Some Advice About Raising Your Puppy

For the kenneled puppy it is a good idea to keep the dry dog food available at all times in a hopper or plain pan. This gives the puppy something to nibble on, keeps him from be­ing hungry if, for some reason, the regular feeding time is delayed. Fresh, clean water should be kept available in the kennel at all times. In the home, water can be given between meals. Don't feed between-meal snacks as they dull the pup's appetite and tend to make him a "fussy" eater. For the same reason, don't let your puppy dawdle over his meals. Take uneaten food away and don't feed again until the regular feeding time.

Housebreaking

This always seems to be the main concern of all new puppy owners, yet it is not nearly as much trouble as it has been built up to be. It is merely a matter of using good psychology instead of punishment. Housebreaking is the perfect example of preventive training. In other words, if the puppy is given ample opportunity to relieve himself in the right place, he will not get into the habit of doing it else­where. Most people make the mistake of allowing the puppy to have "accidents" and then use correction. This is a much longer and more odious process than taking time at the start to develop good habits.

A puppy has very little physical control until he is at least three months old. At six or eight weeks he has none and, moreover, he is not developed enough mentally to com­prehend punishment for misdemeanors, especially those he cannot help. A puppy must relieve himself frequently during the first few weeks of his life; always after eating, after a nap, the first thing in the morning and the last at night. He will need several other opportunities, too, especially after exciting play. If he is always taken out at regular intervals (and this is where a rigid feeding schedule comes in handy), he will not be so likely to make mistakes. There will be some "accidents." No one yet has raised a puppy without them, but there will be many more if you give your pup the run of the house day and night. Instead, keep him within a child's play pen or improvise an enclosure using the low stiff wire edging used for protecting flower beds. Spread newspapers over the area. If you have a seldom-used room or pantry, that might be the place to keep your puppy's box at night, covering the floor with paper.

The main reason for mistakes is that owners forget or neglect to take the puppy out regularly and let him wander about without being watched. Once he has made a mistake on a rug, blot it up with turkish toweling or a piece of blot­ting paper (this is very good to have handy when house­breaking) and wipe it with a solution of vinegar and water or one of the commercial products for removing stain. Puppy urine does not usually stain but these products also remove the odor which might encourage the puppy to use that spot again.