butt or a knee in the chest. The dog’s only crime? It grew!

Pawing, licking, and jumping-up are all friendly appeasement gestures – the dog’s way of saying “Welcome home. Pleased to see you. Please accept my presence. Please don’t hurt me.” By punishing your dog for jumping up, the dog has two reasons to show deference – the initial reason and the fact it must now appease an angry owner. And how does it try to appease the owner? By pawing, licking, and jumping-up! This is one of the many paradoxes in training – the more one punishes the dog, the more the behavior increases in frequency.

In the case of jumping on guests, jumping must be prevented 100 percent of the time, but you may not be capable of doing so 100 percent of the time. Let me introduce the concept of “training mode” and “non-training mode.” Training mode is where you actively work on the exercises you have been assigned when guests arrive, and a non-training mode is where you practice management, perhaps having the dog crated in another room when guests arrive, rather than actively attempting to train. You should be in training mode 80 to 90 percent of the time, and in management mode infrequently, such as during a dinner party when training is impractical.

The dog must have a clear understanding of the alternate behavior you prefer. In this case, a Sit or Sit-Stay is an appropriate alternate behavior. The stronger the sit and sit-stay behaviors are by the front door without guests present, the more likely the dog will be to perform the behavior when guests are present. It is essential you reward your dog for being calm in the presence of people.

Begin practicing the Sit and Sit-Stay cues at or near the front door when no guest is present. Make sure the dog gets plenty of obedience practice in all greeting locations he has failed in before or where he is likely to greet guests in the future. Working basic obedience exercises around mild distractions (e.g., opening and closing the front door) will also teach the dog to focus on you and help develop impulse control. This will be beneficial when you begin working with visitors.

Once you see your dog has begun to understand the cues in the appropriate places, test them out! Upon returning to your home, instruct your dog to sit, and delay greeting the dog until it does so. If your dog sits, gently praise the dog. If your dog does not sit, keep trying until he does. Do what it takes – take hold of the dog’s collar and keep hold until the dog complies. This is no more difficult than routinely dealing with the dog in everyday distracting situations. Only this time, you shall persevere, and eventually, your dog will sit and be suitably praised for its trouble. Other reprimands and punishments are neither necessary nor advisable. Your dog will soon learn he has to sit before you will begin to say hello.

Once your dog’s exuberance has waned following the customary display of sniffs, licks, wags and wiggles, slip out of the house by the back door, ‘return home’ via the front door once more and request your dog to assume the appropriate position. This time, however, it should be much easier to get your dog to sit as he is not nearly as excited by your return because he has only just greeted you seconds beforehand. After greeting your dog for the second time, leave and repeat the procedure a third time, and then once more and so on. Your dogs performance will improve with each repeated re-entry.
Post by Heather at Mickeyspetsupplies.com

Training Your Dog Should Be Fun!

In honor of Changing A Pet’s Life Day on January 24^th and also in honor of Dog Training Education Month which is coming up in February, we here at Mickey’s thought it would be a wonderful idea to spread the word about Positive Dog Training.

Did you know the #1 reason dogs are relinquished to the shelter is because the dog is untrained? The dog jumps up, barks at everything, pulls on leash, isn’t potty trained, doesn’t like people, doesn’t like other dogs; the list goes on and on. This could have been avoided with some simple obedience training.

Why does your dog need to be obedience trained? The reason is very simple. A trained dog is a good dog. A dog with obedience training is less likely to be destructive in the home, less likely to run away, less likely to bite someone, and less likely to be abandoned in an animal shelter.

Many people don’t realize that all dogs need to be obedience trained. And many more don’t want to do the training because they think it’s difficult or boring or they don’t have time.  I’m here to tell you about a training method that is easy, effective and fun for both you and your dog.

Positive dog training is based on two concepts. The first is ‘associative learning’ which is the idea that if two things tend to occur at the same time, we begin to expect one when we see the other. The most famous example is Pavloc’s dogs who would salivate at the sound of a metronome because they associated the sound with the appearance of food.

The other concept is ‘operant conditioning’ which is the use of consequences to modify behavior. By rewarding the desired behavior and ignoring any unwanted behavior, we can increase the desired behavior and almost entirely eliminate unwanted behavior.

What this means is that positive dog training helps the dog associate a stimulus (like a sound) with a desired behavior (like “sitting”). First your dog learns what you want him to do, and then he learns the command for doing it. To do this, you need to use a lot of positive reinforcement by using praise and positive actions or rewards to teach your dog right from wrong. The key is to determine what motivates your dog and use that motivator as a reward upon correct performance. You can use treats, toys, physical affection, verbal praise or a combination of any of those.

Traditional dog training methods typically attempted to teach the command and physically force the dog to do the desired behavior. They often use methods that include devices such as choke collars, prong collars, or electric shock collars. The idea is to use pain to force the dog to do a specific behavior. Punishment and coercion often lead to aggression. Positive dog training methods, however, rarely, if ever, result in aggressiveness or related undesirable behaviors.

As positive dog training methods are emerging more and being accepted by more trainers and pet owners, it is becoming clear that is has many advantages over the traditional method. For example, positive dog training activities tend to have better timing and are more specific. This combines to accelerate training and focus on the desired behavior. And as your dog learns to look to you for leadership, the bond between you will strengthen. The use of pain is not found among positive dog training methods. Pain is not required for learning; in fact, pain can actually lower your dog’s ability to learn by increasing his stress.

Now I know it’s all well and good to explain to you what it is, but what you really want to know is how to use it. Let me go over how you will implement positive dog training and what tools you will need in order to do so properly so that you can start building a path to a happier life with your dog!

