Why is the puppy behaving “badly”?

When it was time to go to bed, Jack (that’s what we named our dog) didn’t want to lie down on his bed. He whined plaintively and asked for a bed with his son. Artem decided to support his friend and began to persuade us to let him have a pet. Well, how could you resist? We quickly gave up, and the puppy fell asleep sweetly under the side of the boy. And that was our first mistake.

At night, the puppy often woke up and turned around, asking to be lowered from the bed, and after a few minutes – to be raised back. As a result, neither the puppy, nor Artem, nor we got enough sleep.

The next evening, Jack did not even look at the couch and went straight to the bed. He refused to fall asleep until he settled down under Artyom’s side. And then the sleepless night happened again.

The holidays are over. We, not getting enough sleep, went to work, and my son went to school. Jack was alone for the first time.

When we returned home, we found new surprises: several puddles on the floor, a gnawed sneaker, scattered things from our son. It looked like a tornado had swept through the apartment. The puppy obviously did not get bored in our absence! We were upset, and the shoes were hidden in the closet. 

The next day, the puppy chewed on the cables, and then set to work on the leg of the chair. But that’s not all. By the end of the week, neighbors began to complain about the puppy. It turned out that while we are not at home, he howls and whines loudly. And then we got sad. Jack seems to be too. When we got home, he whimpered and tried to jump into our arms. And before our departure, he was very worried, even refused food.

We do not know how this story would have ended if one day a classmate of our son had not come to visit us. By a lucky chance, it turned out that his dad Boris Vladimirovich is a veterinarian and zoopsychologist. He is very knowledgeable about puppies and last week even led a workshop on adapting a pet to a new family. Without thinking twice, we turned to Boris for help. It turned out that the reason for the puppy’s bad behavior is stress due to moving to a new place and … ourselves.

From day one, we made mistakes in handling the pet, which only increased the stress and completely disoriented him. The kid simply did not understand how to behave and how not to behave.

Fortunately, Boris’ recommendations helped us a lot. We are happy to share them with you and advise you not to hesitate. The further you go, the more difficult it will be to retrain the baby, and your relationship is at risk of being spoiled.

• “Iron” place

Decide in advance where the puppy will sleep: in his place or with you. Stick to this decision in the future. If the puppy must sleep on the couch, in no case do not take him to your bed, even if he arranged a heartbreaking concert. Be patient: soon the baby will adapt and sleep sweetly in his place.

But if you give up and take the baby to you, he will understand that his howls work – and he will use it. It will be almost impossible to wean him off the bed later. At every opportunity, the pet will stretch on your pillow: the owner himself allowed it (and it doesn’t matter that it’s only once!).

• “Correct” couch

In order for the puppy to be comfortable in his place, you need to choose the right bed. Thin bedding is unlikely to please him. It is better to purchase a soft, warm bed with sides. The sides will remind the baby of the warm side of the mother, and he will calm down faster.

Life hack with motherly scent. When picking up a puppy, ask the breeder to give you something with the smell of a mother dog: a piece of cloth or a textile toy. Place this item on your puppy’s bed. It will be easier for him to survive stress, feeling a familiar smell.

• cool leisure

To prevent the puppy from barking and destroying the house, get a wide variety of toys for him. You need to choose special toys for puppies that are suitable in shape and size.

An excellent solution is models for filling with delicacies. Puppies can play with them for hours and never even remember your shoes. It’s great that such toys can be frozen. This will not only prolong the duration of the game, but also ease the discomfort of teething.

Life hack. So that the puppy does not get bored with toys, they need to be alternated. Let the baby play with one batch of toys for several days, then with another – and so on.

• Safe “mink”

Get a puppy cage. This is an indispensable thing for the period of adaptation.

Do not associate a cell with a prison. For a puppy, a cage is a cozy mink, its own territory, where no one will disturb.

But most importantly, with the help of a cage, you will protect your puppy from unpleasant accidents and protect your home from sharp teeth. And the cage also helps in adaptation, accustoming to a couch, a toilet and building a regimen.

• Proper goodbyes

Practice proper partings and returns. Before leaving, take a walk and play with the puppy so that he throws out his energy and lays down to rest. When you get home, don’t let your puppy jump on you. Otherwise, he will learn such behavior and in the future will express his feelings in this way. Your nylon tights will not be happy. Even more so for your guests.

• Healthy Goodies

Stock up on healthy treats. This is a super-effective way to deal with stress, an assistant in educating and establishing contact.

Imagine the situation: you are accustoming a puppy to a couch, and he is so active that he cannot sit on it even for a minute. Another thing is if you put a long-playing delicacy on the couch. While the puppy will deal with him, he will form the association “couch – pleasure”, and this is just what you need!

• We remain friends in any (even the most egregious) situation

Be friendly even when the puppy is “naughty”. Remember that the owner is the leader, and the leader cares about the well-being of the pack. The puppy should feel that even your reprimand is for the good. Rudeness and intimidation in education have never led to good results. And even more so, they will only increase the stress of the poor baby.

Interesting? And there are many such moments.

Often, without realizing it, we make serious mistakes in education. And then we wonder why the dog is naughty! Or maybe we have the wrong approach?

To be a good puppy owner, you need to constantly expand and update your knowledge. We were convinced of this by our own example, and now there is harmony in our house.

The Petrov family.

We invite you to the educational marathon-series “Puppy in the House” for novice dog owners!

For 6 days in 22 short video series of the marathon, we will easily and positively tell you about the secrets of dog manners, whole master’s slippers and how to achieve a complete home idyll.