Читать книгу Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: An Owner’s Guide - Nick Mays - Страница 22

When you bring your puppy home, it’s important that you try to look at things from his point of view. He is just a few weeks old, and all he will have known are his mother and siblings, their puppy pen and the immediate area of the breeder’s home in which they have been kept. Now he is on his own, with human beings he does not recognize by smell or sight, in a strange, new house. It’s a traumatic experience for a young dog, so do not expect instant bonding. On the contrary, it is quite likely that he will be anxious, even frightened, in his new and unfamiliar surroundings.

The first thing you need to do as soon as you get out of the car is to take him into the garden and encourage him to urinate and/or defecate. When he performs, praise him lavishly and make a fuss of him. Do not stop en route in lay-bys as these can be places of infection where countless other dogs have been. Until he has completed his course of vaccinations, your puppy cannot be put down in a public place.

Toilet train your puppy early on. Start taking him out in the garden for this purpose as soon as you arrive home. Never shut him outside by himself. It is important to go with him and to encourage and praise him.

The last thing your puppy needs is to be pitched into a house full of your friends and neighbours all descending at once to meet the new arrival, even if they are being friendly and just wanting to pet him. Just take things calmly and slowly; let the puppy explore the rooms you make available to him, such as the living room and kitchen. Show him his bed or basket; if the breeder has given you a blanket, put it in his bed along with his other bedding. Indicate where The last thing your puppy needs is to be pitched into a house full of your friends and neighbours all descending at once to meet the new arrival, even if they are being friendly and just wanting to pet him. Just take things calmly and slowly; let the puppy explore the rooms you make available to him, such as the living room and kitchen. Show him his bed or basket; if the breeder has given you a blanket, put it in his bed along with his other bedding. Indicate where his food and water bowls are (ideally, these should not be situated too far away from his bed). Show him the back door, so that he can ask to be let out into the garden to toilet (which he will eventually learn to do).

Playtime together in the garden can also be used for some light training, such as learning to retrieve and give up a toy or item on command. When your puppy does this, always be sure to praise and reward him.

All the time, talk to him gently, using his name. This has a practical purpose, as he needs to associate with his name and respond to it. Never shout or scold your puppy while using his name as an admonishment, or he will associate his name with something bad.