I have a new retriever puppy – how much should I feed her? It seems like she’s a bottomless pit! I worry about her digestion she bolts her food so fast. If I fed her as much as she thinks she’s hungry she would be as big as a house.

ANSWER:

A new puppy is an exciting time for anyone. It is filled with all sorts of exciting moments as well as more then a few moments of pure stress. Feeding your pup should not be one of them.

I am guessing when you say retriever, you are meaning either Golden or Labrador as they are the most common. Flat-coated, Chesapeake or Curly coat are all around the same size; in fact, the only small retriever is the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Reason I am emphasizing size is that I do recommend feeding any large or giant sized breed to feed food specifically formulated to their unique needs. The slower a puppy grows, the more likely they are to grow up healthy and strong.

How much you are to feed him is dependent on the food. On the back of the bag should be a feeding guide and feed him the appropriate amount for his weight. Keep in mind a skinny puppy is a healthy puppy as extra weight can lead to structural irregularities.

Puppies normally eat as though they have not seen food in a week. It is part of the litter thing – survival of the fittest or in this case, the one that can stuff the most food down his gullet the fastest and then keep it down. He will naturally slow down in time but if you do not feel like waiting, try hand feeding him a few kibbles at a time with a pause in between. Or try putting an upside down bowl in the middle of his food dish – an obstacle makes them slow down substantially.

This puppiness you are dealing with right now will all be gone in too short of a time – enjoy it while it lasts.

Hi I would like to know what is the best way to go about house training by dog.

ANSWER:

Hi Cynthia,

Housetraining – every puppy owner’s favorite past time! And if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale…

Some dogs are easy to housetrain while others seem to take forever and a handful never truly get it quite fully figured out. These are strictly generalizations but small dogs are harder to train, males take longer then females and there are certain breeds that tend to be ‘dirtier’ then others.

The key to housetraining is consistency – make sure your pup’s schedule does not change from day to day and that everyone in the house that has any housetraining duties is performing them exactly the same way.

Puppies have a simple and consistent elimination system:

• They wake up, they have to pee and, if they have been asleep for a while, poop
• They eat, within 15 minutes they will need to poop
• They drink, they will need to go pee within about 5 minutes
• They play, they forget about everything and pee when the action slows down for a second

With this information in mind, and an eagle eye for the signs of them looking for a place to eliminate, you can usually stop an accident before it happens and housetraining becomes easier.

The first trick is to buy a dog crate or kennel and crate the pup at night. Crate training is the dog owner’s salvation – the ability to put your pup some place safe and out of the way when you cannot keep an eye on them makes puppy rearing much more relaxing. We can’t always be 100% attentive to our pups. All it takes is our attention to be diverted for a few minutes and the pup finds something they shouldn’t eat, has had an accident or has wandered off into another room. Crates keep pups safe at night, when we are at work or at times when you are not able to give them the attention they need and it is easiest to crate them for the five minutes you need to complete your task.

For more information on crate training, click here.

With the pup in the crate at night, while you are at work or those odd times where you need a moment to yourself, housetraining will become much easier. As soon as you take them out of the crate, take them immediately outside and I mean immediately! If it is a little or young puppy, pick them up and carry them out – if they have to go badly, they will not wait to get outside before peeing. Once they start to pee, calmly say ‘good puppy, good pee’ or ‘good puppy, good poop’ in a soft voice. You do not want to distract them but it is the beginning of teaching them the word ‘pee’ which they will learn to do on command as they age (let me know if you, or anyone else, would like more information on this).

As soon as they finish eliminating, give them a huge ‘good puppy’ and let them know they are wonderful!

The same goes for after a meal or a big drink of water. Within five minutes of them finishing, get them outside and plan on staying out there until they have done their business – guaranteed it will not be long.

Play sessions are hard to monitor and a busy puppy is like a busy kid – they ignore the initial warnings signs until it is too late and they have to go now! A pup will stop for two seconds and squat just about anywhere before you even have a second to react. So what is the best course of action? Every fifteen to twenty minutes stop the play session and take them outside for a break. This usually works best if you do not take the other pup or kids your pup was playing with as the distraction will make it harder for the pup to do their business. Keep it simple – quick outside and as soon as they finish, big congratulations and back inside for more playing.

The remainder of the time, the pup will give signals that nature is calling – shuffling off on their own, sniffing around and possibly pacing. If you see any these actions, whip them outside and give the usual ‘good puppy!’ when they relieve themselves.

