5 Tips to be a Successful Dog Owner | Even for First-Time Dog Owner

In this article i’m sharing five important tips or i should say concepts to prep you up for success even if you are a first-time dog owner before we dive in if this is your first time here welcome to my channel where we share shiba inu training tips and tricks and also daily funny shiba inu articles subscribe to get all the tips you need in order to be successful as a first-time dog owner all five tips are equally important so doesn’t matter if i mentioned it first or last now let’s dive in setting up expectation so you’re getting a new puppy and you’re super excited to welcome the new family member home before getting too overwhelmed with all the cute puppy toys treats dog bed and even clothing options setting up the right expectation will set you up for success and also understand from a dog’s perspective what do they need and want while some people might say getting a dog is like getting a human baby some of that might hold true where we all like to pursue enjoyable experiences and avoid harmful and discomfort in life however what makes a human happy looks very different from a dog’s perspective and vice versa where your dog loves to go through the trash chew on your shoes rolling on grass and also make marks everywhere he goes it might look perplexed for a human why a dog does what he does as a knowledgeable and responsible owner provide your dog what he needs even if it might not make sense to you he is a social animal just like us so expect to spend lots of time to bond train and play with your new family member understanding the limitation your dog has and use the reward he loves to train him and motivate him to encourage the desirable behavior again and again as a new dog owner you also want to keep in mind that training a dog takes time so be prepared to spend at least two to three hours for the first few weeks or months when you receive your new puppy knowing that all the hard work you put in the first few weeks will eventually pay off in the next 5 10 plus years to come research research before deciding the breed you want look for the specific dog breeds personality and most importantly their energy level if you typically do not like to go out and you do not have a yard at home but you get a super high energy dog or working dog who needs vigorous exercise every single day this could be a formula for disaster most of the destructive behaviors a dog has is due to boredom or excessive energy with nowhere to vent remember a tired puppy is the best puppy so do your research and pick the breed that fit into your lifestyle also note that a dog’s need change when he goes through different phases in life so you likely need to adjust your lifestyle to accommodate both of you take shiba inu as an example between age three to four months is when he gets most naughty and requires a lot of attention and socialization with shiba inu due to the fact that naturally he is more reserved with strangers it is extremely important for the owner to let your shiba inu meet as many animals and human in early days as possible most times other dogs are the best teachers when it comes to dog manners when facing other dogs that is outside of your household once the shiba inu reaches one year old that’s when he become more calm and requires less supervision although it might still vary between dog to dog our dog jimmy was still very naughty and full of energy even after 1 year old and he only slows down really after he reaches 2 years old carve out time every day to bond and train your new best friend and provide him what he needs for the most part just keep socializing train and hang out with your new best friend and you are on the path to success training this article won’t be complete without mentioning training start training your dog on day one and know that it takes many repetitions to see the result most recent dog trainers advocate for positive reinforcement where we reward the behavior we want and ignore the undesirable behavior now let me break down a bit more here for the training technique positive training method works because a dog’s memory is used what we called associative memory where he might not remember what happened yesterday or a week before but he remembers every time he sits he gets praised or treats or every time you go grab his favorite toy he gets to play so whenever he sees you open the toy cabinet he gets excited for both examples of sitting and getting excited when you go to toy cabinet are because your dog associates those two things with something good most positive training works because we are reinforcing the connection between a desirable behavior with a reward he loves do keep in mind that there are two folds for positive training we just explain the reward part now if your dog is causing trouble or exhibit undesirable behavior stop the behavior right before it starts or when it is happening you can either loudly tell him no or not only verbally discourage him but also turn your back on him to remove your attention from him completely a lot of times dog acting out in order to get your attention so by completely ignore him and make no eye contact well let your dog know what he was doing will not get what he wants your attention i have plenty of training articles on this channel and i will include the link down below if you want to check them out the right environment now we’ve got the expectation and training down let’s talk about your house environment when you first bring your new puppy home there are a lot of new things for the puppy to get used to new scent sound people rules and more it can be overwhelming for a puppy if you let him unattached in the house always start by introducing your puppy to a confined area like his crate he’s home first and let him know that his crate is his safe space it is where he rests start with the confined dog proof area also prevent new puppy accidentally bite your furniture or damage your home one thing to keep in mind his crate is his home and the crate should never be used as a punishment to discipline your dog you can find a separate space to practice timeout for more information about discipline technique check out the article listed in the description to learn more in the long term once your dog reaches one year old or older and when he demonstrates he is completely trustworthy while outside of his crate you might be able to remove the crate completely and have a free-range dog at home before you decide to remove the crate forever do make sure you are a hundred percent comfortable letting your dog roaming freely we eventually remove jimmy’s playpen and i do have a article that specifically talks about step by step how we eventually remove the crate check it out in the description if you want to learn more setting up a routine so you now have the right expectation know about training and also what kind of environment you should introduce your dog to on the first day now it is up to you how you want your day to look like with your new best friend dogs do like routine and routine would also help him to know when to expect what routine also helps you to structure your life in a more organized manner for a puppy you likely need to take him out five to six times for potty yes it sounds a lot and it is a lot but keep in mind puppy grows up fast and you will be able to slowly reduce the potty break once he gets older for a grown-up dog you likely only need to take him out two to three times a day one is first thing in the morning and the other is early afternoon then a quick walk right before bedtime setting up routine will also help your puppy to get used to your schedule whether you used to stay up late or sleep early your dog will adjust to your schedule if you keep it consistent last but not least enjoy the journey knowing that all the hard work you are doing right now will pay off in the next 5 10 plus years for you and your dog