Did you know having your puppy’s schedule and routine in place will not only prevent unwanted puppy behaviours, but it’ll help your puppy to feel safe?
And feeling safe is your puppy’s top priority.
When puppies feel safe, they begin to trust you.
And trust is EVERYTHING in your relationship with your puppy.
Through trust you can achieve that vision you have of life with your puppy. Without it, things can go from bad to worse. It’s not a road you want to go down.
You’ll be surprised how quickly your puppy will get to know their schedule and routine. Good behaviours will begin to be established and a beautiful relationship will form.
Bringing home your new puppy will be so much easier for the whole family with a solid schedule and routine in place.
In this blog and video post we’ll share the 5 essential elements of your puppy’s schedule and routine and your steps to success. We will guide you through each element with practical steps and top tips.
Including;
1. Puppy toilet training
2. Puppy exercise and play
3. Positive socialisation and exposure experiences
4. Mental exercise
5. Introducing alone time to prevent separation issues
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5 essential elements of your puppy’s schedule and routine
Steps to success:
- Make sure the whole family knows your puppy’s schedule and routine.
- Keeping a diary is a good idea just in case there’s any adjustments to be made.
- When your puppy is not in their crate or play pen, you should be actively supervising them.
- Repeat 3-4 times daily.
1. Puppy toilet training
Teaching your puppy where you’d like them to do their business is one of the first things you’ll want to work on and include in your puppy’s schedule and routine.
Constantly cleaning up puppy wee, and poop is going to be a source of issue for you.
Puppies don’t know where we’d like them to go. We need to actively teach them and manage their environment.
Choose an area that is secure and away from distractions that you can easily get to throughout they day.
Have a weatherproof container for treats next to your puppy’s toileting area for easy access as well as poo bags, a bin, and wet wipes (in case your puppy steps in anything).
Here’s how it goes:
- Take your puppy to their toileting area as soon as they wake up from a nap, had a drink, food, or playtime. And before you go to bed.
- Carry them or attach their lead to prevent them for getting distracted.
- Initially, take them through the same door.
- Reward with praise and a tasty treat if you wish.
Top Tip – don’t wait for your puppy to cry or whine to tell you they need to go to the toilet. Instead set an alarm for every 30 minutes as a reminder to take your puppy to their toileting area.
2. Puppy exercise and play
It’s important you don’t give your puppy too much or too little physical exercise. It should be appropriate for their age.
The general rule of thumb is 5 minutes per month of age, up to twice a day e.g., pup is 3 months old, that’s 15 minutes of physical exercise x 2 (max).
Playing with your puppy and truly being with them on a walk boosts your relationship and ultimately their focus on you.
Here’s some examples:
- Human play – get down on all 4 paws and imitate your puppy’s play style.
- Fetch – you can use a range of toys (here’s my favourites). Whatever your puppy prefers. Keep this to a minimum with no harsh twist or turns.
- Tug – puppy led. Let your puppy do the tugging. Keep the toy low and wiggle it around to create interest. Let your puppy win!
- A walk – various destinations and surfaces. Use your puppy’s harness and long line. Let them sniff and lead the way. Stop for breaks and to watch the world at a distance.
- Positive socialisation or exposure experience – create a puppy obstacle course. Low and stable with a variety of surfaces and objects to explore at their own pace.
People tend to view a walk as the only physical exercise their puppy gets throughout the day. But remember when you’re playing together that’s physical exercise.
Top tip – if you pair physical and mental exercise your puppy will be exhausted and ready for a nap.
3. Positive socialisation and exposure experiences
Introducing your puppy to the world in a positive way, whilst they’re young is a crucial aspect of your puppy’s schedule and routine so they grow into a happy, well-rounded adult dog in the future.
Lack of socialisation during the key “imprinting period” (up to 16 weeks) can lead to a higher chance of behavioural issues when your puppy becomes an adult.
You can learn all about socialisation and how to safely expose your pre-vaccinated puppy in my blog post – The ultimate guide to puppy socialisation. Please click HERE TO READ.
Many people believe socialisation is all about puppies meeting other puppies. And this is not true.
Here’s what makes up the whole socialisation process:
- Focusing on you around other dogs, humans, and animals.
- Building confidence around new sounds, surfaces, sights, and objects.
- Building confidence in novel buildings and environments.
- Meeting humans (young, supervised, and old).
- Meeting other dogs and animals (supervised).
Top tip – focus on the quality of the interactions your puppy has, rather than the number.
FREE PUPPY START RIGHT WORKSHOP
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4. Mental exercise
Puppies love to learn new things!
Using a portion of their daily food allowance for training and positive socialisation and exposure is a good option. As well as giving your puppy puzzles to solve through food enrichment games (here’s my DIY sniffing games blog for more ideas).
Each of these approaches builds confidence and resilience.
Training helps you to communicate with your puppy in a way they understand. Opening channels of communication will help to create trust.
And as I said before, adding mental exercise into your puppy’s schedule and routine will help to tire them out and they’ll be ready for a nap.
Here’s some examples:
- Short training session – such as a down or a nose touch
- Playing hide and seek with food, toys or you!
- Enjoying a tasty Kong or sniffing for food in a snuffle mat.
- Visiting a new place with new smells, objects and surfaces to explore.
Top tip – ditch the bowl and invest in food bowl alternatives.
5. Introducing alone time to prevent separation issues
When you bring your puppy home it is natural for them to want to be close by. You are their safety net. Being alone is not something they will have learned whilst with the breeder. It must be taught.
You’ll need to be available for your puppy whilst you are teaching them it’s ok be alone.
Here’s how it goes:
- Micro-absence – this builds a positive association with a very short amount of time being alone. Have a pot of tasty treats handy next to your bathroom. Sprinkle some on the floor whilst you nip inside and close the door.
Gradually build up the duration you leave for and come right back.
- Tie out toy – thread string through a puppy Kong and fill with something tasty. Tie the Kong inside your puppy’s crate. Leave the gate open. Walk around the room.
Let your puppy choose if they’d like to relax in their crate with their Kong or follow you. Giving your puppy choice is extremely powerful because you’re not rushing your puppy.
Build this up gradually and include daily as part of your puppy’s schedule and routine.
This blog post has given you 5 essential elements of your puppy’s schedule and routine, has explained why they’re important and your steps to success.
I hope it helps you to plan yours! Let me know in the comments below.
And if you’d love video tutorials to support what you’ve learned in this blog, don’t forget to grab your FREE Puppy Start Right Workshop. Sign up below and it’ll be in your inbox in no time!
FREE PUPPY START RIGHT WORKSHOP
A deep dive into how to raise and train your new puppy from day 1 in a kind and effective way.
“The workshop is absolute GOLD!”
Click the button below to sign up!
*I’ll never share your details with a third party!*
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Want to learn more? Take a look at the related articles below.
The ultimate guide to puppy socialisation – Landing on Your Paws
Are puppy pads a good idea? – Landing on Your Paws
When to start training a puppy – Landing on Your Paws
Happy training!
Lindsay xx
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