Your biggest puppy mistakes

[foreverinmyheart]

I am currently sat with an 9 week old puppy after a lovely 5am wake up call from him! Keen to get as much right as possible with his training and I wondered... Looking back what have been your biggest puppy mistakes / regrets that with hindsight you wish you could do differently?

Not being on same page as hubby. We had to see a behaviourist before he would accept dominance is not the way to go.

Not understanding socialising.

Teaching pup to play on the floor to avoid jumping up.

Thought of another one - let them off the lead right away (in a safe area) and start practicing recall. For some reason I thought I had to nail perfect recall before letting our dog off lead away from home.

Any tips in practically doing this

I wish we had worked harder on teeth cleaning, he just won't let us do it.

Also getting him used to baths/showers, he absolutely hates it! Luckily he is a wired haired terrier so doesn't need many baths

I wish I'd been more patient. I thought I was a bad dog owner because she was doing normal teenage dog stuff.

I agree with Cheeseisbest. Definitely leave them alone.

first puppy we had before children - let them go to the toilet anywhere In the garden. We then needed to meticulously check the garden for poo before the kids went out to play.

second puppy we built a dog toilet area with gravel and trained the dog to go there! Best thing training wise we ever did!

I think I would try and relax and enjoy him more, they are puppies for such a short time 🥲

Like other posters have mentioned, allowing pup to play with other dogs during the socialisation period. Wish we had trained her to ignore or only play with permission. We are now working hard to train her to ignore and pay attention to me when other dogs around. She's a lab so loves other dogs way too much but not all dogs want to play with her and her recall/attention/not pulling also goes out the window if she sees another dog. Given that we live somewhere with lots of dogs, it's really quite frustrating.

Also wish we had worked harder early on teaching her to stay on four paws when being greeted by someone. Again, we are training her to do this but it's hard. As a first time dog owner, I was far too polite when she'd jump to be petted and I would say "no" and get her to sit/stay standing and the other person would tell me it's fine and that she's behaving like a normal puppy. It made me question myself. Now I'm much better at telling people that I'm training her and I do NOT want her jumping to greet even if they don't mind. But she's 5 months now and it's a hard habit to break we find!

Third regret, not posting the same question as OP! Then perhaps I wouldn't have made these two mistakes! 😁

Desensitising to having nails clipped is something I wish I’d done more of.

Not convinced about training to ignore other dogs, walks are for your dogs enjoyment as well as your own. Greetings and play are part of what makes your dog happy.

They need to be able to do both, though - to ignore another dog when asked to. If I'm walking my mother's blind, geriatric, dementing dog, I do not want yours bouncing all over us!

Grooming
Nail clipping
Leaving them alone for increasing length of time
Getting them used to water/ocean/river etc
Calm socialization with people
Calm socialization with other dogs
Recall, recall recall
Train to bark once at a door knock/doorbell

Don't let them up up couches/beds if they're going to grow into large dogs.

We were so lucky with our dogs. Our first was a lovely boy, absolutely adored people/ kids but gently, never jumped up (because we trained him not to), we left him alone from a really young age, nipping home to let him out to do his business etc, but he was always on our schedule. He never barked when we were gone, never chewed stuff (after puppy years I mean)
He left us in august last year and we've one 11 year old dog left.

He's the one I've learned lessons from - he hates the vet, any grooming (he's double coated), barks insanely at the doorbell and is nervous of people (he was found as a 6!week old pup under a car). If I'd had our time again, I'd do all the same things but desensitize him to the doorbell, and work on his fear reaction. He's a legend dog, but I won't get a new pup whilst he's with us as I don't want a new pup to learn bad habits.

@Stellaris22 it is important and I agree with @Loopyloopy . Many older dogs don't like puppies and some dogs are reactive and also don't want dogs bounding over. Bouncy puppies especially. It's also not enjoyable for my puppy if she has the expectation that every dog is there to be played with and she can't (either because we're not there to play or because the other dog doesn't want to play). A quick sniff and hello is fine. When we go to the park to play, it's fine. If she's meeting her doggy friends it's also fine. A sniff and hello also fine then walk on.

I do think it's for the dog's benefit as well that they are able to ignore other dogs. Dogs need to understand and be able to do this as not every encounter with a dog can lead to a play session. This skill is useful not just for walks for but for non walks too. E.g. eating out on holiday and being able to relax whilst we eat instead of straining to play with another dog that she sees.

I do agree though that play with other dogs make dogs happy. We do make sure she gets that (too much at the beginning!) but we still thinking being able to ignore other dogs is a key skill she needs.

