Another common mistake - first night alone!

Do all puppies whine at night? In my experience the answer is no. Most puppies don't whine at night, and even if they do, they quit after a few minutes. Then why do so many new puppy owners complain of nights full of crying puppies?

Imagine that you are sleeping in your own bed. Your spouse beside you, and the temperature set perfectly so you can get a comfortable night's sleep. Then the next day when you go to work, instead of going home, you are taken to a restaurant you haven't been to before, then put into large warehouse you haven't seen before. You are left alone with only a cot and a blanket. It's much colder than you are used to, smells different and there are noises you've never heard before. You don't see or hear anybody around, so you feel very much alone.

Chances are you would start yelling out loud, trying to get out or at least trying to figure out how to become more comfortable and make sense of what is happening. Well, this is the situation a lot of puppies are thrust into on their first night in their new home. Gone are their siblings and their warm body heat and calming breathing. Gone are the familiar bed, smells and noises that they have known most of their lives. Instinct tells the puppy to hide in her den and to call for mom to come protect her. But there is no mom and no den. So the calling continues.

Think about that when you bring that puppy home. You can't control all the factors, but you can try to do the best you can with those you can .

• An open expanse makes your puppy feel vulnerable and makes it hard to stay warm...especially with no other pups to provide body heat. Using a crate (one that is the right size for your pup) reduces these problems. If you insist on not using a crate, bear in mind that the puppy will need to keep warm and may prefer being in a box turned on its side rather than out in the open. 
• Don't banish the puppy to a part of the house where she can't hear that you are near. I prefer to have my puppies' crates in my bedroom so they can see me and hear me breathing. 
• It may also help to mask night sounds with a softly playing radio or a fan while they sleep. Usually I haven't had to do this, but in extreme conditions (such as a puppy coming from a very quiet environment into one that is noisy) this may help.
• If your puppy sees you and keeps whining - try to block their direct view of you while retaining their ability to smell you and hear you breathing.
• Don't forget that whining may be a signal that they have to go outside to pee or poop. Take them out and if they don't do either, put them back into their bed without letting them run around.
• Make sure they have a 'comfort' toy and a 'busy' toy with them in their bed. A comfort toy is exactly what it sounds like, a stuffed doll or something soft that they can snuggle up to. A busy toy is a Nylar bone or Kong...something they can quietly chew on if they are awake or nervous.

Your puppy will have a much easier time.

The myth that there is one "Right Way" to train puppies

When my friends were pressing me to start this blog, I researched the information already available on the subject. One of the first thing that stood out to me was that most of these resources espoused 'The Right Way' to train puppies. When I first saw that phrase it made me wince. If there is anything I learn with each new puppy in each new litter, there is no single right way to train any puppy. Each puppy is unique and like humans react differently based on his/her genetics, physical environment and learning to date. In a single litter, one pup may be totally food motivated so that training without treats is close to impossible. Others may be responsive to visual commands, verbal commands alone are less effective. Some can't stand being wet or soiled. Others relish rolling in their own poop.

What I feel very strongly about is the right way to train your individual puppy is to spend quality time observing your puppy. If you can't remember what you see, write it down. And when you start trying to train your puppy, treat every instance as a 'test and learn' opportunity. In college and graduate school, I studied learning theory and behavior modification. That's why many of my techniques and the process I go throug with each individual is based on a systematic series of observation, test and modification, repeated in a manner that moves us closer to the desired behavior. Even if something works, I suggest you also try something else. For instance, if you try motivating behavior with a affection and praise and that works, try it sometimes without the verbal reward. Then sometimes with only verbal praise. Try it back and forth and see what works better, or if one type of reward works better.

I prefer to train puppies using affection and praise as much as possible, using treats only when asking the puppy to go into its crate. I will be the first to admit this doesn't always work. You simply can't get some puppies' attention unless you give them a treat. However, I have found that with many, many young puppies, attention and praise, cuddling and rubbing whatever their favorite spot is (ear, chin, tummy) works best. And in my foster-mom role, I prefer to try to train the puppies so they will respond to their new parents without increasing their caloric intake, and so they equate their puppy parents as someone to obey even if they can't smell the presence of treats.

Even extremely young pups can learn basic behaviors such as being happy to be in a crate, being led on a leash, and believe-it-or-not, to be house-broken before they are 12 weeks old.

The important thing is like everything else, each individual has their own abilities and own time-table.