Humane Society of Lawton-Comanche County
Puppy Care Tips

​Tips for a Safe, Happy, Well-Behaved Puppy
Before adopting a new puppy, keep in mind these tips to help prepare you, your family and your home for the new arrival.

At Home

• Puppy-proofing your home by eliminating hazards is critical.
• Deny access to electrical cords and use plastic outlet plugs.
• Safely store household, car maintenance and garden chemicals.
• Keep breakables out of reach.
• If you have a pond, pool or hot tub, make sure covers or fencing are in good condition. 

Children and pets

• Don't allow children to play with the puppy constantly. Puppies need a lot of rest, just like growing children.
• Children may be tempted to shout at puppies who are misbehaving. Be sure your children and their friends understand that puppies can easily be startled and upset by loud noises, making them fearful of children and loud noises for the rest of their lives.
• No teasing. Children who tease a puppy will create a monster dog that no one wants to be around. Holding a toy just out of reach will cause excessive barking and jumping up as well as snapping and biting.
• Always supervise interactions between children and pets. Both kids and pets can be very unpredictable in their behaviors if something frightens them or if they are approached with a new situation.

 
Special puppy concerns

• Supervise your puppy at all times and interact with him regularly.
• Be alert for signs (sniffing and circling) that he needs to go to the bathroom, then take him outside immediately. A young puppy has no bladder control and will need to urinate immediately after sleep, play, drinking or eating.
• Don't punish an accident. If your puppy goes to the bathroom in an inappropriate place it's your fault for not being alert to his needs. Never rub his nose in it or scold him.
• Take your puppy outside frequently and establish a specific area in your yard for him to go. Stay with him until he uses that spot and then praise him wildly for doing so.
• Always keep a well-fitting collar and current identification on your puppy. It's surprising how many stray puppies come into the shelter each year.
• Provide your puppy with a high-quality diet, fresh water and appropriate exercise to keep them healthy, active and tired. 
• Enroll your puppy in kindergarten. It's great fun for both of you and allows the puppy to socialize with other people and puppies as well as allowing your to get some great advice on house training and other behaviors. You may also develop a play group to keep your puppy busy.

The Puppy’s Rule of 12
By the time a puppy is 12 weeks old it should have done as much of the following as possible. Be sure that your puppy has completed all vaccinations before allowing your puppy to go into public areas such as parks and other areas that may have grass or dirt. Parvo is a deadly virus and is the number one killer of puppies in the Lawton area. Be sure your puppy is fully vaccinated to protect him from this deadly disease. Consult your veterinarian for further information.

The Rules of 12

• Experienced 12 different surfaces: wood, woodchips, carpet, tile, cement, linoleum, grass, wet grass, dirt, mud, puddles, grates, uneven surfaces, etc.
• Played with 12 different objects: fuzzy toys, big and small balls, hard toys, funny sounding toys, wooden items, paper or cardboard, milk jugs, etc. All under supervision
• Experienced 12 different locations: front yard, other people’s homes, lake, pond, river, basement, elevator, car, moving car, garage, laundry room, stairs, bathroom, kitchen, etc
• Met and played with 12 new people: include children; adults (male and female); elderly adults; people in wheelchairs (if possible); people with walkers, canes, crutches, or umbrellas; people in hats and sunglasses; men with deep voices, people with different skin tones; etc
• Exposed to 12 different noises (ALWAYS keep positive and watch puppy’s comfort level – we don’t want to scare them too much!): garage door opening/closing, doorbell, children playing, babies screaming, vacuums, lawnmowers, fans, washers/dryers, big trucks, motorcycles, skateboards, clapping, ice makers, etc
• Exposed to 12 fast moving objects (do NOT allow to chase!): skateboards, rollerblades, bikes, motorcycles, cars, people running, cats running, scooters, children running, squirrels, etc

If your puppy is over 12 weeks old, continue with the above until the experience is as complete as possible

A young puppy has so much potential and starting off from scratch means you have the opportunity to make impressions on them that will last for the rest of their life. Your dog’s early experiences will shape their personality, how they see the world around them, and how they are able to deal with stress.
A well thought out socialization plan can help you raise a dog that you can take anywhere with anyone with a happy wag of the tail. Poor socialization can leave you with a fearful, reactive dog that can’t cope with being outside of their home environment. Give your puppy the best possible start by making sure they have early, safe, and POSITIVE experiences with a variety of people, places, surfaces, sounds, and temperatures.

