All of us remember our first puppy when we were kids. Bringing them home as they are crawling all over your lap. Licking your face with their cute little pink tongues. Of course what we remember as kids with our first dog is a lot different from what our parents remember about that time. As a lot of us have found out since we grew up and brought a puppy home for our family.

We soon realize there is much work that goes along with the cute little guy. Its not long before he is chewing everything in site. You find yourself moving everything in your house as if you had a toddler around. Then there is the house training, lots of fun there. With some dogs it could take weeks before your dog has mastered going to the door. Which is why some people give up and just spend their time cleaning up after him. But thankfully here are some great products out there to aid in house training your dog.

The biggest thing I have found though, is you need to be consistent with your puppy. Just like a child, puppies can easily learn to have a routine. The first thing every morning you take him outside, just before bed you take him out. You need to keep the puppy around you, if you spend most of your day on the lower level of your house, then thats where the puppy should be too. You need to keep an eye on him. If he has a drink, you give him about 10 minutes than take him out and see if he will go. An hour after he eats, do the same thing. Not only will he eventually learn to do his business outside, but also it will happen quicker because you are being consistent.

The same with the chewing, you must catch him in the act and change his mind. Whether you do this by giving him a chew toy and luring him away from whatever it is he is chewing. Just tell him NO, and then give him something else to do.

The biggest problem today with people training their pets is that they dont have time. You both work all day and are tired when you get home, the last thing you want to do is work on training your puppy. This is a terrible situation for the puppy though, because they are in a new environment. They were removed from their mother and siblings. Then people bring them home and leave them by themselves for 8 to 10 hours a day.

If there can be no one home for the first few months you have your pet then you should probably wait until the situation changes. This kind of set up will never work for you or the puppy. Therefore if this is your household, dont get a pet at this time.

To everyone with a dog or cat, just take care of them and love them and you will get much love back.

This article was posted on March 01, 2006