Puppies are adorable bundles of joy, but they also come with a lot of behaviors that need to be nipped in the bud early. Understanding and managing puppy behavior is essential for having a happy and healthy relationship with your pup. Here are five puppy behaviors that should be addressed as soon as possible:
- Mouthing and Chewing: Puppies explore their world through their mouths, so it’s important to provide them with appropriate chew toys and discourage them from chewing on furniture or other items. If your pup starts to chew on something they shouldn’t, redirect them to an appropriate toy or treat.
- Tugging Games: While tugging games can be fun for both you and your pup, they can encourage aggressive behavior if not done correctly. Make sure you only play tug-of-war when your pup is calm and relaxed, and always end the game before either of you gets too excited.
- Excessive Barking: Barking is a normal behavior for puppies, but excessive barking can become a problem if not addressed early on. To reduce excessive barking, figure out what triggers it (e.g., people walking by) and work on desensitizing your pup to those triggers through positive reinforcement training methods such as clicker training or reward-based training.
- Jumping Up: Puppies often jump up when they’re excited or want attention, which can be cute at first but quickly becomes annoying (and potentially dangerous). To prevent jumping up, teach your pup the “sit” command and reward them with treats when they obey it.
- Separation Anxiety: Separation anxiety is common in puppies who have been taken away from their littermates too soon or who have had little socialization with humans prior to adoption. To help ease separation anxiety, start leaving the house for short periods of time while your pup is still young and gradually increase the length of time you’re gone until they become comfortable being alone without becoming anxious or destructive.
By addressing these behaviors early on in your puppy’s life, you can set them up for success later on down the road!
