Dogs love routine, so creating a daily schedule can help them feel safe and secure. If you’ve got a new puppy in the house, you might be wondering how to get them into a routine and what it should include. Read on for our top tips.
Why Does your Puppy Need Routine
A consistent routine, where walks, meals, and activities happen at regular times, helps your dog feel secure, as they know what to expect. They can become anxious if their routine is unpredictable, which can cause various behavioural problems such as aggression, excessive barking or going to the toilet in inappropriate places. Routine is especially important for puppies as they’re getting to know you, their surroundings and what to expect from the world around them. Creating a routine helps you ensure all their needs are met as they grow, giving you a healthy and happy pooch.
What Does a Good Routine Include
A good routine isn’t about scheduling every minute of every day. It provides a framework so you can be sure all of the essentials are covered, and then you can enjoy life with your gorgeous new puppy.
Puppies are like babies in that they need a lot of sleep to help them grow, so providing a comfortable place for them to nap and sleep at night is essential. You can also create routines to help them understand when it’s time to rest.
You should also include regular feeding times, exercise, toileting, and training. There are also lots of ways to spend quality time with your pup, whether you’re playing as part of their training or snuggling up on the sofa to give them some fuss. Some of these elements can work together, such as encouraging them to go for a wee when you’re out for a walk or including snacks as a reward as part of their training.
How to Create a Routine for your New Puppy
When you start to create a routine, it’s important to ensure you’ll be able to stick to it. Puppies thrive when activities happen at a regular time, so think about your usual routine and how your puppy’s needs will fit with that. You might love a lie-in at the weekend, but that won’t happen if your dog is used to an early morning walk when you’re heading to work during the week. If you have a family, talk to them and see what you can do to maintain consistency every day. For example, one of you might take care of the weekend walks while another takes your doggo on the school run. Understanding the different environments your puppy will encounter can also help you plan their training.
Aim to feed your puppy at the same time each morning and evening. This can help signal transitions between each part of the day. For example, you might feed them breakfast and let them into the garden to go to the toilet first thing in the morning, before taking them for a longer walk at lunchtime. You could feed them their evening meal before playing or training, or it could be the signal that it’s time to cuddle up on the sofa and relax. Creating associations between different activities helps your puppy understand what will happen next, allowing them to follow those patterns automatically. Knowing what happens at what time doesn’t just help your pooch. It gives the whole family a schedule to follow, so they understand why the dog is following them around when they arrive home at dinner time!
Use Training to Create Structure
And lastly, spend time training your puppy. During the first weeks this would involve toilet training, talking nipping/biting, chewing illegal items and helping puppy get used to spending short periods alone. Other fun things to do with your puppy that helps build structure in their day would be teaching puppy their first commands, and playing games like fetch, tug of war and scent games.
To follow up or make an appointment or find out more information about Ringwood Dogs, Ashley Heath on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border, please contact Isabelle Adams-Papé by clicking on the Contact Me tab.
I look forward to meeting you and working with your dogs.
Teaching Owners – Training Dogs. Happy dog training.
Isabelle Papé IMDT, ISAP, KAD
Ringwood Dogs, Three Legged Cross on the Dorset, Hampshire and New Forest border.
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