The Trick to Raising a Well Behaved Puppy

This post featuring the trick to raising a well behaved puppy is sponsored by Chuckit! but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

To be completely honest, I was nervous about bringing a puppy into our home since it had been so long since I’ve raised a puppy. Hailey is 11 and is pretty self sufficient. She’s housebroken and can be completely trusted to roam in the house when we’re not home. But a puppy!? I knew a puppy would be the total opposite! 

Before Charley came home, I thought I had it all figured out in my mind – I’d work while she peacefully kept herself entertained with her toys in her playpen. The playpen would be my saving grace! It would keep her confined so I wouldn’t have to worry about accidents in our brand new home. Boy was I wrong! From the very first day she came home, she wasn’t having it! Charley climbed right out of the playpen immediately! As soon as I would put her back in, she would climb out again. The joke was on me! She wanted to explore her new environment. She wanted attention all the time, and rightfully so as a young puppy!
Since I work from home, this was a bit of a challenge considering I still had to get my work done.  Since my playpen plan failed, I had to quickly come up with another plan. Letting her have free-range in a new home was not an option – she wasn’t yet potty trained, she loved to chew, climb on furniture, and she was curiously wanting to get into everything! That’s when I realized she just needed training, time, and lots of patience on my end!

The first few weeks at home with Charley were a struggle, I’m not going to lie, but eventually things calmed down and she started to settle down. Now, for the most part, she can be trusted on her own (with the exception of when we’re not home) and she’s a really good dog! It’s safe to say I finally figured out the trick to raising a well behaved puppy! It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it!

Check out my tips below to learn how we went from wild to well behaved! 

The Trick to Raising a Well Behaved Puppy

Be Consistent

Consistency is hands down the most important thing when it comes to raising a puppy! Regardless of what you do or how you train, you must be consistent! Puppies, like children, need routine. It’s best to set a consistent schedule and rules, and stick to it to avoid any confusion and to speed up the learning process. This works best when everyone in the household is on the same page, especially when it comes to rules!

Wear Them Out

As the saying goes, a tired puppy is a good puppy! This couldn’t be more true. Puppies are FULL of energy and they need a chance to let out some of that energy, otherwise they’ll be up to no good and your home will be their jungle gym! One of my favorite ways to let all that wild energy out and make my puppy get some exercise in is with a good ole game of fetch! Charley absolutely loves fetching and Chris and I love throwing and watching her catch the ball and frisbee, so we do this multiple times a day!

Her favorite outdoor toys are anything from Chuckit!  As soon as we saw her love for fetching the ball and catching the flying frisbee, we knew we needed to expand our collection! Chuckit! just released three new toys to their lineup: the Fetchwheel, the Fetchflight, and the Ringchaser – all of which are great for outdoor play! These new toys are available online and in-store. Charley has so much fun fetching these! The Fetchwheel is her new favorite. It’s toughly built, but has textured ridges to make it easier to pick up and grip. The Fetchwheel rolls on the ground and Charley has so much fun running full speed after it! She also loves playing with the Fetchflight. I love that she’s able to catch it and it’s gentle enough to not hurt her! Learn more about these toys by visiting chuckit.com.

**Check out my latest post on Instagram to find out how you can win all 3 new toys from Chuckit!**

Socialize at an Early Age

The sooner you start to socialize your puppy, the better! It’s a good idea to introduce  your puppy to things like car rides, public places, and other dogs early on so they can get used to it all. By introducing new experiences to your puppy early on, your puppy will have less of a chance of being fearful of these things. This makes for a very well behaved puppy! 

Keep Your Puppy Within Sight

While you’re in the process of training your puppy, do not give them free range or let them out of your sight. This sets them up for bad behavior and the freedom to get into something they’re not supposed to! A playpen is a good idea, if you’re pup will tolerate it (see above, haha!). Other options include tethering the puppy to you, or simply confining the puppy to one room, but make sure you’re present in that room to keep an eye on them!

Keep Toys Accessible at All Times

A bored puppy is a bad puppy! You can’t really get mad at a puppy for chewing on furniture when there aren’t any toys present to play with. They don’t know the difference! To encourage good behavior, keep their favorite toys accessible at all times, and redirect bad behavior with a toy! Your pup will quickly learn what’s theirs and what’s off limits!

Do you have any tips and tricks for raising a well behaved puppy? Share yours in the comments below!