Puppies are excitable creatures and their unending enthusiasm can be adorable to watch. When you’re attempting to train a puppy, however, their on-going exuberance can be a little tough to manage. If you have young kids at home too, you’ll find that they play off each other until everyone is over-excited! To help bring things down a notch, take a look at these four ways to calm your puppy down:
1. Switch Their Food
Dog foods that contain artificial additives and preservatives could be causing your pup to feel more wired than usual, which could be reflected in their behaviour. Often, switching to a different food has a remarkable impact on how a dog behaves. If you’re looking for a sustainable, natural way to feed your pooch, this guide from Bella & Duke is helpful if you want to consider trying raw dog food. With handy informational guides and straightforward subscriptions from Bella & Duke, feeding your pet a raw food diet has never been so easy.
2. Try Crate Training
When your puppy has its own place to relax and unwind, it will learn to go there when it wants some peace and quiet. What’s more – you can put your puppy into its crate when things are getting overwhelming, which will encourage them to calm down. Crucially, it’s important to teach kids that dogs should be left alone when they’re in their crates. This helps to prevent them scrambling to get out, speeds up the process of crate training, and ensures they get the opportunity to enjoy some rest and relaxation.
3. Give Them More Exercise
Puppies don’t need as much exercise as a young adult dog, but they can still require a significant amount of physical activity. Talk to your vet to find out exactly how much daily exercise your pup needs and be sure to factor this into your schedule. Although your dog won’t be able to go for walks or to parks until they’ve had their vaccinations, you can still exercise them on private land, such as your garden.
4. Learn to Ignore
If you’re confident that your puppy is safe, well, and has access to fresh water, then ignoring their attempts to get your attention can be an effective way of teaching them how to behave. Puppies will sometimes whine or bark at night, as they’d rather be upstairs with you than in their own bed. However, giving in to them at an early age only makes it tougher to train them later on.
When your puppy learns that their behaviour won’t get rewarded, they’ll settle down more quickly. Although it can be tough not to cuddle a pup when they’re looking for attention, learning to ignore them for short periods of time can help to teach them what type of behaviour is appropriate.
Making the Most of Puppyhood
There’s no doubt that puppies can be full-on and will require a lot of attention, but this phase won’t last forever! With the right training and positive reinforcement, you can redirect your pup’s energy and lessen their exuberance while still encouraging them to have fun.