Now you just have to get the kids and husband on board with this plan and you will have a housetrained pup in a matter of weeks versus the more usual months!

The hardest part is not scolding them if they do eliminate inside. Our natural response is to scold them when they have an accident and, if you catch them mid-pee, a stern look and a sharp ‘no’ is fine. However, puppies have a short attention span and unless you catch them in the act, they are not going to know what you are talking about so the correction is useless. And the old training method of showing the pup their mess and scolding them really does not work.

When housetraining pups, it is easier and more productive to praise the positive, not allowing accidents to happen by being diligent and using the crate when you are unable to monitor their behavior. This system works – I have had huge success with this training method with fully housetrained pups within a couple of weeks.

We have a four month, 40lb German Shepard. She knows sit, but is wild on the leash. We are trying to train her to heel and were told a choke collar would work. Is she too young to start with this? She just pulls with it on & without it (our first try) and we don’t want to encourage this behavior, but we don’t want to start her too early.

ANSWER:

Nothing is worse then a pup that is wild on a leash – especially as they continue to grow and get stronger!

Okay, Kimm, there is probably a couple of things going on and the first one is actually the bigger problem – she thinks she is top dog in her pack! Being made to do something she does not want to do is probably why she is a wild dog on a leash. GSDs have a natural courage and independence which is one of the reasons why they are so good at police work, Search and Rescue and as Seeing Eye Dogs. But, they also love to please once they understand their place in the pack.

To let her know her place in the pack, start by doing small things like making sure you and your family go through doors ahead of her, up and down stairs, make her work for her treats and food by doing a ‘sit stay’, not letting her on the furniture unless she is allowed, etc. You need to be the boss as does everyone in your household.

The other thing I would do is start is ‘pinning’ her once or twice a day for half an hour each session. No dog likes to be ‘pinned’ – held down against their will. This will be a struggle to start and to actually learn how to do it, stop by your veterinarian office and ask if one of the technicians could demonstrate it for you on your dog. It is strictly a matter of placing your dog on its side and restraining her but there are a ton of tricks and without pictures or video, I would have a heck of a time showing you how to do it properly with the least amount of wrestling on your part.

So you need to pin her at the very minimum until she stops struggling and gives up. This may be longer then a half hour the first few times so be prepared for a wait. I have my students plan it around their favorite TV show because there is not much else you can do while sitting on the floor with most of your body laid over your pooch. She will quickly learn that struggling is futile and will learn to accept that yes, you are the boss. At this point, have everyone in your family take a turn to establish their place in the pecking order.

Last point on pinning is unless your house is on fire or your husband is having a heart attack, you can’t let her up until she gives in and relaxes. If she does escape your grasp, pin her again and again and again.

As for teaching her to walk nicely on a leash, I would try to use more positive reinforcement then negative – I know, easier said then done. First, avoid a choke collar. Dogs that are truly out of control or pull constantly are only going to injure themselves with a choke collar. I do like Martingales however as they are self-limiting so they still produce an effective correction but there is no way the dog can hurt themselves. Modern Martingales are a combination of nylon and chain – the nylon goes around the dog’s neck and the chain part connects the two ends, expanding as the dog walks nicely and tightens marginally if they pull or they need a correction.

Next I would use bribery as your chief motivator – food! Start with just short walks around your backyard so there is little to no distraction. Let her know you have a pocket full of yummy and make her ‘sit’ a few times to show that they only way she is going to get a treat is for doing some work. Put her on your left side and put a treat in your right hand, holding it by your face so she must look at you to see the food. If she starts to jump up or around to face you, say ‘no’ or ‘uh-uh’ and turn away from her so she stays on your left side. Tell her ‘heel’ and step out a few paces, stop and give her the treat for walking beside you. Try it again. And again. Always keep the distance walked short before you bring her back under control. As she gets onto that, start to make the distances a bit longer but be prepared for her to try to jump up or wheel in front of you again and be ready to turn away from her misbehavior, taking her with you 180 degrees if necessary. Every few feet, when she behaves, give her a treat and yes, you will feel like you need six hands to do all of this but it does get easier with practice.
Last, always keep training sessions short and fun. When she does well, tell her! Most of dog training is letting them know what you want them to do and rewarding them when they do it. Also, always leave her wanting more. Working until she gets bored or distracted is no good. It is up to you when you finish, not her and letting her dictate when things happen only puts her back in charge.