Never force your pup to approach anyone or anything, let them explore on their own terms. Always make sure to quietly praise and encourage them when they boldly approach things on their own. When your puppy seems uncertain, allow them to proceed at their own pace or to move away from that which worries them. Then encourage them to approach at their own pace again. For example, have a “scary” person kneel down to the side and not look at the puppy while holding out a treat for them. Keep in mind that you’re not trying to overwhelm your puppy with new experiences – quantity is not better than quality. Make sure your puppy is confident, well rested, and having a good time whenever you introduce them to something new. Don’t overdo it either. Puppies get tired very quickly. Most importantly, make sure to give your puppy lots of downtime after a new experience to recuperate and rest in a safe and quiet place.

Nipping and Mouthing
 All puppies normally use their mouth to explore their environment, to initiate play, during play, to indicate displeasure, and to defend themselves from frightening things. Puppies need to learn bite inhibition. That is, they need to learn to control the strength of their jaws, and learn not to use their mouth on people (but if they ever do, they should do it softly).
If they nip to invite you to play, accidentally during play, or when they are just exploring their world:

• Say “ouch” and take your attention away the second that your pup nips. Either calmly put them in a nearby crate, tether to a chair leg and walk away, or simply walk away and ignore them
• After a minute, or when they are calm, come back and interact again
• Repeat as often as needed. Many repetitions may be required at first
• Reward non-mouthy behavior by continuing to interact and play with them using toys with their mouth
• DO NOT respond to mouthiness by pushing, hitting, shoving, yelling, pinching muzzles, etc. This can make them hand shy and can sometimes make nipping worse.

Exposure to Other Animals
Puppies don’t have their full immune system prepared until later in life, so do NOT take them to dog parks or allow them to meet an unknown dog. 
However, it is good for puppies to meet a socially appropriate, healthy adult dog (your own dog or a friend/neighbor’s dog should be okay). Always supervise this interaction and if the puppy is not enjoying it, or the adult dog is not patient and tolerant, separate the dogs immediately. Puppies can benefit from living with, or being exposed to cats/kittens at a very young age as well.
PROVIDE TOYS. A variety of toys that are rotated for something new each day: ball, hard plastic toys, soft toys, squeaky toys, etc. Be sure the toys are hardy and do not present a choking hazard with any loose pieces that can be bitten off.

Housetraining Basics
In order to housetrain a puppy, follow these guidelines:

• Take the puppy outside on leash immediately after eating, upon waking, and at any time that it appears they need to go out (circling, whining, sniffing the ground, etc)
• Praise your puppy quietly with “good dog” as they eliminate
• Supervise, supervise, and supervise. A puppy that is being housetrained must never be out of your sight unless they are in the crate. Accidents out of sight are your responsibility. Just clean them up and watch your puppy more closely next time. Use baby-gates or tie your dog’s leash to your waist during the house training process.
• If you catch your puppy in the middle of an accident in the house, simply interrupt them by clapping your hands and saying “ahh, outside” and then attaching a leash and taking them directly outside. This will only work if you catch them in the act. Once they are finished, the opportunity to teach is gone.
• Never punish or scold a puppy for a housetraining accident! Doing so will slow down progress and make your puppy more likely to sneak off to eliminate out of your presence. Simply interrupt wrong behaviors and redirect your dog to the appropriate behavior.
• Always clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution. Clean up whatever fluid or fecal material you can with paper towels and then saturate the area with the enzyme solution. Let it set and then wipe up with terry cloth towels. Regular carpet cleaners alone on pet accidents won’t adequately remove the urine/fecal material and that may encourage the dog to eliminate again on that same spot.
• In general, beginning at around 3 months, puppies can hold their bladders for one hour equal to their age in months during the day and a bit longer at night time. So a 3-month old pup may be able to hold it for 3 hours at a stretch during the day.