The most helpful piece of dog training equipment you will ever own is a dog crate. They come in many different shapes and types, but the size is the most important part. The dog crate should be just big enough for your dog to stand up and turn around in. Your dog crate will be an invaluable piece of dog training equipment for both house training and obedience training.

You are also going to need a leash and a collar. A leather leash is recommended, but a nylon leash is ok as well. Just be careful if you have a puller as nylon leashes can leave burns or cuts on your hand. Stay away from leashed made of chain- the noise they make will be confusing during the training process and can also cause harm to you or your dog if he’s a puller.

Just like the leash, a leather collar is recommended. The leather will give you a great deal of usability and sturdiness, not to mention greater comfort for your dog.

And of course we can’t forget the training pouch to hold treats (or toys if your dog is more toy motivated). You can also get a clicker to help in your training endeavor. Clicker’s sometimes makes it easier for some people because they can click quicker than they are able to get words out.

When using positive reinforcement, it is important to reward your dog immediately upon responding correctly to the cue. For example, if you tell your dog to “sit” and he does so, you need to immediately let him know he did a good thing by telling him “yes” or “good” (or clicking if you use a clicker). Then you promptly give him a treat (or let him play with his toy). Remember, the reward must be something that your dog really loves so make sure you try a few things before buying a bunch of something only to realize your dog isn’t partial to it.

While you are training your dog to respond to new cues, you will want to reward him every time the correct action is performed. However, once he has successfully mastered the cue and is performing consistently without hesitation, it will no longer be necessary to provide rewards each time he performs the specific action. Simply reinforce him verbally that he was correct by telling him “yes” or “good”.

The two biggest things with positive reinforcement is consistency and timing. Be consistent in your training methods and be sure everyone in the house is taught to train your dog the same way so that there is no confusion. Use the same words and hand signals each time you train the cue and be sure to reward your dog right away when he gets it right.

Last but not least, have fun! This should be fun for both you and your dog. If either of you is not having fun, then you’re doing something wrong. Accept the fact that training your dog will take time and patience but eventually your consistency and persistence will pay off.

For training treats, toys and other supplies, check out this link: Dog Training Supplies
Visit Mickeyspetsupplies.com for all your favorite dog training treats, dog chews and great dog training supplies. Use code TRAIN for $3 off your $25 order.

If you have any training specific questions, feel free to email them to Heather at calmtraining@outlook.com to get training advice from a Certified Dog Trainer.

Walking Your Dog is More than just Exercise

Everyone knows that exercise is important for a dog, and almost everyone assumes that this means taking their dog on a daily walk. But walking is not the only form of exercise for a dog, and walking is more than just a physical activity to them. The wonderful people at The Animal Foundation wrote up a little something that we believe everyone should know about walking and your four-legged pal.

Walking your Buddy (or Spot or Fido) is so much more than just a way of exercising man’s best friend. It stops him or her from getting bored, it’s a behavior training opportunity, and it teaches your dog how to behave in canine company. On top of all this, it gets both of you out and about while helping to grow the bond you have with your dog. 

A sedentary pooch can quickly become an overweight one, and that brings all sorts of potential health problems with it. Even if your dog is active inside the home, they still need another outlet for pent-up energy. Young dogs need around an hour of daily exercise, but some dogs bred for sports or herding activities may need much more. You’ll benefit from having a well-exercised dog, as tired dogs tend to behave better, and you’ll help your pet avoid unnecessary weight gain! 

If your dog has a yard to play in, walking isn’t the only form of exercise available. However, don’t expect your dog to create their own exercise routine just because you’ve put them outside. Dogs don’t self-entertain, so if you want to tire your pet out, play catch or fetch! If you’re at work all day, consider asking a friend to take your dog out during those hours. Your pet will enjoy the company, and you’ll come home to a happier dog waiting to greet you. 

When walking your dog, consider it a training opportunity! Dogs aren’t born knowing how to walk on a leash, so you’ll have to teach your dog how to follow your lead. On these walks, you can begin teaching commands like, “sit,” “stay,” and “heel,” especially if you take treats along to use during the process. 

While out walking, your pooch is most likely going to meet other dogs. This is a great opportunity to help your dog learn acceptable ways of socially interacting with new animals! It will also help build doggy confidence so your pet will be less afraid to make friends. If your dog does show fear, taking them to a training class is a great way of removing that anxiety in a more controlled environment. Well-socialized pups still like a bit of rough-and-tumble play with other dogs when out for a walk, but they’ll know when to stop and will come away without any battle scars. 

Like a child, your dog wants to know the world. If they are confined to the house for too long, pets get bored, and boredom can lead to destructive behavior. Wild animals learn about their environment through mothers and members of the clan, and a domesticated animal only has that opportunity for a few weeks while with their mothers and siblings. Your dog is dependent on you to take them out to explore the sights, smells, and sounds of the world, and it’s recommended to vary the places you take your pet as much as possible. You’ve probably noticed how busy (and excited!) your dog gets when he’s walking, so let them enjoy every opportunity to discover! 

Ready to get out of the house with your four-legged friend? With this insight, you’ll never look at a walk with your dog the same way again!

We at Mickey's Pet Supplies feel that the health and well-being of our four-legged family members is very important, which is why we are always looking to inform the public about the greatest new treats and toys for everyone's active pals, as well as sharing any insight into helping make your furry companion a better housemate.
Visit us at Mickey's Pet Supplies and take $3 off your $20 order by entering coupon code BLOGLSH at checkout.