
The easiest way to raise and train your puppy is to establish choreographed routines – same things, same order, same words – with yourself as the director, the one in charge. I recommend the best routines for training puppies in my Respect Training For Puppies. You want a good routine for meal time, potty breaks, grooming, play time, bed time, getting up in the morning, and so on. Good routines should cover as many of the 24 hours in your pup's day as possible. Most behavior problems in dogs are caused by the owner (inadvertently) teaching the pup bad routines. Because if he learns bad routines, he will repeat them just as readily. The trick is to make sure the routines your puppy is learning are good ones that lead to good behavior. Training a puppy goes very smoothly when you establish good routines starting the moment the pup joins your household. Once your pup learns the routine for, say, meal time, if you do your part every time, he will do his part every time. In either case, announce the potty break: "Do you need to go OUT? Time to go OUT."Īs you can see, you're not only showing your puppy what YOU will do as part of the routine, you're also showing him what you expect HIM to do as his part of the routine. If he's already 100% housebroken and eliminates reliably when you send him out himself, that's fine. If you're still housebreaking, take the pup out on leash.


#Puppy daily schedule chart how to#
If he already knows how to sit, have him sit first – it's a subtle and gentle leadership thing. When he is calm, the bowl is ready to go down."Sit" before meals encourages calmness and patience – two valuable traits that will make other training much easier.

If he's acting excitable, don't put his food down, else he'll learn that excitable behavior makes the food appear! If he's racing around, barking, or jumping, he should be on leash so you can stop those behaviors.You want him to see that YOU are the source of his food. Get his bowl from the same cupboard and set it on the same counter every time. Have him come with you to the kitchen."Are you hungry? Want your food?" Exaggerate the key words. Cue your pup when you're ready to prepare his meal.As much as possible, do the same things with your puppy every day – the same things in the same order, using the same words. Where his grooming spot is (for brushing, trimming, nail clipping, teeth cleaning).ĭogs thrive on sameness, routines that are familiar, predictable, repeated.What time he will be taken out in the morning.Where his food and water dishes are located.Teach your puppy the daily routines that will govern his life.

For example, his food bowl should be placed in the same place every time he eats.