Being on lead around dogs that are reactive or elderly etc doesn’t mean you have to actively make yours ignore others. That falls under lead training to not pull.

OP was asking for advice and I’ve never seen dogs trained to ignore unless service dogs. This just means training recall not to ignore, allowing dogs to socialise is important to allow them to learn from other dogs. As owners training recall is essential, along with not jumping up, but they need to learn from older dogs social cues which they can’t get from humans.

Dont let them on the bed or sofa, you want a cuddle sit on the floor or a chair attributed to the dog
Dogs smell, of dog.
Not everyone wants to sit on a sofa smelling if dog, covered in hsir & often damp. This applies even if you put a throw on the sofa.
I love dogs we have had 6 (big ones) ... but I shudder when invited to sit on my SIL's sofa. It's gross (allergies aside )
Start as you mean to go on

This is an interesting one as I can see your viewpoint but this kind of goes against some of the sayings I see about them being a family member and it being their home etc etc - welcome any other views on this?

@Stellaris22 I think we're actually saying the same thing.i don't mind a sniff and say hello. Then walk on or, if dogs are off lead and other dog clearly doesn't want to play, to come back. This is what I mean by "ignoring". Sorry if that wasn't clear.

I see what you are saying.
Our training & philosophy (by ME, dh is shit) Is they need an Alpha (Me)
IMO they thrive on it, obeying becomes a game. Sitting & waiting until I give a signal to start eating. Obeying the walk/ down/ heel.
My springer loves running & waiting until I do the 'close arms& leg 'sign & rockets back to my left side & sits... (learnt in puppy training)
They dont miss the sofa as they've never had it
They dont miss begging at the table as we have never given scraps when we are at table
They go to their baskets when told
They go out when told.
It sounds miserable but there is lots of romping, & playing & rolling on the floor.
Springer will sleep on/at my feet if I'm sitting on the sofa, sleeps outside my bedroom door on the tiles, in spite if having a comfy basket !
Other elderly Pointer Princess prefers her comfort !
They are an integral part of the family. But like children they have rules

Set expectations from day 1 concerning sleeping on the sofa etc-looking at my big smelly idiot beside me!

ensure that you balance activity with rest so they understand that…after play time-into the crate for a nap, after a walk-into the crate for a nap. An overtired dog is the same as an overtired toddler and not much fun and they don’t understand how to rest themselves unless it is enforced.

clicker training-on the fence with that one

we have a set of bells on the outside door that we nudged every time we took her outside to “do your business!”-devil dog still uses them to let us know she wants to go out.

re: pulling-I never found the turn around and go in the other direction to work. Having a shorter lead and lifting it up rather than pulling it back helped

don’t over think things though-it’s easy to get wrapped up in the training and you will get the puppy blues at some point as they are fricking hard work!

Another thing.
My good friend has a young dog, she has a bad knee... currently she cant walk it as it pulls.
When I walk it I keep it on a tight leash, & refuse all the weaving about & tripping me up, yanking, & basically ruining the walk for both of us.
I yank it back to by my side. After about an hour of walks like this, He knows not to pull.
When my friend takes him back she doesn't enforce the training it has learned, its exasperating.

I’d get a 1:1 trainer from day 1 instead of going to puppy classes that were too late and not very good. Now I am having to do this 4 years down the line! Should have done it from day 1.

Oh and I would have wanted to realise that most dog food is often complete and utter shite - even respectable brands. Get the dog on very good quality food right away.

Over the next couple of years, build up a relationship between you, your dog and a serious local dog sitter. Send them there for the odd day or night every so often. That way, in the event of an emergency, or a short trip away, your dog has a safe place to go where he knows the place and the people.

• Not teaching jaffadog to ignore dogs earlier (he is reactive when he's not allowed to say hello to any dog now...still in training)

• Socialising jaffadog with the wrong dogs- avoid any that are too big or boisterous, only calm older dogs ideally. I have some friends who undersocialised their dogs (ie. Didn't socialise them with any other dogs) and they are also reactive because they are scared of everything. Getting a good balance is key

• Not teaching jaffadog to be alone, we struggle to leave him for a few hours without him howling the house down!

Things we did right:

• Taught jaffadog lots of tricks! Kept his mind busy on the evenings when he had a lot of energy and was being super annoying

• Taught him to settle during the day and meal times when we are working/eating

• Taught him door and road manners (sitting at the door when its open until we say he can go, waiting until we say he can go when we cross the road)

• Strong recall (this takes some time though!)

• Look at me commands, getting him to focus on us when he's out on his walks