Best ways to start a large breed puppy off right from day one?

It can be easy to get caught up in the new puppy cuteness, while forgetting that your job as a new pet owner is to raise your little bundle of fluff into a well-mannered, properly socialized and trained adult dog. Good for you for being ahead of the game! The first thing to remember is to set boundaries now by only allowing your puppy to do things now that you also want them to do as an adult. For example, if you don’t want to have your dog on the couch as an adult, don’t allow them on the couch as a puppy. Teaching basic leash skills and focusing on crate training will also be important to start from the very beginning. The key to having a well-adjusted dog is to socialize them from an early age. Once finishing your puppy’s vaccine series, be sure to expose them to a variety of different people, other dogs, noises and environments. Puppy classes can be a useful arena for socialization as well as learning basic training commands. Puppies also require frequent visits to the veterinarian, particularly in the first four months of life, for physical exams, weight checks and vaccinations. During these visits, your veterinarian will be able to discuss the best preventative medications for your puppy, as well as the benefits of spaying and neutering, and proper nutrition.

Hello. It is never too early to start some very basic training & advocating for good manners in a puppy. Discourage any chewing or rough play using hands or feet. Gentle reminders & plenty or other things to chew on are the key. If your pup is already on a solid, but soft diet, then do not let her charge over & eat her food in seconds. Make her sit as quiet as possible for 10-15 seconds before allowing her to eat. Begin some basic obedience with her. Sit, stay, shake a paw are all possible for her to begin to understand at this age. While you can not take her out to associate with others, as soon as she has had all of her puppy shots, begin to socialize her with other pets & people ( as long as it is safe to do so with this pandemic ). If you treat her well, with a firm kindness, she should respond well to you. We will just have to wait & see how things progress with this virus, but the more professional training help you can get, the better a canine citizen your pup will be. Chances are she will do just fine. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

You are doing a good job so far. I would go to puppy classes and then a group obedience class or two when he’s six month old or so. The more training you do the better behaved dog you will have. This is a large and head strong breed so I’m glad you are taking the socialization and training seriously. In addition I would have it neutered by eight months to prevent any change of behavior due to adult hormones. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dog.

Hello, and thank you for your question. I really like veterinarypartner.com as a trusted resource for pet owners. All the articles are written by vets in easily understandable language. I found some relevant to your questions: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2343 http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1089 http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1129 http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1379 http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1384 I hope these helps! Good luck and congratulations on your new puppy!

Congratulations on your new puppy! It is always best to feed your new puppy, puppy dog food. Ideally, Science diet, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, etc. These food companies do a lot of research and testing to make sure the foods have the correct nutrients in it for them. Here are two websites for training: http://pawbark.com/potty-training-puppies-use-crate/ http://pawbark.com/9-tips-training-dog/ If you would like to know any other information just submit the question in the forum and we can always help answer your question as quickly as possible. Thank you for using PetCoach.

3. Avarietyofexperiences Go out of your way to encounter different types of people, places, animals, walking surfaces, noises, and other situations. Give treats to friendly strangers to give to your dog; most people will happily oblige an obedient puppy. Some Ideas/ Suggestions: • Enroll in a “puppy preschool” class and start training early. • Sit on a bench with your puppy, near a school when the kids are coming out • Take your puppy to a public park where people jog, rollerblade, and ride bikes. • Show them how fun water can be with a baby pool. • Take your puppy in the car with you when you run errands or go through the drive- thru (don’t do on a full puppy stomach). Vaccination concerns The risk of your puppy developing serious behavior problems from being poorly socialized is far greater than that of infectious disease. But to be safe, only let your puppy interact with dogs that you know are physically and behaviorally healthy and vaccinated. In addition, don’t let him play in unclean environments, such as dog parks, that may be contaminated with germs from unknown dogs, until he has received all of his vaccinations, usually at 16 weeks. Please contact your veterinarian for more information about socialization and health care for your new addition. Further Reading American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior, www.avsabonline.org

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Congratulations!! Bruno is adorable! Bruno needs to start his puppy vaccines. He should receive a DHPP (distemper, hepatitis, parvo and parainfluenza) vaccine every 3-4 weeks starting around 7-8 weeks of age until he receives two past 12 weeks. He should get his rabies vaccine between 12-16 weeks. He can start being dewormed as well. Having him dewormed and Rabies vaccination will protect your family. Keep up with his vaccinations into adulthood as they do have expiration dates. Deworm yearly. I recommend puppy food until 1 year of age. I like Purina proplan, hills science diet and Royal Canin. As a puppy his energy level is like a new born. Play for a bit then sleep. Around 4 months they are awake more. So playing with him when awake and 2-3 walks a day are appropriate. Distance can increase with age and endurance. See below for links on training. I wish you and Bruno the best! https://www.petcoach.co/article/basic-dog-puppy-training-rules/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/rewards-are-necessary-when-training-dogs-and-puppies/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/training-fitness-for-sporting-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/interacting-with-your-pet/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-obedience-commands-every-dog-should-know/